By Brenda Valentine
First Lady of Hunting®
August 30, 2009

The guest list of this years "Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame" induction banquet read like a Hollywood Who's Who of the Hunting and Fishing world. Eight new inductees as well as an organization and several individuals were honored during the special evening in Nashville, Tennessee.

New and past members of the "Legends Hall of Fame".

2009 Inductees, left to right: Gary Yamamoto, Jim Crumley, Toxey Haas, Emily Shafer, Garry Mason (founder), Rob Keck, Eddie Salter, Jerry Parsons accepting for his father, Herb Parsons, Terry Redlin award accepter.

Among the distinguished guests attending the Legends Banquet was Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Executive Director Ed Carter, pictured with Brenda and Barney Valentine.

Accepting the Conservation Group of the Year award is NWTF President Peggy A. Vallery.

Jim and Sherry Crumley share a few hunting tales during the meet and greet session prior to the banquet.

International Motivational Speaker Dana Bowman opened the program with a moving patriotic presentation.

Country Music artist Kevin Weldon crooned customized tunes to various folks in the audience such as Harold Knight.

Brenda was honored to be the guest speaker of the event but also for the opportunity to introduce four old friends of the hunting community for their induction. Brenda is pictured here with Eddie Salter, custom call maker and representative for Hunters Specialties Corp.

Garry Mason (red shirt), founder of the Legends Hall of Fame, served as Host and Master of Ceremonies.

Each inductee accepted the honor with a heartfelt speech of gratitude.

Concluding the ceremony was a photo session of recent and prior Hall of Fame inductees and/or special friends such as Brenda Valentine, First Lady of Hunting™, and Toxey Haas, Founder of Mossy Oak and Haas Outdoors, both members of the National Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame™.

We as an outdoor industry cannot progress forward without first looking back and thanking those who either directly or indirectly helped to place us where we are today. To not look back is to lose one's history and without history how can we learn? For it is the knowledge of history that is the bedrock of any foundation. If we do not look back and acknowledge those who have come before us, we lose our heritage and then, my friends, how will we be judged by those who come after us? Today's outdoor leaders hold the key to the past as well as the future, if we allow ourselves to turn our backs on one we stand to lose the other. --Garry Mason

Read all of Brenda's Field Notes