02/28/2006
Outdoor Legend Honored for Dedication
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — He has qualified for five consecutive Bassmaster's Classic World Championships, received the first International Conservation Achievement Award, started a small business named Bass Pro Shops and donated countless monies and supplies to the National Wild Turkey Federation and other organizations. Because of his dedication to conservation, as well as securing the future of hunting for others, the NWTF has awarded John L. Morris the 2006 Lynn Boykin Hunting Heritage Award.
"There are few people in the entire world who have done what John L. Morris has done for conserving the natural resources we have," said Rob Keck, NWTF CEO. "He believes in giving back to the outdoors, an area that has enriched his life so much."
Along with being a world-renowned fisherman and businessman, Morris continues to support NWTF programs throughout the United States. Morris believes in what the NWTF stands for, and continues to support its mission of conserving wild turkeys while preserving our hunting heritage.
"I consider it my obligation," Morris said, referring to his contributions to the NWTF. "The Federation is the best investment in the world."
Morris and his team at Bass Pro Shops have lived up to his word. In 2004, on a wrinkled piece of hotel stationary, Morris wrote an IOU to the NWTF to the tune of $1.1 million to help pay for additions to the NWTF's headquarters in Edgefield, S.C. Then, at last year's convention, Morris backed up his IOU with an actual check to the NWTF building fund. But Morris didn't stop there. He also chose to invest in the NWTF's many outreach programs.
Wheelin' Sportsmen NWTF and Bass Pro Shops have reached out to people with disabilities by offering hands-on outdoor activities and seminars during Fun and Learn Days held at Bass Pro Shops stores nationwide. Bass Pro Shops opened their doors to people with disabilities for Wheelin' Sportsmen events in Houston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando and Gurnee, Ill. Bass Pro Shops also supports the NWTF's Women in the Outdoors and JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge Ethics and Sportsmanship) programs by donating products and other services to make the events more educational and fun.
"For a man who has been blessed with so much, he gives back even more," said Keck. "The NWTF is proud to present Morris with this prestigious award — it couldn't go to a more deserving man."
Morris received the award during the NWTF's National Convention and Sport Show in Nashville, Tenn.
For more information about the NWTF call (800) THE-NWTF.
2006 NWTF Convention and Sport Show Sponsors
BASF, Bass Pro Shops, Browning-USRAC, Callmakers and Collectors Association of America, Cardiac Diagnostic Services of Virginia, Chevrolet, Federal Cartridge Company, Henkel Harris Furniture, Jeanette Rudy, The Lodge at Cabin Bluff, Marlin Firearms/H & R 1871, Mathews, Inc., MBNA, Mossberg Firearms, The Outdoor Channel, The Outdoor Connection, Remington Arms Company, T.I. Industries Frame Molding, USDA-Forest Service, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, Wild Turkey Bourbon, Winchester/Olin Company
