Craig Baugher wrote:

I have to know why rod builders, fly fishers, and a number of other outdoors
sporting organizations have Conclaves vs. Conferences or Conventions? For
their conclaves are neither private or secret.

I can see Jeff Foxworthy having fun with this: You know you can take a
redneck out of the woods, off the farms and ranches. You can teach them how
to dress fancy, and speak well. But you can't take the redneck out of the
man. How would you know? Well, You Might Be A Redneck If You Organize or
Attend a Publicly advertised and Corporate Sponsored Conclave. You might be
a redneck if you think the word conclave . . .

Just having a little fun . . . .

The 3rd definition on dictionary.com for conclave is: "A meeting of
family members or associates."
Maybe they are trying to say they are more closely bonded than other groups?
I get a kick out of word choices also. One that comes to mind is when
the Branch Davidians were holding off the FBI in Waco, the news people
kept referring to their place as a "compound" No razor wire, no
trenches, no guard shacks, just standard barbed wire. Definition of
compound: "A building or buildings, especially a residence or group of
residences, set off and enclosed by a barrier." Using this definition,
most all ranchers live on compounds.