By Brenda Valentine
First Lady of Hunting®
May 2011

Members of the Broad River Chapter of the NWTF enjoyed a packed house banquet, May 23, at the Rollins Cafe' in Forest City, NC. Chapter President, Scott Walker and NWTF Regional Director, Bobby Phibbs, did a great job hosting this event while Wayne Rollins and his staff prepared the delicious dinner. I was honored to be their guest speaker.

The entire Blankenship family came out to enjoy the banquet and accept awards for an exceptional turkey kill this spring in the youth contest.

Among the NWTF supporters present were Wayne Rollins, restaurant owner & turkey hunter, and Julius Owens, county commissioner.

Chapter President, Scott Walker, worked overtime to make this a successful banquet.

Take a close look at this custom hand-made wing bone call made by Austin and Zane, owners of A to Z Wildlife Calls. www.atozwildlifecalls.com. These boys are 14 and 15 year-old cousins that have taken up crafting wing bone turkey calls __ with  only just a little prep help from their grandma. This particular call has a lot of intricate artwork on both sides and sounds great. It was presented to me as a gift from these young entrepreneurs.

NWTF Regional Director, Bobby Phibbs, travels about NC and surrounding areas helping with fundraising banquets and organizing local chapters to help accomplish the NWTF mission of  conserving, hunting & sharing.

I am always pleased for the opportunity to share the story of conservation and describe the various NWTF outreach groups such as Jakes, Women In The Outdoors, and Wheelin' Sportsmen.

This pint-size turkey hunter has shown up in my audiences more than once and it is always a delight to see her bubbling smile. She and her father are a NC hunting team. In fact, her name is "Hunter" and she proudly wears her "Turkey Thug" t-shirt. This is my kind of girl.

Clyde Rollins, is one of the most revered hunters of the area having spent his life chasing coon, turkey, quail, deer, pheasant and squirrel. He is also a houndsman and said to have some of the finest squirrel dogs around. Mr. Clyde attended the banquet, and while visiting with Barney he told of being a fan of my TV shows for many years and wanted me to have one of his Mountain Cur/Fiest- cross, squirrel dog puppies. We came home with two!

Another special gift I received at the Broad River Chapter banquet from the Lawter family was this 2011 National Champion Crow Call. Hand crafted by Brian Lawter, co-owner of Deadly Attraction Game Calls, from the following woods; yellow heart, purple heart, cocobollo, and curly maple. It is certainly a work of art and  craftsmanship.

Read all of Brenda's Field Notes