Masters of the Call
Champions crowned at the 2025 Georgia State Championships and The Masters.
A couple of recent Grand National title holders took home top honors at the Georgia State Calling Championships and The Masters July 25-26 in Emerson, Georgia.
Dave Owens won both the Georgia State Open Division and The Masters Open Division, just five months removed from winning his second NWTF Grand National Calling Championships Senior Open title in Nashville at the NWTF Convention and Sport Show. Bodie Blissitte placed second in The Masters Open Division, ahead of Zach Conaway in third.
Video: Reigning NWTF GNCC Senior Open champion Dave Owens calls in The Masters at the Georgia State Calling Championships. Owens, from Cedartown, Georgia, beat Alabama's Bodie Blissitte to win The Masters Open Division title.
Dylan Bearden, the 2025 GNCC Friction Division champion, won The Masters Friction Division, edging out Brad Roberts and Tanner Norris. Both Owens and Bearden donated the first-place winnings ($2,500 each) back to the contest and the Georgia NWTF State Chapter to help grow the calling event next year.
The two-day contest at the Lake Point Sports Complex took place during the Georgia Outdoor News Ag-Pro Outdoor Blast, which drew crowds of thousands over the weekend. Nearly 100 registered callers participated in the event, and an NWTF Women in the Outdoors banquet was held following the contest, highlighting the wild turkey and celebrating our hunting passion.
The Georgia State (resident only) contest held Friday saw Sawyer DeBord win the Poults Division, Zane Hendricks win the Juniors Division and Alex DeBord win the Hunters Division. Hudson McGarity won the Owl Division and Ryan Greathouse took home top honors in the Gobbling Division.
The Masters, open to any caller, had nearly 40 participants in the Friction and Open divisions. Jaxon Wale won the Poults Division Saturday, while Gavin Bryan won Juniors and the Hunters divisions. Greathouse also won Gobbling, his second title of the weekend, and James Harrison was crowned Owling champ. Kerry Terrell won the Trumpet/Wingbone Division.
Qualifiers from the event secured a spot at the 2026 NWTF Grand National Calling Championships to be held February 12-14, 2026 in Nashville. For more information on the GNCC, go to https://your.nwtf.org/gncc/ and look for upcoming local and state sanctioned calling contests at https://your.nwtf.org/gncc.