Tomorrow marks the beginning of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Sport Show and Convention in Nashville. From Thursday through Saturday, over 70,000 people are expected to walk through the doors of the sport show to see new products from the hundreds of vendors that are there.

There are seminars from popular outdoor television show hosts and other experts on topics from calling turkeys to predator management. There also are outreach and education seminars where people can learn about hosting JAKES, Women in the Outdoors, or Wheelin’ Sportsman events.

As the state chapter president, I attend the convention to represent the state chapter at a couple of events. The first event this year will be the Business Meeting on Thursday afternoon. All of the state chapter presidents meet along with the national board of directors, the co-CEOs, and upper level management from the conservation and fundraising branches of NWTF. We get updates on the fundraising outlook for the year, conservation projects and agreements with various government agencies, multi-year projects, and any other new business. On Friday night at the Awards Gala, all of the state chapter presidents will be recognized before dinner.

Thursday night is the Kickoff Party. This year the theme is Rodeo, so attendees are encouraged to dress for the theme. In addition to having dinner, attendees can play raffle games to win a variety of prizes, but mostly firearms. Once dinner is over, a mechanical bull is getting brought out and people can try their hand at riding it.

On Friday, there is a law enforcement only gathering where wildlife officers from across the country meet to discuss trends they are seeing and to share techniques and strategies to help each other catch more poachers. Each state chapter picks a Wildlife Officer of the Year and Friday night at the National Awards Gala, one of the state level winners is announced as the National Wildlife Officer of the Year. Environmental Conservation Officer Jeffrey Johnston from NYSDEC Region 8 was selected as the NY Wildlife Officer of the Year and is heading to Nashville to hopefully win the national award.

At the Awards Gala, awards are given out to individuals for lifelong contributions and to NWTF chapters for achievements from the previous year. Last year our local chapter, the Genegantslet Gobblers, won two third place national awards. This year we are winning another two awards, but they do not tell you what category or place when they notify you that you are winning an award. So Friday night I will find out what place and what category we won the awards in. After the Awards Gala, they are holding an After-Party with more raffles. Everyone who buys a ticket for the After-Party gets one ticket to put into a hunt raffle. There is a hunt available for each subspecies of wild turkey and you pick which one you want to try to win.

Saturday night caps off the Convention with the Grand National Auction. This event hosts the best of best in terms of prizes. At least one hunt with a television show where they will feature the winner on the show on their multi-day hunt gets auctioned off every year. Along with rare and collectible items. Two years ago, the Mossy Oak Fox Vest sold for over $30,000! Once the auction ends and all the raffle winners are picked, they shut the curtains on the stage. Then a country band sets up and when they are ready, they open the curtains back up and there is a concert to finish the night.

This year marks the fourth time that I am attending the Convention. Each year I meet a few new people while running into those I met before. It is a giant turkey hunting family reunion.