NWTF JAKES Kansas Hunt Winner

[IA Born]

Just a word of warning be prepared to duck or run when you mention that I sent you by.

 

I'm not surprised and expected no less! I'll try to take a picture of Syd's face when I tell her you don't really care to see her play soccer!

[Little Creek Calls]

We fly out to Nashville on Thursday morning as well. Been looking forward to this trip for awhile. You should have bought tickets and joined us Bill.

[TRKHNTR]

We fly out to Nashville on Thursday morning as well. Been looking forward to this trip for awhile. You should have bought tickets and joined us Bill.

 

I'm still trying to pay for a full mount Desert Sheep, two root canals and tooth that will be pulled Thursday from a root canal that went bad and then a tooth implant, I'll be lucky to pay attention.

[IA Born]

We got back from the Convention yesterday evening and we're still working on getting caught up on rest. I thought I'd use my current insomnia to get some pics and as much of the story as I can remember up for you all to read. I know Bill is anxious to hear everything, at least by the frequency of texts I'm getting!

 

We drove down Wednesday night and stayed in a hotel near the airport. Our 5 am flight Thursday morning required a 3am alarm to take the 3:30 shuttle to the airport. Syd did great for all of the anxiety of getting things ready, my forgotten backpack, and her nerves, in general. We arrived in Nashville and went to catch our prearranged shuttle to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. That right there should have been an omen. We weren't on the reservation list. Fortunately, I pulled up the email stating we were supposed to be on that list. I even used the "She's the NWTF JAKES national essay contest winner. She's kind of a big deal!" approach and the lady went ahead and comped us on the shuttle list. Once at the hotel, the program director for the Kansas One Shot Governor's Turkey Hunt met us and whisked us off to the rehearsal we were supposed to be at. To say we were overwhelmed at the sheer size of that place and the size of the banquet room is an understatement. Poor Syd was so nervous, but she maintained her composure well. We also got to meet Dr. James Earl Kennamer, one of the original founders of the NWTF. I thanked him for his science-based approach to everything he's done and told him that was why I've stuck with NWTF for so long. After rehearsal we went to get our registration packets and credentials. Yep, not in the system. Supposedly, this is common, but I started thinking about the shuttle-thing. While the gal was trying to track down our credentials, our KS contact took us to the front desk to get checked into our rooms. Yep, you guessed it; not in the system. I pulled up emails showing that NWTF booked our room, but I didn't have a confirmation number. I gave the gal at the counter every single known misspelling of our last name that's ever shown up in hotel registrations, but we got nothing. Of course, our NWTF contact was in meetings all day and not answering her phone! It ended up being a good thing because we got to spend quite a bit more time than planned with the KS turkey hunt rep and her husband. AWESOME people and we can't wait to go hunt. We finally found somebody with NWTF, who turned out to be the VP of Communications, and she made a couple of phone calls. Turns out, we were listed under the general NWTF corporate reservation.

 

We got situated into our rooms and met back up for the welcome dinner. Our tickets said "Seat assignment at the door" so we had to figure out where we were sitting for the dinner. Oh boy, here we go again! We were on the list for needing two seats, but we had no table assignment. Everyone thought it made sense for us to be at the same table as the KS program, but there was no confirmation. The best the could do was to put us at the table right next to them. While we were waiting, I looked up and Brenda Valentine was standing two feet away. I very subtly pointed her out to Syd and then re-introduced myself to her and asked if I could introduce my daughter, explaining why Syd was there. Brenda stopped everything she was doing and stood there talking to Sydney for several minutes. She congratulated her and encouraged her to keep being a strong gal in our sport. It was truly amazing to stand back and watch and listen. Blessed is an understatement. Shortly after we got to our seats, the NWTF seating gal walked up to us, looked at Syd, and said "I didn't realize I was talking to a VIP. I"m so sorry. You're sitting at table X, with the rest of the VIPs." Syd and I looked at each other dumbfounded, but followed her to our seats. We were sitting with some of the program directors of the NWTF and we had a blast catching up and talking. It turns out there is a newly hired person at NWTF who was supposed to make all of our arrangements, but dropped the ball. Based on the reactions of the NWTF staff we were with, I'm guessing there was a serious butt chewing. We took it all in stride, just happy to be there. We ended up bailing early from the welcome dinner because Syd was so tired from our trip.

 

We got up the next morning and headed to the formal breakfast sponsored by Federal. It was great to see Syd's picture flash through the powerpoint slide show. I was able to get a picture of her standing in front of her slide. Its one of my favorite pics from her first elk hunt in 2014. Her presentation was rather quick, but it was just amazing and awe-inspiring to sit there (taking pics and video) and listen to them talk about her. After it was over, Brenda came back up to her, congratulated her, offered more encouragement, and told Syd that she was so used to seeing boys up there win that contest that she was super proud of Sydney! Then she asked for a picture, which I was very happy to oblige. After that, we were introduced to the NWTF CEO, George Thornton. He was taken in by how young and determined Syd was, too, and we took some pictures. That was probably my favorite part. George is an entomologist, so we talked wildlife management for quite a bit. Its nice to be on the same page with folks when it comes to science-based management! In the middle of all that, I happened to look over and see Syd getting her picture taken with Michael Waddell. I've never been one to get starstruck, and I didn't then, but it was great to see these celebrities approach her, congratulate her, and then ask to have their picture taken with her. As soon as we were done there, we went to our room, changed clothes, and relaxed before heading down to the trade show part. We had some booths to hit, including HS Strut (from my home state) and the one by Albert Paul, who makes amazing custom calls (Paul's Calls). Seeing Mr. Paul was a result of Syd getting lessons using TRKHNTR's call last May when we hunted with him. I'm still surprised that my wife didn't kill me when I finally told her today that I ordered Sydney her own custom call and carry case for $240! We should have it right before the youth turkey hunt here in Arizona! The trade show was huge, but we covered as much as we could/felt like. Just about everywhere we went, we got stopped with "Hey, aren't you the JAKES essay winner? Congratulations!" I was simply "the winner's dad", but that's ok. This trip was all about her and I was very proud of all the compliments we received about our beautiful daughter! Sydney is one of very few girls to ever win, she's the first JAKES member from Arizona, and she's officially the youngest winner ever!

 

Saturday was a long day traveling home and, thank God for small blessings. All of that rain ended up calling for her soccer games in Phoenix to be cancelled! We were supposed to meet up with her team for the second game, but it was rained out. That ended up being a good thing because we were so bloody tired, even after napping on the plane! Sorry for the long-winded post, but there was so much to tell. That hotel is HUGE and we're still overwhelmed at how big it was. I definitely highly recommend the NWTF convention sometime.

 

Here are some pics of the weekend. Its very pic heavy, but I hope you enjoy. It was definitely a proud dad moment!

 

Rehearsal

 

 

Off to The Welcome Dinner

 

 

 

Federal Breakfast, Receiving Award

 

 

 

Video of Syd Receiving Her Award

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/u515/bwooldridge/2016_2017%20Journal/th_20170217_081758_zpsh2l7cfxu.mp4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking around the trade show

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Paul of Paul's Calls

 

Michael and Nick both remembered her and gave her huge hugs in front of everyone! Then she got her hat autographed and, like a great big sister, asked for one for her little brother!

 

 

Then she got the chance to hold a great horned owl and a red-tailed hawk.

 

 

And this picture was taken 10 minutes after our plane took off from Nashville at 6am Saturday morning.

[rossislider]

That sounds pretty awesome. All the craziness makes for good stories and memories. Congratulations again!

[TRKHNTR]

Proud of you Syd thank you for representing us here in Arizona. Dad you forgot to mention Syd is the youngest ever essay winner and the first from Arizona. You should be very proud she is a beautiful and bright young lady and has a great future ahead of her.

[AZkiller]

What an amazing adventure with your daughter! She will cherish the memories forever!

[Coues79]

That's an awesome memory made right there. Congrats on all of the success.

[IA Born]

Proud of you Syd thank you for representing us here in Arizona. Dad you forgot to mention Syd is the youngest ever essay winner and the first from Arizona. You should be very proud she is a beautiful and bright young lady and has a great future ahead of her.

 

I meant to include that, but forgot. Thanks for reminding me! Yes, Syd is the first winner from Arizona and she's the youngest ever. As Brenda Valentine pointed out to Syd Thursday night, most of the winners are 15-16 year old boys from out east/southeast. Brenda was so excited for Syd!

[bonecollector]

Not sure how I missed this but just read the entire thread. How awesome for you and your daughter to get to experience all of this.

 

Looking forward to hearing about the hunt.

[WHT_MTNMAN]

I missed it too the first time around. Way cool. congrats to you and your daughter. !!

[IA Born]

Thanks for all of the replies and support so far. This has been such an overwhelming, whirlwind, humbling experience for both of us. Janet, from the Kansas program did tell us Thursday that the gun Syd gets arrived in her shop in KS, but wouldn't tell us what it is. She just said "Its a really nice gun!" At breakfast Friday morning, Syd tried to sneak the question in, hoping to catch Janet off guard. All she said was "Nice try, but you're going to have to wait!" Less than two months and we'll be there! I've already made arrangements to ship any wings back to a friend in Iowa to have a custom wingbone call made for Sydney and donate the rest of the wings for whatever he needs. Two short months away...is it too early to start packing?

[TRKHNTR]

What will she be hunting the Rio, Eastern or Rio/Eastern hybrid? Hopefully its Rio. You may want to consider turning over your Goulds tag (that you should draw very soon with all your BP) to Syd and she would be well on her way to a Royal Slam. I can always help with the Eastern and Osceola.

[IA Born]

What will she be hunting the Rio, Eastern or Rio/Eastern hybrid? Hopefully its Rio. You may want to consider turning over your Goulds tag (that you should draw very soon with all your BP) to Syd and she would be well on her way to a Royal Slam. I can always help with the Eastern and Osceola.

 

She'll be hunting turkeys, silly! The area around El Dorado is mostly the hybrids, if you can really call subspecies a hybrid. We've talked about it and she really doesn't care. She just wants to get a turkey. I have a friend in Pratt and we have an open invitation to go hunt Rios there anytime. That's been a backup for both of us. I considered turning my Gould's tag over to her, but I only considered for about 10 seconds. She knows why I wont and she fully supports me keeping it. Besides, we've been banking points for my wife and she should get drawn soon, too. That tag goes to Syd. We're both after our Royal Slam and may take you up on your offer for help with an Osceola. I have access to so many family/friends' farms in Iowa for Eastern birds, its unreal.

[cramerhunts]

Never can be too early to start packing! Looking forward to reading about her hunt already.

 

Thanks for sharing the trip. Looks like it was a crazy, hectic, amazing time from start to finish.

 

Super proud of Syd for representing Arizona and young women in the outdoors everywhere. Not sure if it could be much cooler than that. She has a very bright future ahead of her. Way to go dad for supporting her and making it happen.