By Brenda Valentine
First Lady of Hunting®
February 9, 2009

Brenda spent quite a while autographing pictures, renewing acquaintances and talking hunting during the break.

On February 7 deer hunters from every corner of Tennessee and beyond swarmed to Henry Horton State Park for the TNDEER.com annual rendezvous, better known as "The Vous" by members of that organization.

One of the most active on-line organizations, TNDEER.com focuses on everything deer. Besides the expected story swapping and photo showing there was a weekend chock full of fun and interesting activities for this family event. Brian Kinkel, Deer Biologist and owner of BSK Consulting, gave an interesting and factual program on aging Tennessee whitetails. Several members of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency were there to bring us up to speed on current deer harvest statistics as well as any proposed season or bag limit changes. Joe Anderson, southeastern sales rep for Trophy Rock, brought a truckload of the all-natural mineral/salt that almost everyone in attendance has used for many seasons. After a scrumptious buffet lunch, door prizes were given. Thanks to the slew of supporting sponsors such as Bass Pro Shop, there were enough prizes for everyone to take home a nice item that will hopefully help them to be a more successful hunter next fall.

This darling young hunter proudly shared the story and picture of her first deer taken during the past season in Kentucky.

I came away with two great books written by Tennessee hunter-authors. After I finish reading them I'll post reviews and where-to-get-them information. Without a doubt, the most valuable thing I got from the '09 Vous was the warm feeling one gets whenever they spend time with others of the same passion. Although there were many whose names I never caught, I knew they were there to learn, socialize, and celebrate their love of hunting and managing the whitetail deer. The hunting world needs many more active grass-roots groups such as TNDeer.com.

Read all of Brenda's Field Notes