Flocking Together at Convention

Abbie and Steve, Pennsylvania  

The Shiremans, a power duo from the Keystone State, are active volunteers at both the state and local chapter level. It began when Steve joined the NWTF in 1994, and now, both are dedicated Pennsylvania NWTF state chapter board members.  

“Our entire lives are rooted in conservation,” Steve said. “The NWTF is a significant part of our marriage because it’s what we love to do. We’re volunteers, yes, but this is also our passion and our hobby. We have farmland, woodland and hunting land on our property that we take great care of.” 

Working on the state board together has worked out well because they are both excited to share ideas with each other to further the goals of the NWTF. 

“First thing in the morning, I tell him I got all these ideas,” Abbie said. “And then he goes, ‘I need coffee first.’ But, we are really good at dividing and conquering, so that we don't burn out.” 

The Shiremans’ latest idea is creating a ‘chapters helping chapters’ model in Pennsylvania, which will allow local NWTF chapters to work together to achieve a greater impact across the state.  

When they aren’t planning banquets and education and outreach events, they’re out in the woods doing what they love: hunting spring gobblers.  

Abbie’s first turkey hunt was back in 2013. Steve entered her into a raffle to win a guided hunt in Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. When her name was announced as the winner, she thought it was a joke. A few months later, she set out with her 20-gauge youth model shotgun and got her first bird. Steve was proudly watching her from a blind on top of the hill and later bagged one himself. 

“It was a very hard hike out,” Abbie said. “It was a new moon, so there was no light, and the altitude was a bit of a struggle. So, we really worked for that hunt, and it was so much fun from beginning to end, it was everything.” 

They said there is nowhere else they would rather be on Valentine’s Day than at NWTF’s 50^th Convention and Sport Show. 

“We’re here making the wild turkey romantic,” Abbie said. “Our wedding anniversary for the past 10 years has been spent in Middle Creek volunteering at a hunting and fishing day, and Valentine's Day has been spent here. I appreciate the fact that my spouse is involved in something that I’m this passionate about.” 

Alexis and Zach, New York  

Alexis LaFever and Zach Bernard were juniors in college on spring break when they went on their first hunt together as a couple. They traveled from their home state to Virgina in 2023, car camping in various national forests in search of a gobbler.  

The pair spent four days hunting on public land. On their first morning, they missed a big gobbler and then heard nothing over the next three days. 

“It was rough,” Zach said. “Classic public land struggles; we probably walked 10 miles each day.” 

On their final night, they circled back to the camp site where they started. They were playing rummy cup next to a small campfire when they heard a gobble.  

“We did a double take,” Zach said. “But it gobbled again and then a couple more times. We put him to bed that night. He was probably 400 yards from our truck. When we woke up the next morning, we were excited. We went to get our toothbrushes out of the truck, and the truck alarm goes off.”  

With the tom still roosted, they decided to forge ahead and began walking down a logging road. They cut 50 yards into the woods, and Alexis set up as it started getting light. 

“I was back on a big tree, maybe ten yards behind Alexis doing the calling,” he said. “The tom sat there and gobbled like 200 times on the limb; I've never heard a bird gobble so much. He pitched down, walked up to Alexis, and she shot him at 30 yards. It was our first turkey and our first hunting experience together. It was a special bonding moment; we were ecstatic.” 

When it comes to hunting together, it adds to the strength of their relationship. Whether it's going on a bad hunt or missing a bird, they go through it all together. Being in the woods together is their passion and it's not about the harvest. Alexis is a biologist who is always pointing out plants or identifying birds along the way, which makes the hunt more immersive and educational for Zach.  

“I also think the fact that both of us hunt is important because if there are days I don't want to go out, I won’t get mad that he's out hunting all day,” Alexis said. “I understand why he loves it, because I love it too. We met through Ducks Unlimited, so that was kind of the foundation of our relationship.” 

On the conservation side of things, Alexis and Zach are getting involved with volunteering as much as they can.  

“We want to see populations thrive,” Zach said. “Hunters are the biggest cheer squad for conservation, and we really want to build a community of people who really care about conservation. It's not just us thinking about it.” 

They’re both very involved with planning local banquets that will raise funds for conservation.  

“It like superman and wonder woman,” Zach said. “Our teamwork is top notch.”   

Kelly and Jeff, Nebraska  

The Voelkers have been coming to the NWTF Convention and Sport Show since 2018, and it has been a fun way for them to celebrate Valentine’s Day for the past few years.  

Kelly started hunting with Jeff in 2017. Her very first turkey hunt was spoiled by a horse.  

“It was on a friend’s property just outside of Omaha,” she said. “We were out on the pasture, set up close to the woods, and there was a nice tom coming down the hill. He must have been the horse's friend because the horse followed him down and pushed him right on through. When we went back the next morning, I had my turkey probably by eight o'clock in the morning.” 

Just a few years ago, they went on a turkey hunt in Wisconsin where they were hunting hard for three days. On the third day at 11 o'clock, they got the tom they were after.  

“It started sprinkling when the bird was coming in,” Kelly said. “What was funny was that I could see the bird coming and Jeff couldn't. I started getting ready, and then it disappeared, and then it popped out for him to shoot!” 

They have been running their local NWTF chapter in Omaha for the last two decades, and Jeff is currently on the Nebraska NWTF State Board. They went to their first NWTF banquet back in 2001, and they were sitting with a friend who has a taxidermy shop in Omaha.  

“I was sitting there next to him, and I said, ‘This is pretty cool,’” Jeff said. “By the end of the night, a committee member walked over to me and told me I was the chapter’s new banquet chair.” 

The couple owns a business together, so working together on chapter events is not something that is new to them.  

“We do better when we work together,” Kelly said.  

Conservation is something they both cherish, which is why they’re dedicated at both the state and the local level. “Without conservation, we don't have a future,” Kelly said. “We have to give back more than we take or we're not going to have anything in the future.”