PODCAST EP. 373: Johnny Morris on Conservation, Quail, and Inspiring the Next Generation

Transcript for On The Wing Podcast Ep. 373: Johnny Morris on Conservation, Quail, and Inspiring the Next Generation

Speaker 1 (00:50.644)

Welcome to On the Wing Podcast presented by Purina Pro Plan. In conjunction with our second ever Bob White Ball that is slated to take place about 64 minutes from now, this very evening, as I record in St. Louis, Missouri, I'm thrilled to welcome three guests for today's On the Wing podcast conversation. First up, I've got Samuel Henderson, a 12-year-old who you may not know by name, but let me tell you, you know Samuel because he has racked up millions of views on social media. He's been featured on CBS Sunday morning, CNN, and Samuel can do more than 100 bird calls.

Speaker 2 (01:49.282)

Hundred and twenty five.

Speaker 1 (01:50.734)

And we're gonna we're gonna ask Samuel to do a few. joining Samuel is his mom Lori. Thank you for making time, Lori. Thank you. You guys came all the way from Oklahoma, correct? Thank you very much for making this trip to St. Louis. And we're all here today to celebrate one of Samuel's biggest fans, the guest of honor at tonight's Bob White Ball, the founder and noted conservationist, the founder of Bass Pro Shops and noted conservationist, Mr. Johnny Morris, who will receive Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever's first ever Spirit of the Uplands Award this evening. Let me be the first to congratulate you, Mr. Morris. That's a it's a tremendous achievement. Thank you for a lifetime of conservation effort.

Speaker 3 (02:47.394)

Thank you. It's thank you, Bob. It's an honor to get to It's an honor to get to be here with you, Bob, and everybody tonight and just to celebrate conservation. And I here tonight mainly just inspired by my mom and dad that grew up in little town Willard, Missouri, not far from here. And the outdoors and especially quail hunting was one of their big passions in life. They didn't have much. They grew up kind of a rough way, but

They never felt poor because they were so blessed by the great outdoors like all of us. And like we just all applaud you and this organization for the great work you do and for achieving great things in conservation. It takes teamwork, everybody reaching out to each other. And that's to me what tonight's really all about is the future and people working together.

Speaker 1 (03:38.188)

I I'm really very much looking forward to hearing your story, your connection to Quail. it have you ever had a more talented warm up act than than Samuel?

Speaker 3 (03:51.286)

I just can't wait. I'm his him and his mom and sister came all this long way to come and join all this y I don't want the kid to get too big ahead, but he's very buddy, you're very inspiration. He is I saw him on TV and it really got to me. He came to our company Christmas party, people went nuts, and then we hosted this fishing outing a little bit of turkey hunting for some supporters of Congressional Sportsman's Foundation. And Sam was there one night around a

Speaker 1 (03:52.47)

Ha ha ha.

Speaker 3 (04:21.293)

tent camp and everybody kept asking, Well, I bet you can't do this bird and they could do that bird, but anyway, it's gonna it's very special.

Speaker 1 (04:29.046)

So we're going to start with some questions for Sam, because it it's just I've I've listened to not only the internet, but you've been doing some calls for me before we hit record. And it's just absolutely incredible. and you're gonna be the featured speaker before Mr. Johnny Morris tonight. so we're gonna talk with Samuel, we're gonna talk with his mom, Lori, and then we're gonna talk with Mr. Johnny Morris.

before we get roll rolling, I want to thank Purina Pro Plan. not only as the national dog food sponsor of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, but the presenting sponsor once again of On the Wing Podcast. I actually visited the Purina headquarters right here in St. Louis this morning. Fabulous people over there. My pups from Trammel to Gitchy, Little Winter, Eske, Izzy, have

Always eaten Purina Pro Plan Sport, not just because Purina supports the wildlife habitat mission of our organization, but because they have a team of the world's best scientists and nutritionists behind their dog food. Purina ProPlan was built for the working bird dog like yours and like mine. I saw them, saw all their scientists, all their nutritionists today. And you can learn more about

Proplansport.com, Purina Pro Plan, Nutrition that Performs. From Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, this is Casey Sill with the Upland Newsroom, delivering top stories from the Habitat Organization and across the American Uplands. We begin today in Ohio, where a new state budget bill has made big investments in public lands. According to reports by the Columbus Dispatch and Outdoor Life,

The Capital Improvements Bill signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in June will allocate $25 million to public land acquisition, improving access for the state's hunters and trappers. When leveraged with federal funding, this investment could top $50 million and provide up to $25,000 acres of new access across the state. All right, I'm gonna switch it up for you guys for the rest of this report and talk about a project I've got coming up this fall.

Speaker 1 (06:46.006)

Not exactly the most newsy thing in the world, but honestly, it's a little slow around the office this week, so here goes nothing. This fall we'll be kicking off a multimedia project called the Wing Shooter's Locker, where I'll be breaking down some of the top quail hunting gear on the market and highlighting products every wing shooter needs come fall. I'll be focusing solely on quail gear. The pheasant side of things will be helmed by Upland AF, or Andy Fondrick, gear fiend and creator of the ever-popular Birds on a Budget video series. I don't want to give too much away, of course.

where we'll be highlighting some truck accessories, gun cases, apparel, dog products, and much, much more over the coming months. Look for the first edition of the Wing Shooter's Locker in the fall 2026 Quail Forever Journal and across all of our social media platforms. And if there's a piece of gear you're curious about or would like to see highlighted before deciding to pull the trigger on, let me know. Shoot me a message at C S I L L at PheasantsForever.org.

And tell me what gear is top of mind for you as we inch ever closer to Upland openers across the country. And for that matter, let me know about the news you care about. If there's a story or angle we're missing on the Upland Newsroom, or a part of the Habitat organization you want to hear more about, drop me a line. That'll do it this week reporting from PF and QF headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. I'm Casey Sill. All right. Samuel Henderson and Lori Henderson. Samuel, you said you're you're

12 years old. Yep. And you are all over the internet. How do you feel about it?

Speaker 2 (08:18.03)

I feel g I feel g

Speaker 1 (08:22.656)

I feel I feel like Yeah, do ya? And and it's all because as I understand it, you had some courage and you put your name forward on a talent contest at your grade school. Tell me a little bit about that story.

Speaker 2 (08:23.468)

I feel like it's celebrity.

Speaker 2 (08:39.672)

With a talent? The first time you're on the talent show. Well, I was v I was very excited that my legs were just going like

Speaker 1 (08:49.762)

That you were a little nervous?

Speaker 2 (08:51.392)

No no, I was excited. Okay.

Speaker 1 (08:53.646)

There is a difference, isn't there?

Speaker 2 (08:57.046)

I had so much fun up up there in front of all the people and and they all laughed when I thr threw my threw my bird back the birds back there.

Speaker 1 (09:07.995)

And what was the very first bird that you ever mimicked with their song?

Speaker 2 (09:15.756)

It was the great tailed grackle.

Speaker 1 (09:17.944)

Can you give a example of that for me?

Speaker 1 (09:26.092)

Wow. And Lori, how how when did you first experience this talent?

Speaker 2 (09:33.43)

He's always mimicked sounds and people's lives and voices, but then when he realized birds were everywhere around us, he started mimicking them and realized, Wow, I can talk like a bird. I think I am gonna talk like the bird. He's probably about four.

Speaker 1 (09:47.436)

And how old was this?

Really? So what what does it sound like to you when a bird sings, Samuel?

Speaker 2 (09:58.648)

Sounds like a person singin' a song to me.

Speaker 1 (10:01.322)

Okay. Now you you have autism, correct? Yeah. So I've I've read that people with autism can see or visualize sound. Is that true? Can you see a bird's sound through visualization?

Speaker 2 (10:19.688)

yeah. Like when I hear a for like for example a cardinal, I imagine a c a cardinal in my mind. Is that what we're talking is that what you're talking about?

Speaker 1 (10:31.756)

Yeah. So you when you hear the bird song, you can imagine the actual bird and how quickly were you able to connect a particular song with a particular bird? Really? Does a bird sound song sound like e so sometimes when you meet a person for the first time, you're like, boy.

Speaker 2 (10:45.452)

Almost instantly.

Speaker 1 (10:57.27)

You look nothing like what your voice sounds like. Do a bird do bird songs sound like what you would imagine? Like when you hear a sandhill crane, do you think that that is what it would look like?

Speaker 2 (11:13.538)

Hmm. No, not I don't know. How how about some birds kinda look more like dinosaurs, but then they still have a pretty sound that comes out of

Speaker 2 (11:26.666)

I don't I don't know if I know any birds that do that. Okay. Okay, fair enough.

Speaker 1 (11:31.438)

So one of those birds that I mentioned a Sandhill Crane is one of the favorites of the guy next to me. W when did before you give the Sandhill Crane, when did you first see or meet Samuel, Johnny?

Speaker 3 (11:47.264)

I just like many others, I saw him on T V and man, I s I asked to get a recording of this and I kept watching it over and I just thought not only the calls which are amazing, but just the energy and enthusiasm. Yeah. And my dad was so big on enthusiasm and passion, you know, and this Sam's got the passion, man, and it's contagious.

Speaker 1 (11:49.912)

Yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 (12:08.224)

It is. And as I watch some of these internet clips, Sam has mentioned that your favorite bird song is the Sandhill Crane. Will you do a Sandhill Crane for us, Samuel?

Speaker 2 (12:22.669)

Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:29.934)

That's incredible.

Speaker 3 (12:30.934)

That's unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (12:32.724)

I mean it can you can you do one bird at a time or is there can you do like flocks of birds?

Speaker 2 (12:40.886)

Well, one I can make say macaw sound and a goose sound, but it sounds like a hybrid.

Speaker 1 (12:45.143)

Okay. Hmm.

Speaker 1 (12:51.822)

so our audience of Pheasants Forever members and Quail Forever members are, I'm sure, anxiously awaiting to hear a pheasant. Can you get and you're wearing you're wearing a pheasant tie, so thank you for being on brand today. Looks it looks fabulous. You said you you ha you don't normally wear a belt. Do you wear a tie very often? Okay, and it's a pheasant tie. Well done. Give us a pheasant call.

Speaker 2 (13:14.807)

this is my first time too.

Speaker 1 (13:21.966)

And a bobwite quail?

Speaker 2 (13:30.19)

That was a little bit It's okay. Try good.

That's better. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (13:38.484)

In how many yeah I I read online that you know more than a hundred different birds. Is that true, or do you know more than that now?

Speaker 2 (13:47.326)

a hundred and twenty six. I lost I added one yesterday, short short tailed grouse.

Speaker 1 (13:53.644)

A sharp tailed grouse, let's hear it.

Speaker 2 (13:56.536)

Hmm. Hmm.

Speaker 1 (14:02.232)

Wow. Well w do you do you have do you have a bucket list of bird that you're waiting to see and hear?

Speaker 2 (14:12.334)

Pretty much the resplendent quitzel, my favorite bird, but I don't really have one. I just I just look around before any bird that's new to me.

Speaker 1 (14:23.053)

Hmm.

Speaker 3 (14:26.678)

One of my favorites. I'm interrupting here, but I No, it's fine. Grew up fishing on the rivers here in Missouri, you know, in the Ozark Hills. And every evening we'd set up a tent camp. And my favorite memory it still calls to me in the Pierce and Bluegrass group is here tonight. Hopefully they'll sing this song called My Ozark Mountain Home. But they sang about the w sound of the whipper wheels. does he do us a whipper wheel, buddy?

Speaker 1 (14:49.485)

yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:51.85)

Yeah. ooh. ooh. The the the the birds that I have around my my place that are kind of like whipperwills are Chuck Wills' widows. They sing every night in the summer. Hmm.

Speaker 1 (15:08.822)

So when you do these bird songs, y you always have a smile on your face. Does this it makes you happy?

Speaker 2 (15:15.35)

Yeah. Yeah, I love talking to birds. Wait, can I do can I do the Chuck Wheels widow sound?

Speaker 1 (15:22.307)

Sure.

Speaker 3 (15:23.486)

One of my favorites. I'm interrupting here, but I interrupt fishing on the rivers here in Missouri, you know, in Ozark Hills.

Speaker 1 (15:29.742)

What about you know, one of the ducks and turkeys and geese are some of the birds that, you know, our audience very knowledgeable about talking back to you. When you sing to a bird, how often do they sing back to you?

Speaker 2 (15:47.614)

Not as much, but I have had birds sing back to me though. What about our owls that we have at our house? yeah, the owls. Red shouldered hawks. Yeah. I have red shouldered hawks and owls that live at my grandma's that and I'm about to move next to her. So every night I go out go out after dark at night. wait. Yes. Then I go on a walk, there there's these two owls that I named Hooter and Hooters.

And when I t when I talk to them or or when I hoot to them, they hoop they hoop back.

Speaker 1 (16:22.286)

Hmm.

Speaker 2 (16:24.686)

What kinda owls are they? And what do they sound like? They're great horde owls. And I say this to them. hmm. This comes from my nose.

Speaker 1 (16:36.813)

Wow. It's funny, like some of your so some of the sounds you make, like you just mentioned that come from your nose, some from your mouth. When you were doing the sharp tail, that was deeper into your chest, wasn't it? What do d do the sharp tail again?

Speaker 2 (16:52.446)

I seen that one from my nose too.

Speaker 1 (16:59.468)

Yeah, I can see your lungs moving too.

Speaker 2 (17:02.082)

Yeah, it's well but it's go coming out my

Speaker 1 (17:05.006)

Yeah, that makes sense. Do you realize how talented you are?

Mom's shaking the head. How I I mentioned a moment ago about the joy and the smile. what do you see when he starts doing different birds?

Speaker 2 (17:25.088)

It's every parent's just dream to see their children doing what they love, their passion. He's passionate about this and he doesn't realize that not everybody can do this. And he's so humble about it. He just wants to learn more and wants to show people more and teach them more about birds and and he knows so much about them as well. And and he's taught people around his family and friends will call us saying, Hey, I have this bird. What is this? And I've never noticed birds until

Samuel's come along and he's really made me excited about birds and how much they're around us. I never it just you pick up the beauty of what's around us. Yeah. And he's bringing that attention for others.

Speaker 1 (18:05.378)

That's a fabulous point, which is the whole reason why our organization exists to create the habitat. Go I'm sorry, go ahead, Samuel.

Speaker 2 (18:13.174)

Also I can do the other kind of birds, dinosaurs.

Speaker 1 (18:17.098)

Yeah. You you seem like you would like to do a dinosaur. What dinosaur?

Speaker 2 (18:22.904)

I don't know. I'd like you to choose.

Speaker 1 (18:25.49)

well d I c I'm a child of the Jurassic Park era, so Velo Velociraptor.

Speaker 1 (18:36.969)

Whoa.

Speaker 1 (18:40.632)

Yeah, I can see you're having fun with this. How has it changed your how is it this celebrity changed you, Samuel? Or hasn't it?

Speaker 2 (18:52.6)

Saying to be a lot or I guess it has 'cause it 'cause lots of lots of people or couple of people have recognized me.

Speaker 1 (19:02.154)

On the street? Like in a in a mall and stuff?

Speaker 2 (19:05.4)

There and the to my target at back at Oklahoma.

Speaker 1 (19:12.296)

Mm. D do you feel do you feel more confident that people know ya and that people are really excited to meet ya? Or is it not changed that at all?

Speaker 2 (19:26.69)

I don't really think it changes it.

Speaker 1 (19:28.364)

Okay. How's it changed your family, Lori? Or hasn't it?

Speaker 2 (19:32.416)

It's brought us together more so. We're so busy and this he's helped us slow down and realize how much family is important. And we've met some wonderful people, including Mr. Johnny here, and it's changed our lives really. We were doing more traveling together. We're venturing out together, going to parks with him to see the birds and it's just become a family thing. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:58.062)

Do you have a favorite bird?

Speaker 2 (19:59.871)

My favorite bird is actually just a blue jay. I think they're beautiful. They're it's just a little blue jay.

Speaker 1 (20:02.339)

Yeah.

And how long before Samuel picked you a blue jays call?

Speaker 2 (20:10.786)

He did one the minute I found out he found out that's my favorite bird.

Speaker 1 (20:14.145)

Is that right?

Speaker 3 (20:24.354)

That's great. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:26.04)

Your your sister and your dad are here listening in. Do they have favorite birds?

Speaker 2 (20:31.672)

think my dad's the bald eagle, right?

Speaker 1 (20:33.836)

Yeah, he's shaking his head, yes.

Speaker 2 (20:35.406)

Is your turke yours a turkey vulture? Yes, the turkey vulture.

Speaker 1 (20:38.976)

All right, let's let's give your dad and your sister their favorite bird songs.

Speaker 2 (20:43.278)

Okay. I see these are not they're not really songs. Dad's more screeching and Cassidy's more like grunting. Go for it, dude.

Speaker 2 (20:58.882)

Now it's the bald eagle. Now the turkey vulture.

Speaker 1 (21:07.886)

Huh. We have a lot of Minnesota listeners. Can you can you do a common loon for those Minnesota listeners?

Speaker 2 (21:17.56)

Totally.

Speaker 3 (21:27.99)

Wow. Yes. Amazing. That

Speaker 1 (21:30.414)

That one is between the loon and the San Il Crane, that's pretty unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (21:37.314)

Balloons one of the calls that tricks the Merlin Burdaff.

Speaker 1 (21:40.717)

What do you mean?

Speaker 2 (21:41.974)

Like when I do the call p when the when it's listening it picks up it thinks it's l here's a common loon.

Speaker 1 (21:48.302)

Huh. Well, I don't want to use up all of your voice because you're gonna do some more calls in just a little bit for the Bob Boy ball audience. But thank you. Thank you for doing this, Samuel. You're welcome. And thank you, Lori, for being here. before I turn the conversation over to to Johnny, I want to thank Onyx Hunt as a proud partner of On the Wing podcast. Waiting season is almost over.

You all know the feeling. The dogs are getting restless. You're checking rainfall and watching the hatches. And every bird hunter is counting the days until we can break away the dogs for real. It's almost Johnny like they wrote this one for you. Here's the next line of this commercial. I'm sorry, but it's almost time to reel up those fishing lines and park the boat in the garage and get back to thinking birds.

because fall is almost here and it'll hunting season will be here before you know it. Now is the time to open up the Onyx Hunt app and start finding new opportunities, research new properties, and build a plan for your hunting season. The best seasons don't start on opening day, they start right now with Onyx Hunt. All right, as I mentioned in the open, Mr. Johnny Morris.

Is our guest of honor this evening. So in highlighting the Bob White Ball, Quail Forever is going to present Mr. Johnny Morris, the Spirit of the Uplands Award. This award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to benefit pheasants, quail, and other upland wildlife that make their home and one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, America's Uplands.

This honors Johnny Morris's enduring commitment to wildlife habitat and the impact his conservation work and advocacy will have on wildlife and wild places for generations to come. So as we talked just briefly in the open, your name is synonymous with fishing, right? Bass Pro Shops. You can't think about like I kid growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I got your.

Speaker 1 (24:15.416)

catalog and I was you know we hardly had stores within a hundred miles of us to buy fishing lures. So I was buying a mail order. so it it's just synonymous with fishing. Tell us a little bit about for our audience of people that love following a dog, a little bit more about your roots with Bob Boy quail in the uplands.

Speaker 3 (24:37.25)

Thank Bob. So I was just fascinated again. I gotta go back to Samuel here and his passion. And I was just thinking about my introduction you ask about to the outdoors and the sports of fishing honey came from my parents. And the kids today, so many, they and I think too, like true conservation leaders in America or America's sportsmen and women and their people, young people get introduced to the outdoors quite often through the sport of fishing or hunting.

And they're getting off of like a you know, their iPhone or an iPad or something and getting outside. So we have this little saying, take a kid fishing or take a kid hunting, you'll be happy you did. And I just so we have this award, or our biggest gathering in our company every year is a company Christmas party. And Samuel and his family came and he did some calls, but we were honored to present him with the junior conservationist of the year award. And it was

It kinda answers your question about introducing, inspiring kids to pay attention to nature and to get outside and enjoy what God's blessed us with and our surroundings and the fruits of the labors of conservation. So anyway, I just had to give a shout out to our buddy Samuel and his family for being here. But back to your question.

Speaker 1 (25:57.602)

Your your point's terrific because Samuel's presence on social media, right, that didn't exist be you know, before you and I, and it's it broadens the audience for people that I've never even heard of a loon before, right? And you hear that haunting echo of a loon, you're like, I wanna go out in nature.

Speaker 3 (26:20.558)

He's an ambassador he's an ambassador for nature and the outdoors. And I I think often too, I remember sometimes years ago we started a sponsor in ASCAR a little bit and Dale Senior, Dale Learnard, some of our fishing pros joining, why are we taking money away from fishing pros or f more fishing to invest? And I think there's a cross pollination. If kids think hunting or fishing resonates with their heroes, whatever they're if they're a basketball player, if they're an athlete, what whatever.

country music singer or whatever that they might be more intrigued by that. But back to your question, my introduction to quail hunting. So my mom and dad, I mentioned this, but they my mom was one of ten kids that grew up in a two bedroom house in Willard. But my mom and dad were both born in nineteen eleven. My dad was raised by a great aunt and his grandfather. My point about this is they didn't have much. They came up kind of a rough way.

financially. and you think back at that period in time, really nobody had any running water, no electricity. Everybody went out to the outhouse. You know, but I mean it's just they're running radio or T V, let alone iPads and iPhones. But I think my parents, they were always in their families they were very happy and in a way they couldn't have been richer from their hearts were full of joy from being outdoors in nature.

And especially quail hunting. Yeah. As my mom and dad when they started a date, and that my dad was just nuts about quail hunting. And so they dragged me along as early as I can remember. And as early as I can remember to this day, I've always been a lousy shot and left eye dominance, my excuse. But just that joy. And I brought a picture I was gonna share with everyone this evening. And there's a little story that goes with it. So

We draw names for Christmas. And I was like high school age and my dad drew my name. And so I was so excited, well, maybe I'm gonna get a pickup truck or what cool thing like that didn't. And so I open up this box and inside it was a photo. And this photo was a black and white photo of my mom and my dad and a bird dog and a handful of quail they'd taken. And so I get this and I just go, boy.

Speaker 3 (28:48.534)

Like I wasn't blown away, but attached, and I I brought this little note to answer your question about what does this sport mean? Yeah. It's connection to happy memories. And so this note that was on the back of this picture is John L. That's my full name, John L. He goes, John L, in this picture are four of the joys of my life. Jenny, your mother, you my son.

Three months from touchdown, Pat, our best bird dog, and a handful of feathers, that made our day. Very Merry Christmas, nineteen eighty five, Dad. And so to me, I my dad, I don't he couldn't give me anything that means any more than this note and passing on to me and my sisters the joy and the love that comes from a a lifetime spent outdoor, you know, fishing.

hunting. So I never so that was my introduction to quail hunting. I guess my dad and his best buddy Doral Hanks between they had two or they had seventeen bird dogs. By the end of the season they all had a bloody tail because they I mean they they wouldn't miss getting a limit every day. Really? Yeah. And so and I I had to take care of these dogs and I had this

Speaker 1 (29:53.656)

See it on your face, you're you're tearing up.

Speaker 3 (30:14.284)

blue ointment, I had to dip in every day and they'd get out and shake it all over me. So I I remember that. But I remember those days too, the habitat. So let the habitat was so wonderful. There was abundance of quail. My dad wasn't a landowner, but, you know, between public land and easy to get permission from farmers, you know, and I just remembered going to my dad and maybe take the farmer's wife a pie or something like but but it was

Access was easy and that's an important thing for us to keep alive keep alive is access for hunters and anglers as much as we can.

Speaker 1 (30:53.068)

So I wanna ask you about access but th the the dogs that you grew up with, what what breed were they with?

Speaker 3 (30:58.954)

Okay. That's a good question. It changed in my dad's life and his bit 'cause he kept hunting till man, when he was up there in years and when he was young he liked pointers the most. Okay. And then more setters. And then at the end he had Britney's 'cause they didn't range as far and it was easier for him to keep up with him. But so every every dog that would point and that I I that's a part of quail hunting that is unbelievable. My son's is into quailing, but also into

waterfowl, but the chemistry between

dog master and the dog that that bond there and just see how what's bred into an animal and then what can be inspired through more training. They just give it their all and the joy. I mean, you know what it's like. yeah. Dogs whining if they don't get yeah they want to get out of that truck or out of that train or they they want to get out in the field, you know, do what they love to do. So that's that with quail hunting, to me, the dogs amazing.

Speaker 1 (32:02.562)

Have you had dogs over time?

Speaker 3 (32:05.452)

Yes, more like our son, to be honest. I took off on fishing, right? And that's about to answer your question. Our son, he's the more our biggest hunter in the family. Okay. And he's always had dogs, more pro probably more waterfowl dogs. Uhhuh. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:21.878)

i you know, you you talked about n early nineteen hundreds and your family, you know, challenging times. Those quail probably were very important for feeding the family too, weren't they?

Speaker 3 (32:34.142)

I well I know they're tasty and my mom had the best recipe for I can't give that away but I I don't even know I don't get a kiss but we at down at Big Seer Resort we have my mom's it's called Jenny Morse fried chicken. Okay. But but we use her quail recipe. there we go. That was a favorite meal around our house for forever 'cause there was always some quail around with my dad. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:38.848)

what was your mom's rest?

Speaker 1 (33:00.598)

You started to touch on access and Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's have been very, very strong supporters of our build a wildlife area to create permanent public wildlife areas. What does that mean from your organization's perspective in creating these places for people to to go hunt or experience new birds like Samuel here?

Speaker 3 (33:25.4)

So I come and I get this invitation recognition, but I just I'm more excited to accept that from on behalf of all of our people and our customer teammates in the company. They're passionate about the outdoors, they're proud to be involved in conservation. We all sense over the years,

that it's not only something we're passionate, but but it's our obligation. We benefited so much from the outdoors. How do we give back the support? And I'd just like to share with everyone on this podcast to always be proud the role of sportsmen and women in conservation in this country and our North American model of conservation. And you think back where that came from, there's Roosevelt, there's Audubon, but people who were

hunters and anglers that spent time in the field and gained from that appreciation for the importance of habitat for regulation. And today too, what you mentioned about habit our company, we have ability with to pass on messages from like Quasant, Pheasant and Quail from Rocky Mountain Delf Foundation, like what are issues of the day and not long ago it's surfaced was being, you know, proposed

by some in Congress like sell off some public lands. And we were able to send out a message or communicate to our customers what was going on. And Colin O'Meir with the National Wildlife Federation joined us in drafting this communication. We sent that out and more than giving money, I think a lot of times it's like just sharing messages and can we amplify your voice? Yeah. And to say

share conservation successes and also what are problems on the horizon. But man, as a result of that communication, there's like literally millions of there was a little place to click where you could test a message out to our policymakers or politicians in Capitol Hill. And man, it I do think when we when we all unite, yeah, it's it's a powerful voice. And I just I'm rambling on here, but

Speaker 1 (35:46.326)

No, that that was a critically important time. It was a about a year ago, this very you know, right now it was right before the fourth of July, summer of twenty-five. And it was the time that I think about the industry, you know, the Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's and Federal Ammunition, the conservation groups, all of us and all the hunters united around one particular issue and voiced.

their support for public lands and pushing back this legislation that would have been just brutal to America's hunters and anglers. So i first of all, on behalf of our organization, thank you. Well thank you.

Speaker 3 (36:21.326)

Brutal.

Speaker 3 (36:29.206)

It's everybody speaking up together and we thank you for giving us the information to pass on.

Speaker 1 (36:35.786)

I assume that your customers thanked you as well for this, for raising your voice.

Speaker 3 (36:41.196)

I think their cus customers and out people that love the outdoors are pretty united. It's pretty powerful. And we should be. I think one thing we can all do, I just want to s thank the viewers here and remind them the role the sportsmen and women play, like lobbying many years ago for a self imposed tax. Every time somebody buys a fishing plug, line, rod and reel, shotgun, shotgun shales, the sportsmen and women of America.

raise their hand to say, okay, taxes for this because with the understanding that money that's very significant goes back to the states to fund the work of our state fish and wildlife agencies, you take that and then on top of that, hunting and fishing license, duck stamps, trout stamps, and then beyond that the generosity of sportsmen to support you and other groups, man.

The it it's so critical. It's the the vast majority of funding for state w fish and wildlife agencies comes from America Sports. That people need to be proud of that.

Speaker 1 (37:51.67)

Yeah, next

And add on the roundup that happens at your register.

Speaker 3 (37:59.074)

Yes. We're thankful to our customers. Their generosity is incredible. We have a board that's very respected that helps allocate, reinvest the what our customers generously donate up. And it's they're a group of who's who leaders in conservation. One Dale Hall, he was a former past director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He was CEO of DU for a while. Nick Wiley, who is

Florida. Top guy at sec co conservation guy at the U until recently. He went back to Florida to lead their conservation federation and then long history in Florida and beyond. A gal, Sarah Parker Pyle, Polly was our previous director of Missouri Department of Conservation, Department of Natural Resources, Colin O'Mear that's over the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, seven million

active members, very bipartisan group, but I d I don't know, I think and Bob Zemer, a former director of Missouri Department of Conservation. So we try to this board and our daughters on that board, Megan, my son, but we try to make sure it's responsible. Where do we reinvest these funds back? And quite often a percent of that, like twenty five percent at least, goes back to local communities.

Yeah. Where the funds are coming from. And then a lot of times, you know, like a donation to you guys, it comes back to the state, but it covers many states. Yep. Yep. And the migratory species and things like that and these big causes. So it takes teamwork and conservation. I just we believe this deeply. Federal agencies can't do it alone. The state agencies can't do it alone. But when you get NGOs like group like

Pheasants Forever, Quaver, and the other groups. And then you get companies like the sponsors you mentioned and like Parina, you talk yep, Winchester, on and on.

Speaker 1 (40:11.266)

Resetter, federal ammunition.

Speaker 3 (40:13.708)

these companies that graphs the big picture long term. Yeah. And that's more difficult. You get big companies like it's a short term, it's an expense. Long term, it's like the best investment you can make, you know, to have a healthy resources. So that teamwork aspect, that's when wonderful things really happen when people reach out to each other. And you can have the state, federal agencies, you get conservation community.

and the industry plus individuals, man, that's when and you look back in history, all the successes, remarkable. I mean there's challenges or challenges today, but man, you look at the track record of conservation in America, it's it's the envy of the world. And sportsmen and women are the those that are carried a big part of that weight.

Speaker 1 (41:09.824)

And you are one of those that's carried a lot of that weight. So on behalf of our organization, thank you. I can hear the sound in the background. I know we're getting close to our big event. You you printed off a quote from Theodore Roosevelt in preparation of our conversation. And I don't know what quote it is, and I've been waiting. So th this seems like an appropriate way for us to close. Tell us the quote that you have and what it means to you.

Speaker 3 (41:39.384)

you Bob for reminding me. I think it means everything to what we're talking about. It means everything to America. Next week, it's gonna be a grand occasion. There'll be a new presidential library in honor of President Teddy Roosevelt, Dear Roosevelt.

It's not just a library, it's a salute to conservation and the messaging there. Hopefully it'll be carry on his torch to inspire people. I gotta drift off before we get to the conservation part of that. My dad told me it when I was twenty one years old around the campfire one night. He said, John, your dad's very feels blessed to be across this campfire from you. I said, Well, what do you mean, Dad? And he got kind of choked up. He said, Well, when I was a young man

About your age, maybe a little older, I was in a rough conflict. And a lot of the young men around me didn't fare as well as your dad. And he was talking about World War Two. Found out later he was over in the Battle of the Bullsh. So my wife, Jeannie, and some other family members, we went to Normandy last summer, about a week from now. And so and we went through the Arden Force and the

Speaker 1 (42:39.127)

Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:55.416)

Some friends in the army helped us find exactly where my dad was there in the Arden Forest and the foxhole that he was in. anyway, we went through the Normandy Cemetery. I'm going through and a tour director took us by a headstone, one of the grave markers. And it was like all the other ten thousand markers. It's very humbly. I wish every young person was right beside us. But this particular headstone was for Theodore Roosevelt Junior.

And it just said Medal of Honor. He was a Medal of Honor recipient for going back on Normandy Beach time and time again to help his comrades and the young people he was over try to make it to safety. The head stone next to that was his brother Quentin, who passed away in World War One. And so and then of course President Roosevelt, in addition to conservation, he was also posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for

San Juan Hill and leading the charge there. So anyway, I just think to be here free today and have these possibilities. So this quote from President Roosevelt, there can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country. We must conserve the soil so that our children shall have a land that is more and not less fertile than our fathers dwelt in. We must conserve the forest.

Not by disuse, but by use. Having what he's talking about is having a healthy harvest, healthy harvest of our God given natural resources. And he said, making them more valuable at the same time that we use them. I think that's so true. Common sense conservation. Have some harvest to tender, make the forest healthier, keep it healthier in the process. We must conserve our minds more over

Speaker 1 (44:32.674)

Conservation.

Speaker 3 (44:53.506)

We must ensure so far as possible the use of certain types of great natural resources for the benefit of the people as a whole. President Their Roosevelt, May nineteen eight, Conference of Governors, but just you know, founder of our national park system and just a hunter that came to be passionate about the outdoors and the responsibility to look after the welfare of birds that Sam's love and and to have some harvest along the way, but to do it very responsibly. So we I'm sorry to carry on so much, but I just salute this man, his vision for our country, and we salute you guys, all of us, for all you mean to carrying that torch. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (45:41.762)

Well, Theodore Roosevelt is is a great person to look up to, right? We wouldn't have places to hunt and fish and explore without his vision. So thank you for sharing that and that perspective. And thank you for everything you've done for Wildlife Habitat. Samuel, how about since we're going to the Bob Way Ball, you give us one more

Boboy ball kind of as a warm up before you take the stage. Or i a boboy quail.

Speaker 1 (46:25.752)

There you go, folks. Samuel Henderson, Laurie Henderson, thank you both for doing this. Mr. Johnny Morris, thank you.

Speaker 3 (46:34.614)

Bob, thank you. Yeah. Thank you and we salute you.

Speaker 1 (46:37.664)

All right, folks, thank you very much for joining us. Thanks for listening. I'm going to the Bob White Ball. and I'm reminding you to always follow the dog. Something good will rise. Thanks, folks.