Once
in a Lifetime
By Brenda Valentine
First Lady of Hunting®
August, 2008
Over the
years I can’t count the number
of personal appearances,
seminars, and dinner speeches
I’ve made but never have I been
as honored and surprised as
recently during the Ozark Safari
Club International Chapter
banquet. I was contracted months
in advance by Pat Benson,
banquet chairperson, to be the
dinner speaker at the annual
Springfield, Missouri, event. As
always, whenever I attend a
conservation fundraiser, I
really enjoy looking over the
auction items for the unique and
unusual things found nowhere
else.

This close-up photo shows the
intricate detailing of Pam
Kelley's artwork.
The first auction item was a
large framed print of a wild
turkey fan with a picture I
recognized hand painted on it.
Wildlife artist Pamela Kelley’s
work is always recognizable but
this was a masterpiece as far as
I was concerned. The photo was
one I’d shared with Pam the year
before upon returning from a
successful wilderness moose
hunt.
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This large, matted and framed "no. 1" print
of Pam Kelley's “Once in a Lifetime” turkey fan
paintings was presented to Brenda Valentine at the
Ozark Safari Club International Chapter banquet. The
painting features Brenda leading a pack horse
through the mountains laden with her kill.
|
Actually, the story began
several years ago at an NWTF
banquet where Pam and her
husband, Danny, were seated at
my table. I was discussing an
upcoming Canadian moose hunt and
in the conversation discovered
that hunting moose was a secret
dream of Pam’s. Note, this
Arkansas lady had never flown on
an airplane, wilderness camped,
or hunted anything but
whitetails on her home farm.
Before the evening was over I’d
invited Pam to join me on what
promised to be her “Once in a
Lifetime” trip and Danny had
insisted she go. From the
initial boarding of the plane in
Memphis to floating a secluded
river for a week in a 24 ft.
cedar canoe, sleeping in a tent
with the dancing Northern Lights
for entertainment and a chorus
of wolf howls for music, to
successfully shooting her bull
moose, this was truly a trip of
many firsts. Pam relayed to me
four events that prominently
stood out in her life: the day
she married Danny, when her two
children were born, when she was
baptized, and her Canadian moose
adventure.
Immediately after my speech and
right before the auction was to
begin, Pam and Pat took the
stage and asked me to return for
a special presentation. I was
clueless about what was coming
next. After a few embarrassingly
complimentary comments they
whisked the satin covering from
a large easel at the back of the
stage and before me was the huge
matted and framed original of
the print in the auction. I was
speechless, which doesn’t happen
often. Pam was presenting me
with No. 1 of 1,000 of the “Once
in a Lifetime” turkey fan
paintings she was commissioned
by SCI to produce for their
banquets and catalog. Of course
the painting held a special
meaning to me but I also saw it
as a benchmark of the times for
all women hunters since I can’t
recall seeing a wilderness
painting realistically featuring
a woman hunter. The detail that
Pam is able to express on the
uneven surface of a wild turkey
feather is astounding. From the
snowcapped mountain background
with vibrant colors of fir and
aspen trees to the conformation
of the horses and splashing of
the rushing stream, she expertly
captured the atmosphere and feel
of the moment.
“Once In a Lifetime” prints are
available through S.C.I. or can
be bought directly from Pam
Kelley at Leatherwoodarts@yahoo.com.