Hello Texas members! A message from Craig White, Texas Chapter President

Hello fellow NWTF Texas members!

What an honor it is to be re-elected as your Texas State Board of Directors President for my second and final term. I am looking forward to what the future holds for the Texas State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, as well as all of our local chapters.

I hope you were all able to squeeze in a little turkey hunting this spring!! My favorite time of year is spring as my phone blows up with pictures of all of my friends sharing pictures of their harvests, and wishing I had been there to witness each and every one!! I was blessed with another year of health and the opportunity to harvest my first Eastern Wild Turkey not far from home in East Texas!

The first part of the year has been filled with not only banquets, but many awards for Texas!

Our Texas State Awards Banquet and Casino night was once again held in College Station in January and we had a great turnout. We gathered to celebrate the great work our local chapters and volunteers. Again this year, the event was held at the Best Western Premier in Bryan College Station. Not only did we enjoy casino games and the awards dinner but, we also held several informative breakout sessions that afternoon. We hope that everyone will make plans to attend this coming January as we gather with friends to share the good work being done in Texas.

Congratulations to all state level award winners!

Highest Net

1st — Houston
2nd —April AWOL
3rd —Montgomery Co.

Most Improved Chapter

1st—Highland Lakes
2nd—Panola Co.
3rd—Blackland Prairie

Top WITO Event

1st—Tri-County Longbeards
2nd—Northeast Texas

Dr. Sam McManus Award

Eddie Hines

Highest Golden Gobbler Percentage

1st —Houston
2nd —Montgomery Co.
3rd —Highland Lakes

Texas LA Dixon Chapters

1st—April AWOL
2nd—Pineywoods
3rd—Houston

Top Wheelin Event

April AWOL / Pineywoods

Regional Volunteers of the Year

Kim Potts
Jack Bennett
Lee Zimmerman

Best New Chapter

1st —Montgomery Co.
2nd —Lee Co.
3rd —Texas A&M Kingsville

Top Jakes Event

1st—Alamo Chapter
2nd—Kaufman County
3rd—Blackland Prairie

Texas Officer of the Year

Carlos H. Maldonado III

We will host our awards banquet in College Station again in January 2019, and we hope you will all make plans to attend. It is definitely a fun time for everybody!

Our annual National Convention was held again at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. As always, we had a great representation of delegates attend from Texas and we brought back some amazing awards! Hats off to our friends in Montgomery County who took first place on the National stage for the biggest inaugural banquet for 2017. Panola County Chapter received second place for highest percentage of growth from the previous year. We also had two chapters - Houston Chapter and April AWOL Chapter - receive Grand Slam honors for hosting a banquet with over $50K net revenue.

If you have never attended the National Convention, it is truly a sight to see as thousands of NWTF members gather to see the biggest NWTF show imaginable! Go to nwtf.org and look for information on our next convention.

We have released another great group of Eastern Wild Turkeys in East Texas as we continue to try and establish a healthy turkey population in counties that have had their seasons closed. If our efforts pay off, we will be able to take our children and grandchildren turkey hunting all over East Texas for years to come! We have a few new territories that are pursuing having turkeys stocked in their area, and are looking forward to continuing our efforts as long as possible. I would like to extend a special thank you to Jason Hardin and our TPWD team for coordinating the catching, transportation, and releasing of these birds in the various areas of East Texas.

Their countless hours of work rarely get recognized.

I look forward to updating each of you on our progress as we continue to leave our mark in 2018. Thank each and every one of you for your contribution and dedication to the National Wild Turkey Federation. We would not be able to accomplish our mission without all of you!!