By: Taylor Rather
It was February 28th and we were headed to the Fisherville Sportsmen Show. A friend of ours went last year and said it was an EXCELLENT show. We packed the gear for our upcoming interviews and headed out the door early that day.
While driving down the road, we saw many turkeys in the fields. In one field, there were at least 15 turkeys and the majority were Jakes and gobbler’s. I can’t wait for spring gobbler season!
Finally, after a few hours, we arrived to find a HUGE line of waiting people. After waiting, we finally got in and we quickly located the Hunters Helping Kids booth. While talking to Dennis Campbell, a very special person walked by that I had been dying to meet. It was Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland! Dennis quickly approached him, introduced me, and we asked if I could interview him for HuntingLife.com. He was excited to hear that I was involved with HuntingLife.com and Hunters Helping Kids and he delightfully replied yes.
We setup in front=2 0of the Hunters Helping Kids booth and prepared for the interview. It was the first interview that day and I was pretty nervous! He told me that I should just be myself and pretend that the camera is not there. During the interview he told me about when his father took him hunting and that some of his most memorable hunts were when his children took their first turkeys.
We had the opportunity to meet lots of new and interesting people. We also met some very interesting outfitters and got to meet some very talented taxidermists. I was walking around when I saw Brodie the 1,500 lb. grizzly. His owner agreed to an interview. He has had Brodie since he was an 8 week old cub. He is currently 14 yrs. old and has starred on many TV shows including Walker Texas Ranger. I also had the opportunity to get up close and take pictures while his owner had Brodie pose for me. He was HUGE!!
Lee and Tiffany Lakosky arrived at their booth and we quickly got in line. I was so nervous I could barely talk. I have been wanting to meet them for a long time. While getting their autographs, I told=2 0them about Huntinglife.com and asked if they would let me do an interview on video for the website. They said they would be GLAD to if we could catch them on their break.
While we waited for them to go on break, we walked around the show and talked to a lot of different people. I met Chris Parrish of Knight and Hale Game Calls; “Becca” Grace from Bass Pro Shops Next Generation; and 2x National Champion Turkey Caller, Lance Hanger. We also got to talk to “Duke” Dudley with Virginia Blade, who has several new knives that he is designing for people like Hank Parker, Michael Waddell, and Chuck Adams.
We decided to go and check on Lee and Tiffany. I felt guilty that I had not gotten my brother, Josh, an autograph from Lee and Tiffany. So, I jumped in line and bought him a shirt. When it was finally my turn (again) they remembered our interview plans and suggested we do it then. BOY, WAS I NERVOUS!!! Lee and Tiffany are just like you and me and made me feel very comfortable talking to them, even though there were LOTS of people watching!
It was a GREAT show and I had lots of fun and I’m looking forward to the next show!
