West Virginia BASS Federation sponsors the 2003 Youth Wild Turkey And Bass Challenge Event
Friday, May 16, 12 p.m.
Stonewall Jackson Lake Resort State Park, Lewis County
[May 12, 2003]

WVBF Member Kevin Goff with his youth partner at the 2002 Youth Wild Turkey And Bass Challenge Event at Stonewall Jackson Lake.

The 10 young essay contest winners who earned the opportunity to learn first-hand about the importance of wildlife management in West Virginia as part of the third annual Governor's Youth Wild Turkey and Bass Challenge will gather May 15-17 at Flatwoods in Braxton County and Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park in Lewis County. The Youth Wild Turkey and Bass Challenge is a major activity in Governor Bob Wise's Youth in the Outdoors Program, which includes several outdoor sporting and educational events each year.
The essay theme was "What Hunting and Fishing Mean to Me" and the winners* are:

• Taylor Brogan, age 10, Ivydale, Clay County
• Cody Rose, age 10, Fort Gay, Wayne County
• Christina Hamrick, age 11, Elkview, Kanawha County
• Robin Singleton, age 12, Summersville, Nicholas County
• Joshua Cooper, age 13, Cross Lanes, Kanawha County
• Jonathan Belcher, age 14, Bluefield, Mercer County
• Steven Corbin, age 14, Inwood, Berkeley County
• Heather Lindsay, age 15, Mill Creek, Randolph County
• Adam Pettrey, age 16, Bluefield, Mercer County
• Jason Coleman, age 16, Fayetteville, Fayette County

Editor's note: two previously announced winners, Natalie Northcutt of Charleston and Jamie Ziegler of Wheeling, had to drop out because of conflicting schedules. They were replaced with two runners-up, Cody Rose of Fort Gay and Jonathan Belcher of Bluefield.

The participants will gather the evening of Thursday, May 15, at 5 p.m. at the Flatwoods Days Inn in Braxton County. After a 6:30 p.m. dinner, they will enter workshops concerning turkey hunting safety, biology and management of the wild turkey in West Virginia, and bass fishing on Stonewall Jackson Lake.

The outdoor adventure begins early Friday at 5 a.m. as the youth participants and their adult guides scatter across Braxton County for a morning of turkey hunting. They will gather again at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park at Noon for photo and interview opportunities with reporters. This will be the best time to meet with the youth participants and get photos of them with their turkey harvests, if they have been successful.

The afternoon activities continue with a 1 p.m. turkey trapping demonstration and a 1:30 demonstration of electrofishing techniques. At 2 p.m. they join their adult guides for an afternoon of bass fishing from boats on Stonewall Jackson Lake. A press boat will be made available for reporters and photographers who wish to photograph the participants while they are fishing. The day's activities conclude with a 7 p.m. cookout and awards ceremony at the park. Media interviews will be available at this time.

After a night's rest at the Flatwoods Days Inn, the participants will again hit the woods early Saturday morning for another turkey hunt before wrapping up the weekend and returning home.

The Governor's Wild Turkey and Bass Challenge is sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, The West Virginia Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the West Virginia Division of Tourism, Flatwoods Days Inn, WV B.A.S.S. Federation, and Mossy Oak.