March 2012
Missourian Named NWTF Communicator Of The Year NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ray Eye knows a thing or two about wild turkeys and, thankfully for hunters across the nation, he likes to share his knowledge. Called “America’s Premier Turkey Hunter” by The Wall Street Journal, Eye has communicated his expertise on turkey hunting and the outdoors for more than three decades. The Hillsboro, Mo., native was named the 2012 NWTF Communicator of the Year Award on Feb. 11 at the 36th annual NWTF National Convention and Sport Show. Eye has hosted several national television shows, written for national outdoor publications, has his own outdoor radio show in St. Louis and conducts seminars across the nation. Eye also writes “Chasing Spring,” a popular blog on OutdoorLife. com.
He also has a new book titled “Ray Eye’s Turkey Hunter’s Bible: The Tips, Tactics and Secrets of a Professional Turkey Hunter.” “Receiving this award is very humbling,” said Eye. “It’s such an honor to have my name alongside the great people who have won this award in the past. I think people in my position have an obligation to spread the gospel about our trade.” Originally a welder and an avid turkey hunter and contest caller, Eye honed his communications skills while demonstrating turkey calls he made for Wal-Mart in mid-1970s. Six years later he was asked to give a seminar at a local college and his new career took off. Mixing his expertise with down-toEarth honesty and timely humor, Eye built a national fan base. “When I think about it, I can’t believe
it. I talk and people want to listen,” Eye said. “People are still hungry for information on how to do something.” Eye has been an enthusiastic NWTF member and supporter since the NWTF’s founding in 1973. Each year, he donates his time to hold seminars at the NWTF National Convention and Sport Show. He has also donated guns and hunts, as well as promoting the NWTF’s mission whenever possible. “In every type of media from radio and TV, to magazines and books, and now through Internet blogging Ray has promoted our mission and conservation efforts to help the wild turkey and other wildlife,” said NWTF Editorial Director Burt Carey. “He’s a superb communicator, and I’m excited for him that the NWTF Board of Directors recognized him with this award.”
... More About Ray Eye Before the celebrated ‘return’ of American wild turkey populations, a boy named Ray Eye was born into a hunting tradition rooted in one of the remaining turkey strongholds, deep in the Missouri Ozark mountains. He grew up living with those turkeys and essentially becoming one of them. It’s a standing joke that he received his degree from Johnson Mountain University Having been born to a Missouri Ozarks country farm family, Eye began his turkey hunting career at an early age, having been taught by all his older kin how to go about it. Fancy camo, calls, magnum shells, decoys and extra-full turkey chokes didn’t exist. He became an early pioneer in outdoor TV programming, promoting hunter safety, outdoor skills, outdoor ethics and sound conservation principles as far back as 1983. An icon of the turkey hunting world, Eye absolutely loves teaching others about hunting wild turkeys. He holds crowds spellbound with his slap happy, matter of fact, vivid presentations at his seminars. His spectacular film footage of wild turkeys and the hunts to get them makes every hunter want to be there. He volunteers his services for fundraisers for Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Eye never passes up the op-
portunity to mentor a young, up and coming hunter. Ray Eye is a conservation communications giant. His accomplishments could fill volumes. He has generated and created an awareness of our great
Ray Eye accepts the NWTF Communicator of the Year Award
outdoors and the issues surrounding them in millions of Americans. Few individuals in the history of the conservation movement have generated the quantity and quality of outdoor related media materials over a span of several decades. Yet, Ray remains humble, down to earth and a friend to all he meets. He is a friend of the NWTF, the wild turkey, con-
servation, the outdoors and Americas hunting future. Ray is a busy man, however he gives back regularly through his volunteer efforts of appearing at fundraisers for conservation organizations and running youth hunting camps. He has also volunteered seminars for the NRA, NWTF, US Sportsman’s Alliance and various school districts and sports clubs. Eye has taught and helped more hunters the past thirty years about hunting wild turkeys than any outdoor personality through his thousands of seminars, presentations, appearances, articles, TV shows and DVDs. He is far and away ahead of all others with his teaching, information, tactics, and turkey hunting knowledge and especially far beyond what anyone else produces with DVD video productions. Ray Eye is one of a kind: natural storyteller, gifted hunter, excellent photographer and videographer, and darn good at getting it all down in print. They didn’t break the mold when he came along. They didn’t even make a mold. There will never be another Ray Eye.
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Ray Eye: America’s Premiere Turkey Hunter.
CWD found in two free-ranging deer in Macon County JEFFERSON CITY Mo – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) received two positive test results for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from 1,077 tissue samples taken from free-ranging deer harvested by hunters in north-central Missouri during the 2011 fall firearms deer season. Both positive test results were from adult bucks harvested by Missouri hunters in Macon County, and are the first CWD-positive results for free-ranging deer in Missouri. MDC plans to obtain more tissue samples for CWD testing by harvesting additional deer in the immediate area where the two infected deer were harvested. “Teamwork among landowners, hunters and MDC staff allowed us to detect this infection early,” said MDC Deer Biologist Jason Sumners. “We will be working with local landowners to harvest additional deer for tissue sampling. This is a first step and one of our best hopes for containing, and perhaps even eliminating, what we believe to be a recent localized event.” MDC staff have contacted the two Missouri hunters who harvested the CWD-positive bucks to inform them of the situation and answer questions. For more information, please visit: http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom