Lancaster Archery Supply president and founder Rob Kaufhold has been elected to a second four-year term on the Archery Trade Association's (ATA) board of directors.

The Archery Trade Association is an advocacy organization for manufacturers, retailers, distributors, sales representatives and others working in the archery and bowhunting industry.

Kaufhold is excited about using his experience with Lancaster Archery Supply to help the industry adapt to changes in the retail and consumer landscape.

"By working together with everyone in the industry, the ATA can help archery retailers and manufacturers navigate the increasingly digital business world," Kaufhold said.

The ATA is dedicated to making the industry profitable by decreasing business overhead, reducing taxes and government regulation, and increasing participation in archery and bowhunting.

The organization also owns and operates the ATA Trade Show, which is the archery and bowhunting industry's largest and longest-running trade show worldwide.

The ATA board is made up of 18 members representing various manufacturing, distribution and retail companies across North America. The board guides ATA's actions and shapes the organization's policies and positions.

Recently, the ATA was one of 18 trade associations to participate in the Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable, which briefed Congress on ways to increase outdoor recreation opportunities – such as bowhunting - and access to public lands for all Americans.

Also, ATA recently signed an agreement to collaborate with World Archery over the next four years to promote archery around the world. This agreement spans the time leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

These and other ATA initiatives are aimed at helping archery and bowhunting grow, which, in turn, helps archery companies in the industry prosper into the future.

Kaufhold first was elected to serve on the ATA board in 2014. Over the past four years he has worked with ATA CEO Jay McAninch, ATA Board Chairman Ben Summers and the dedicated staff and fellow board members of the ATA to launch Archery 360 and Bowhunting 360 – website and social media initiatives designed to educate the public. Also in recent years, the ATA launched the Retail Growth Initiative, which provides archery retailers with tools and techniques that can help them be successful, and created an updated archery safety brochure and many other programs that benefit the sport of archery and the archery industry.

"I'm thrilled that so many industry professionals and business owners were motivated to run for a seat on the ATA Board," Kaufhold said.

"I began attending ATA Board meetings two years before running for the board, and I encourage interested ATA members to do the same.

"Our industry faces some unique challenges as we look into the future. These include working with the National Deer Alliance/NDA to improve the health of our whitetail deer herds; new archer and bowhunter recruitment; and reversing the trend of deep discount online pricing by e-commerce sites fulfilled by third-party distributors."

Lancaster Archery Supply, Inc., offers the world's largest selection of 3D, target, bowhunting and traditional archery equipment. The company actively supports tournament archers around the world, and hosts the annual Lancaster Archery Classic, an international competition that draws over 1,000 competitive archers to Pennsylvania each year. The Lancaster, Pa., based Pro Shop is also home to the Lancaster Archery Academy – a year-round training facility for beginner, intermediate and competition archers.