I'd like to think I had a choice in falling in love with the outdoors, but I think it was just meant to be. I grew up in the country, so we did country things. This was before the internet and streaming services when it was still acceptable to abandon kids to the outdoors for the day. Although we did have an OG Nintendo, Mom was great about making sure we didn’t get sucked into a video game blackhole. She was always collecting arrowheads, animal skins, building things outside, and taking care of the yard. She would do things with us like take us on four-wheeler rides, bike rides, walks through the woods, and hikes on Petit Jean Mountain. Her making sure we spent time outside was instrumental in me becoming acquainted with nature from a young age.

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My family had 40 acres with a field, woods, and pond. My grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins all lived on the property close to us, so we were always outside together. I remember my grandpa taking us to feed the fish, cutting wood, and watching deer in the bean fields. My grandpa, Poppy as we referred to him, loved the outdoors. He would tell us stories about growing up on a farm in Guy, Arkansas, elk hunting in Colorado, and deer camp in the Ozark National Forest. He and Grammy would take us with them for weeks at time to that same deer camp in the mountains. Gram’s favorite part about being outside was sitting around the campfire and prodding it with a stick. The embers would float up so high in the night sky, they seemed to turn into stars.

Although Poppy was a hunter, he was a social hunter. I mean he would rather camp, talk, eat, and drink coffee rather than actually hunt. Even when he would hunt, he wasn’t that serious about it. He had a bucket he would take along with a coffee thermos, snacks, toilet paper, and various other trinkets that would seldom get used. In all of my years around him, I only remember him killing one or two deer. This differed greatly from my dad’s hunting style. Dad was serious about hunting--no flashlights in the dark and don’t make a sound kind of serious. However, he was also considerably more successful. Some of my earliest memories are of hunting with Dad. He began putting us on stands by ourselves at the age of 8 or so. Because he was so serious about hunting, we would sit for long periods of time, which gave me much opportunity for wildlife viewing and daydreaming in the woods. As a result, the woods are still my happy place; a place where I find rest and solitude.

As I grew up, bits and pieces from these and other influential people in my life began to shape my love for the outdoors. As an adult, I enjoy being outside in many capacities. Some of the things I enjoy are sightseeing, ATV riding, hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, hunting, metal detecting, habitat work, and more.

I have been blessed with a beautiful wife, Brianna, who also loves the outdoors. We have five kids, Nevyn, Rowan, Callen, Kason, and Evelyn, that we share our passion for the outdoors with now. Our best days are spent traveling, going to state and national parks, and spending time outside on our property in the Ozarks.

It’s my desire to share this love and concern for our natural spaces with others. I look forward to hearing their stories, as well as learning from and partnering with them to steward the places we all know and love.