Roots to Roost: Celebrating Volunteers in the Midwest
Across the Midwest, NWTF volunteers come to the mission from different beginnings. For some, their roots with the NWTF were planted decades ago, growing up around chapter banquets, turkey hunting and family members who volunteered before them. Others found the organization later in life, drawn by a love of the outdoors, a desire to give back or an opportunity to make a difference in their communities.
No matter where those roots began, each has found a place to roost among fellow volunteers and conservationists working toward a shared purpose. From mentoring young hunters and rebuilding local chapters to improving habitat and advocating for conservation, these volunteers are helping carry the NWTF mission forward across the Roots to Roost region.
Here are a few of the volunteers putting that mission into action throughout the Midwest.
John Haferkamp, Indiana
For more than 20 years, John Haferkamp has been part of the NWTF’s Galena River Chapter in Indiana, spending at least half of that time helping lead the chapter as its president and banquet chairman. During his time in leadership, the chapter’s Hunting Heritage Banquet has grown from about 110 attendees to nearly 300. Haferkamp is quick to shift the credit to the committee behind him, a group he says works year-round to make the chapter successful. And for the Galena River Chapter, that work extends far beyond one night of fundraising.
Throughout the year, the chapter creates opportunities for youth and adults to experience the outdoors, many at no cost to participants. Its events include a spring turkey seminar, a women’s night at the range, a JAKES shooting event and a youth pheasant hunt. About five years ago, the chapter also began taking kids salmon fishing on Lake Michigan with the help of local charter captains who donate their boats, fuel and time. The event has grown to serve about 100 kids each year, many of whom have never been on Lake Michigan prior. Whether providing ammunition at the range or helping put kids on the water, the chapter raises funds and builds partnerships so families can participate without worrying about the cost.
For Haferkamp, those opportunities are what make volunteering especially meaningful. He knows not every child grows up with a parent, grandparent or other family member who can introduce them to hunting, fishing or shooting sports, and he sees NWTF volunteers as people who can help fill that gap.
“We’ve got to invest in that next generation,” Haferkamp said. Evidence that investment is working can already be found within his own committee: Six current members first became involved with the NWTF as JAKES. Now adults, they are helping provide those same opportunities to another generation.
“To me, that’s the secret for sustainability,” he said.
Brandon Plank, Missouri
Brandon Plank has been an NWTF member for more than 10 years, but 2026 marked his first year in chapter leadership as president of the Muddy Creek Gobblers in Lamar, Missouri.
One of Plank’s first major projects was bringing the chapter’s annual banquet back after a yearlong hiatus in 2025. With a committee working together to plan the event in a short amount of time, the 2026 banquet became the largest the chapter has held.
“We have a lot of great momentum in our chapter and community, and I’m really excited about what’s to come in the future,” he said.
That future includes plans for JAKES events and other opportunities to make the chapter more visible in the community. For Plank, much of that work comes back to sharing a passion for the outdoors with younger generations.
“I feel very passionate about the benefits of being outdoors and hunting being a part of our heritage, so being able to hopefully pass on that passion and excitement to the next generation is something that means a lot to me,” Plank said.
Bric Steward, Illinois
Bric Steward has been part of the NWTF for nearly three decades, first joining the Saline Valley Strutters Chapter around his senior year of high school after then-chapter-president Terry Banks encouraged him to get involved. Steward joined the committee almost immediately and remained connected through college and into adulthood. When the chapter stopped holding its banquet following the COVID-19 pandemic, he could not stand to watch it disappear. Steward began reaching out to former committee members, many of whom were ready to help once someone got the chapter moving again, and he eventually stepped into the role of chapter president.
For Steward, rebuilding the chapter was about more than bringing back a banquet. As turkey hunters in southern Illinois began talking about declines they were seeing, he saw an opportunity for the chapter to help support the research and habitat work aimed at understanding and addressing those concerns. Just as important has been helping members see where the money they raise goes. Steward points to conservation work on public lands in and around the Shawnee National Forest, including habitat restoration and prescribed fire, as examples of NWTF dollars coming back to benefit wildlife and the people who use those lands. Bringing information about nearby conservation projects back to chapter members has also helped connect what happens at the banquet with work taking place on the ground.
That connection between fundraising and visible work on the landscape has become Steward’s favorite part of being involved with the NWTF. When someone wonders whether money raised at a local banquet is making a difference nearby, he wants to be able to show them a project and say that work is happening “right in your backyard.” For Steward, that is what makes the NWTF mission tangible. The banquet may be where the money is raised, but seeing habitat improved on public ground brings it full circle. It is conservation that people can see, use and experience — and, as Steward puts it, it is “boots on the ground.”
Tracy Benson, Kentucky
Tracy Benson has volunteered with Kentucky’s Henderson County Chapter for about 15 years, first becoming involved after his church group hosted and catered an NWTF banquet. An avid turkey hunter, Benson liked what he saw and soon joined the chapter himself.
His involvement grew from helping with banquets to coordinating them and hosting annual JAKES Days on his farm. Those events quickly became one of his favorite parts of volunteering as he watched children catch their first fish, shoot a bow or BB gun for the first time and experience other introductions to the outdoors.
“I absolutely fell in love with watching the kids at JAKES Day get to experience the outdoors, many for the first time,” Benson said.
Benson eventually joined the Kentucky NWTF State Board of Directors and recently became the state’s education and outreach coordinator. He also stepped into the Henderson County Chapter president role during a difficult period when the chapter had lost much of its committee. After working to rebuild the group, Benson now has a committee of volunteers actively involved in its events. The chapter reached Golden Gobbler status with its most recent banquet and followed it with what Benson described as its best JAKES Day yet on Sept. 12.
For Benson, the friendships he has made through the NWTF and the opportunity to introduce more people to the outdoors remain the most rewarding parts of volunteering.
Adrian Gunnerson, Minnesota - not pictured
For Adrian Gunnerson, one NWTF event was all it took. “I went to one, and that was it. I devoted my time to the Turkey Federation,” he said. Now in his 16th year as president of Minnesota’s Big Woods Boss Gobblers Chapter in Annandale, Gunnerson has turned that initial interest into an extraordinary commitment to the organization.
After helping revive his local chapter, Gunnerson eventually stepped into the president’s role. His dedication extends far beyond his own banquet. Each year, he volunteers at approximately 15 additional banquets and sponsors another 20 to 22 throughout Minnesota, providing significant support to chapters and conservation efforts across the state.
For Gunnerson, the most rewarding part of volunteering is the people. From the friendships he has built with volunteers on other committees to seeing the smiles on young hunters’ faces after harvesting their first turkey, those experiences continue to fuel his dedication to the NWTF.
Brad Nelson, Michigan
Brad Nelson has been involved with the NWTF for more than 30 years, beginning as a young JAKES member with Michigan’s Sebewaing Gobblers Chapter. His stepdad and friends were heavily involved with the chapter’s banquets, and Nelson began helping wherever he could. After spending several years in Wyoming, where he volunteered with the Gillette Chapter and served as vice president, Nelson returned to Michigan and continued volunteering with the Sebewaing Gobblers. He became chapter president around 2018 and now also serves on the Michigan NWTF State Board of Directors.
Through the years, Nelson and his chapter have supported local school archery and trap programs, scholarships, youth outreach and community events. He has also helped guide turkey hunts for veterans through Outdoor Driven, an organization that provides outdoor experiences for veterans and first responders.
For Nelson, though, his more than three decades with the NWTF are especially meaningful because he has been able to share them with the people who first introduced him to the organization. His mom and stepdad remain involved with the chapter today.
“Being able to share this organization, the outdoors and all of these experiences with my family over the years means more to me than I can put into words,” Nelson said.
That opportunity to work alongside others and give back is still his favorite part of volunteering, whether he is helping a student receive a scholarship, introducing kids to shooting sports or sharing the outdoors with veterans.
Brian Dalsing, Wisconsin
Brian Dalsing has volunteered with the NWTF for more than 25 years. His home chapter is the Tri-State Gobblers in southwest Wisconsin, though his involvement has extended to events across the state and work with the Wisconsin NWTF State Chapter.
Dalsing first volunteered with an existing chapter in Sun Prairie before helping start a new chapter near his hometown. That involvement eventually led him to the Wisconsin State Chapter Board of Directors, where he has served as treasurer, secretary and vice president. For the past five years, he has also represented the Midwest on the National President’s Advisory Council.
Some of his most memorable experiences have brought him close to the conservation work NWTF helps support, including participating in turkey trapping with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on a project NWTF helped fund. He also took part in Wisconsin’s recent celebration recognizing 50 years since the successful reintroduction of wild turkeys to the state.
“Watching these changes and successes has helped drive my passion for NWTF,” Dalsing said.
Through his work on the Super Fund Committee, Dalsing has also helped determine how conservation dollars are put back on the ground. Along the way, he said the relationships built with NWTF staff and volunteers have created “a lifetime of incredible memories.”
Fred Long, Iowa
Fred Long helped establish Iowa’s Greene County Gobblers Chapter in 2006 and has served as its treasurer ever since, adding the role of chapter chairman in 2024. He has also served on the Iowa NWTF State Board since 2011, including work on the Super Fund Committee and as chairman of the Legislative Committee.
Much of Long’s volunteer work has centered on protecting Iowa’s natural resources and outdoor opportunities for future generations. Through the Iowa Conservation Alliance, where he has served as president since 2017, he represents conservation organizations and works to educate state leaders on issues affecting wildlife, public lands and outdoor recreation.
“I have spent countless hours advocating for wildlife conservation, public land acquisition and maintenance, and Iowa resident hunting, fishing and trapping rights,” Long said.
His service has also included habitat projects, mentored youth hunts, hunter education and helping conservation partners connect with landowners and other resources. Long has been named Iowa NWTF Volunteer of the Year three times, among other conservation honors.
Whether he is helping a new hunter gain confidence, supporting habitat work or speaking up for Iowa’s natural resources, Long has spent nearly two decades with the NWTF working to ensure those opportunities remain for the generations that follow.
These volunteers represent just a small part of the network of people giving their time, experience and passion to the NWTF throughout the Midwest. Their work takes many forms, but together, those efforts continue to strengthen local chapters, conservation and the outdoor heritage they care deeply about.