Where the Spring Begins
Ask someone who doesn’t turkey hunt, “When does the spring begin?” They will likely say the vernal equinox in March. But ask a turkey hunter, and they will likely say the second week in February.
In recent years, the NWTF’s Convention and Sport Show has become the premier destination for turkey hunters and outdoor enthusiasts; it is the place where hunting companies wait to release their latest and greatest turkey gear, where notable names and celebrities from the hunting world give seminars or can be spotted nerding out on custom turkey calls. Held the second week in February each year, the NWTF’s Convention and Sport Show is regarded as the ceremonial beginning to the spring turkey season and the rebirth of spring, even though the temperature in Nashville sometimes suggests otherwise. In just the past three years attendance records were broken consecutively, with last year’s attendance being 82,193. The potential is seemingly infinite, and this 50th Anniversary Convention is poised to demonstrate such a bold claim.
“We are humbled to see convention turn into such an extraordinary event,” said NWTF co-CEO Jason Burckhalter. “We have continued to grow our mission delivery across the nation, and it is no surprise that our Convention and Sport Show has grown as well; the two are linked. Our volunteers, partners and staff and the passionate turkey hunting community descend upon Nashville to kick off the spring turkey season in ceremonious fashion and further our conservation efforts and welcome people into the life-changing power of the outdoors. Our growing Convention and Sport Show is a reflection of purpose amongst our people.”
Ask most people who have attended, and they will tell you convention is a place where longtime attendees come to reunite with their second family, and it’s where first-time attendees have “found their people.” The NWTF’s Convention and Sport Show has served as a gathering for NWTF volunteers, partners and staff to propel the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage and unite in a shared passion, and it has a rich history that has brought us to this landmark 50th event.
In 1977, the first National Convention was held in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Feb. 4-6, with over 2,000 people attending, primarily for the inception of the Grand National Wild Turkey Calling Championships.
“To think that 2,000 people would come together just to hear turkey calls was incredible,” said Rob Keck, former NWTF CEO. “This was a time when many states were just starting to get turkeys, and the excitement in the turkey hunting world was beginning to open up.”
At that first convention, the NWTF’s growing National Wild Turkey Technical Committee — an NWTF panel that now consists of wild turkey biologists from every state agency — issued a research grant to the USDA Forest Service, symbolizing the NWTF’s first concrete financial contribution to basic wild turkey research.
In the following years, the event was held in Kansas City, Missouri, and Birmingham, Alabama, respectively. As turkey populations rebounded and interest in turkey hunting was subsequently growing, the NWTF’s Convention was emerging as a place where restoration efforts and the passion for turkey hunting blended into a cohesive mission.
“When we moved the convention to Kansas City and then to Alabama, I began to feel the breadth of where that interest really was,” Keck said. “The conventions brought together biologists, agency directors and volunteers; it was a melting pot where restoration actually moved forward.”
At the 1980 convention, the NWTF’s Dr. James Earl Kennamer chaired his first Wild Turkey Technical Committee meeting, which approved three research projects. Arrangements were made for 1,100 turkey transport boxes to be delivered to 17 states, and plans were approved for 3,000 to be made for the coming year.
Similarly, at the 1992 Convention, the NWTF signed memorandums of understanding with International Paper, Westvaco, Willamette Industries (which was purchased by Weyerhaeuser in 2002), and the Packaging Corporation of America. The companies had more than 10 million acres of land and agreed to work with the NWTF for the cooperative development of management strategies and projects benefiting wild turkeys on their lands.
The same partnerships and investments in the resources continue today, just at an unprecedented scale. For example, NWTF conservation leadership continues to meet with the National Wild Turkey Technical Committee and agency partners to lay the groundwork for the NWTF’s annual investment in wild turkey research, which, since 2022, has resulted in the NWTF investing over $2.3 million in critical wild turkey research. When leveraged with partner contributions, this investment in the last few years has resulted in more than $22 million to guide the management of the wild turkey and to ensure sustainable populations.
“Our mission delivery efforts are as energized as they have ever been, be it our landscape-scale initiatives, our wild turkey research efforts, our education and outreach or our policy efforts — we are operating at “Our mission delivery efforts are more substantial than they have ever been, be it our landscape-scale initiatives, our wild turkey research efforts, our education and outreach or our policy efforts — we are operating at an unprecedented level,” NWTF co-CEO Kurt Dyroff said. “Our staff, partners and volunteers from across the country gather at our annual Convention and Sport Show every year and meet face to face to sharpen and bolster these efforts. The passion for the resource circulating around the tens of thousands of people puts our work into clear focus. This event truly is a springboard for all the work we accomplish each year.”
With a record attendance of 82,000-plus in 2025 and the same or more expected to descend upon Nashville for this year's milestone Convention and Sport Show, the NWTF continues to build upon a legacy that has shaped conservation efforts across America and reflects its vision of a nation united by the life-changing power of the outdoors.