Team Realtree

OK, Let me check with the tech masters and see what we can do.

Just go through the slides. Pretty funny: http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2009/042609-jerks-of-online-forums.html?t51hb#slide1

Just got an email from David Blanton on release dates and availability. Many will not be available in Walmart this year. All are and will be available at Bass Pro, Cabelas, etc., along with a few independent dealers. Of course the ones already released and the ones coming are already (and will be) available in our Realstore here on the site. Thanks, S Road Trips 6 DVD not available in Wal-Mart – already released All-Stars XVI DVD not available in Wal-Mart – already released Monster Bucks XVII – limited in Wal-Mart – releasing April 27th Whitetail Freaks 4 not available in Wal-Mart – release date May 1st. Fallin’ Skies 6 DVD not available in Wal-Mart – release date June.

Game Trails’ Responds to Inaccuracies Regarding Charges For Immediate Release Sturgis, Kentucky. April 8, 2009 Misstatements of fact and misleading information related to a misdemeanor case involving Game Trails, a company with operations in Kentucky, has prompted this release to clarify the record. On March 19, 2009, Game Trails, LLC, and its general manager Dirk MacTavish plead guilty to misdemeanor violations of the Lacy Act. More specifically, the violations were technical in nature and involved the mistagging and telechecking of deer. Both Game Trails and Dirk MacTavish paid fines. No other sanctions were imposed: no probation; no loss of hunting rights; and no loss of outfitter’s licenses. Gregg Ritz was neither charged nor plead guilty to any violation, misdemeanor or otherwise. At all times throughout the process, Game Trails and Dirk MacTavish were forthright and cooperated fully. The mistakes in tagging deer were admitted and the matter was resolved. As noted, only fines were paid on technical misdemeanor violations. The case has been officially closed. The relevant facts with regards to this case can be accessed through the United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, Owensboro. However, the same cannot be said for subsequent reports, which have been littered with half-truths and false accusations. The facts have been misconstrued and inaccurately characterized. This statement will present the truth. In addition to the aforementioned, the relevant facts are as follows. In 2006, Games Trails was instructed by an agent of the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife and mandated by the land owner Kimball International to reduce the number of deer on the property to help reduce crop damage. Game Trails had been informed by Kimball’s on-site manager that the crop damage caused by deer population had resulted in Kimball International offsetting the tenant farmer’s annual lease in the amount of $35,000. Authorities at Kimball advised Game Trails that its lease would be terminated if the deer population was not reduced. In an effort to comply, Game Trails conducted the largest ever camera survey for whitetail deer in association with the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) to determine the proper number of deer to be harvested. A formal report was presented to Kimball International by the QDMA with a recommendation to harvest 200 deer. However the Commonwealth of Kentucky conducted an independent deer damage assessment and concluded that the harvest number was far greater than 200. Game Trails sought the advice and cooperation of local Kentucky authorities to request and receive special consideration with the harvest process. The request for special consideration concerning the deer management program was rejected. Instead, Game Trails was informed that if it needed assistance in reducing the population, then it should consider allowing local authorities, their friends and family access to hunt. This idea was not satisfactory to Kimball. QDMA, on behalf of Game Trails, then appealed directly to officials in Frankfort, Kentucky, the state’s capitol, to request special consideration for the doe harvest. Again, Game Trails was denied special consideration and was informed no consideration would be given as long as Game Trails was in possession of the hunting lease. Later, in 2006, Kentucky issued Game Trails several hundred Animal Control tags to accommodate the additional deer harvest requirements. The harvesting of the deer and use of the Animal Control tags were improperly managed by a former Game Trails’ site manager, who applied the tags to any hunter; essentially “community tagging” the animals. The former site manager performed all operational aspects of the business and personally tagged every animal. He was later terminated for performance issues unrelated to this incident. It must be noted that no deer went unchecked and all deer were harvested by licensed hunters. To further clarify and correct the misinformation circulating we would like the public to know the following: Neither Dirk MacTavish, General Manager of Game Trails, nor Gregg Ritz, owner of Games Trails, tagged or tele-checked any of the deer harvested; There were no charges or fines levied against Gregg Ritz; Neither Dirk MacTavish or Gregg Ritz made false statements to Investigators, or any other authorities; Neither Dirk MacTavish nor Game Trails lost their outfitting license, hunting rights or were placed on probation; Every deer killed was processed and given to families in need; With the exception of this 2006 incident, no other violations were found to have occurred during the period in which Game Trails occupied the property; Felony prosecution of former Game Trails’ employee Chris Helms is only incidental, and is unrelated to this matter; neither Gregg Ritz nor Dirk MacTavish have any involvement with that case; and Kimball International sold the Sturgis, Kentucky land last November (four months prior to this event) and the new landowner chose not to sublease the hunting rights, resulting in Game Trails closing its Kentucky operation at present. Due to the mistagging and telechekcing at Game Trails, the personal and business reputations of Game Trails, Gregg Ritz and Dirk MacTavish have all been unfairly tarnished. Mistakes were made, and a fine was paid. But Game Trails and Gregg Ritz have built a name of excellence and integrity in the industry, and these technical violations should not diminish that reputation. It is unfortunate that multiple inaccuracies have worked to do just that. Basic fairness dictates that those involved should be judged on the facts of record in this case, and those facts alone.

For the record, I have posted our official response below. I'll add (personally) that it is obvious that the folks charged were directly involved in managing the property and they were guilty of things that didn't directly involve the paid customers or guests (unless they were using SSN's or identities for tags or dial ins). I do know that none of our folks who have hunted there were ever contacted by authorities about the use of their info to register game. S Realtree's official release: Please be aware that as a matter of both personal conviction and corporate policy everyone at Realtree follows game regulations to the letter of the law. We are acutely aware that our high profile in the hunting industry – as well as with the hunting and non-hunting public – makes it extremely important for us to set the right example. We would like to make note of the fact that no Realtree employees have been named in this issue. It is also important to state that we are not aware of any game law violations that have occurred on any hunt in which Realtree or our employees have been directly involved. We are watching this situation closely, and will base our actions on the facts. We will make every effort to gather these facts as quickly as possible, but hope you understand that we must respect everyone's rights and will not simply react without sufficient cause.

Great pics guys and glad you were able to meet up with Tim. He called me on his way home yesterday and said you all had a good time. S

Every year questions come up concerning custom calls or anything else that is custom or handmade by individuals or users here in the forums. Personally, I know a lot of folks that collect custom calls and I would like these forums to be a source for finding them. However, we do not want these forums to turn into a one stop advertising vehicle for folks that are only interested in our community to make a buck. Please look at the following from our terms: * Be a contributing member of the Realtree.com forums for more than a period of 0ne month, AND have a post count greater than 20, OR have the referral of an upstanding member of the forums. This is to curb one time posters in the classifieds only. Realtree may delete the content of any such ads, at its sole discretion. Follow that and there should not be a problem. I think it's clear. Thanks, S

http://store.realtree.com/realtree-c...-the-yard.html

Make sure you create a Blog account before turkey season opens and keep us up to date on your daily excursions into the woods. Especially those of you competing in our forums contest. S

blog Digg This! StumbleUpon Del.icio.us - A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs are defined by their format: a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order.Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favors, especially those that support a point being made on a post. The author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger. Many blogs syndicate their content to subscribers using RSS, a popular content distribution tool. I would like every member in here to have one. Share your stories. I and many others enjoy reading them. You have the chance now to start one here at Realtree.com. They will replace the journals. And who knows, if your good enough, we might make you a regular on the home page. So let's get a blog going!

What would you think about having camo scrubs or uniforms available for your line of work? Is that something you would be interested in? S

Adrian and Steve, you guys are 100% correct. Steve, the right place at the right time comes into play many times. And the folks who are there are usually folks who are not campaigning for themselves. They were just good at what they do and people took notice. Adrian, I used the word "patience" in place of "good listener." They go hand in hand, and in my eyes are the same thing. Whether it is hunting or just meeting folks, I have been with David, Michael, Bill and others at at shows and have always been impressed with how they will stick around until that last autograph is signed, or the last hunting story is told. Meetings and flights have been missed, but they have always been great about hanging, listening, and enjoying folks that come to see them. I'll never forget a time when I was with Bill a few years back in Nashville. We were suppose to leave the Bass Pro at 3:00 one afternoon (to make a meeting at TNN at 3:30). Bill had made an appearance and the lines were a mile long. Although I was suppose to help get him out and over to the meeting, folks kept approaching him wanting pics, and sharing stories. We were there until 6:00 and eventually had to reschedule that meeting for the next day. Bill has always thought it was rude to just walk out on folks still waiting. And he really is like any other hunter in a camp. He loves to hear hunting stories and likes that much more than those meetings.

Sorry, I was talking about live chats.

This comes up a lot and since I'm the one in charge, I'll give you the answer. We have discussed it a good bit. and I think they will eventually happen. But up until the past year, I have been the only person here at RT responsible for our web efforts. We are finally beginning to add others. I would also like to add that I also have other responsibilities here in our marketing department, so I'm not actually full time web. If you look at some of the sites that have hosted these, the web "or online communities" are their primary businesses. Unfortunately, we have a 1,000 other things going on. Stay tuned. I am trying my best. S

We get asked and emailed about this subject often. There are several posts in these forums on it. Hopefully my post here can be a source for future questions and comments. I first want to clarify the definition of "Pro Staffer." The label "Pro" really stands for "promotional" and not "professional." That's not to say that many out there are not performing professionally and most are very good at what they do. The companies they represent certainly expect them to act in a "professional" manner. But there's a misconception (and often times resentment) when discussing hunting industry pro staffers. Other common misconceptions: Hunting related pro staffers hunt for a living, get paid great money (to hunt), and they get to hunt year round. I'll say this: Very, very few are paid money for the position. Most do it for product (and not necessarily a lot of it). Hunting might be a part of some of their jobs, but the money does not come from just hunting. Yes, there are folks that sell DVD's and make money from their hunts, but if they don't have a background in business and marketing, that career path will end rather quickly. After working many years in this industry, I see several qualifications that are a must to make it. You don't have to be great at all of them, but if you don't have decent skills in each, you might want to consider a different career: — Knowledge and a background in the hunting industry (the broader, the better) — The ability to sell (yourself, and who you represent) — Patience with people, a good personality, and excellent communication skills — Public speaking skills — The ability to travel at any time — A primary and very flexible job (to put food on the table). — A very understanding spouse, significant other, or family (because they won't see you very much). The time away from my family is the reason I would never consider it. These qualifications might get you on a staff and on some hunts, but you better keep your day job. I would also recommend adding a college degree and good business skills to the list. As far as TV shows? These are usually an expense and not revenue sources. Very few can afford their own. If they can, their income is coming from another source. The networks charge a lot of money for airtime and sponsorships pay for that (not salaries). Most are lucky to break even. There are exceptions to all of these, but it is a very small percentage. Just wanted to give you my personal opinion and perspective. There's not a handbook on it. I welcome additional comments from our staff on this subject and everyone is welcomed to comment. Thanks, S

I get called Steve all the time. And on the phone, a lot of folks mistake me for saying "Guy" instead of "Scott." Tink it was great meeting and chatting with you at ATA. Saw you once at SHOT, but that show doesn't leave much time to just hang out and talk. S

Bill is correct. Different manufacturers and different fabrics with different UV ray protection. If it is real bad, you might see if it can be exchanged. Email me at [email protected] and let me know what the brand is. Thanks, S

That wasn't six years ago Steve! I just checked. 2005. Four years ago. OK. I was a little off. As you get older, years do not matter.

Cool.Thanks guys!

Let's see if I can surpass everyone in the outdoor industry! Hee! I need everyone in here to do it. By the way Jack (My son). You better not say a word to your Mother!

Me and Steve Beilgard with my antelope a couple of years ago.

My email is [email protected]

My wife has said that she will stomp me when it comes to Face Book friends. Right now, I'm up by about 10. Well, I consider everyone that joins these forums as friends. Not sure how it all works, but if you want to help me blow her out of the water, go in and invite me to be yours. Here is my Face Book address: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/home.php?ref=home If that's not how you do it, just search for Scott Hughes in Columbus, GA. Thanks, S

Geez. Prayers sent. Mods keep me updated. I'm in Orlando for the SHOT show and won't be able to check in much once the show starts. S

I got to supply aujack with all that stuff and other stuff for his brothers. It was a fun day and we will hit the woods tomorrow for 4 or 5 days of hard hunting. Unfortunately, the weather is 75 degrees during the day.