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Since 1996, I have been attending the huge Sports Show in Harrisburg, PA. It is February and again I have found my way back to Harrisburg. There continue to be lots of vendors, but the number of people walking the isles during the weekdays seems to be down a bit.

In my years in the outdoors, I have met many amazing people, several of which our friendships have blossumed as a result of introductions made at the Harrisburg Sport Show.

It was 13 years ago that I met Susan Hindbo. We were both working in the Dream Catcher’s booth owned by the late Pete Rubianus. Pete’s display was like no other in the show; it spanned 30 feet in one direction and wrapped another 20 feet in the other while taking in the corner by the ladies room. I had just gone to the doctor for a nagging problem that had been diagnosed as tendenitis from overusing the joints while shooting my bow. Having had cortisone shots in both elbows and shoulders, I had very limited use of both arms. Now, I had been scheduled to work at the show for several weeks and would not even consider cancelling. Pete had lined it up for Susan and I to room together. After talking for hours, I felt like I had found a long-lost sister. We became instant friends and 13 years later we still cherish that friendship.

Again this year, I work in the Raven Wear of Canada booth with fellow pro staffer, Bonnie Friend, of Garrett County Maryland. Bonnie is also a lady hunter who prefers shooting a muzzleloader for her hunting adventures. Bonnie developed the Convert-a-Muff that is manufactured by Raven Wear. It functions as a hand muff, tree shirt, seat warmer, gun cover-up, knee warmer, foot warmer, and place to stand when I take off my boots to put on my heavy bibs. I’m sure that there are many other uses also; try it for yourself then let me know what works for you.

Three years ago, I ran into Dan DeWitt in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Hotel after a long day at the Sport Show. We had been introduced by the Preston Pittman of Pittman Game Calls three years prior to that at the NWTF. In my opinion, Preston is the guru of turkey calling. Preston had actually introduced Dan as the BEST deer caller bar none that he had ever met. Preston advised me to go hunt with Dan if given the chance. Dan and I became good friends via the telephone. Last year at the SHOT Show, Dan and I had our first date. Within a month, he invited me to spend the spring turkey hunting with him. I did and now I am his wife. So this year, the Harrisburg Sport Show is our first as husband and wife. Dan is getting used to all the folks hugging on me.

The weather has been great for the Show so far. On Monday, I sported my Foxy Huntress pants with zip-off legs. They were the perfect compliment to the new Raven Wear ladies vest in black, brown, or camo.

Next week, I will be in Nashville at the National Wild Turkey Federation Convention. It was at NWTF three years ago that I met Shelah by way of an introduction by her sister. This Foxy Huntress is an outstanding huntress and an even more incredible lady.

Both of my other lady friends, Susan and Bonnie have developed products that I use while hunting, but Shelah Zmigrosky took her own personal need for appropriate ladies hunting attire from a need to a business. In 2005, Shelah introduced the first complete line of ladies safari, upland and field wear for women. Foxy Huntress incorporates their exclusive camouflage pattern, available in shades of greens and ond oranges accented with browns, into the entire line.

At this year’s NWTF Convention, I will be presenting a seminar sponsored by Foxy Huntress, one of the centurion sponsors of NWTF on Friday (I believe at 12:00 or 12:30 pm). The seminar is 3-D Archery and Bowhunting: make the shot count. It will feature tips and techniques that will help the shooter be more consistent at the moment of truth.

I cherish my friendship with all three of these ladies and value the products that they provide to hunters and particularly to lady hunters. In a lifetime, we meet many people, but very few of them turn into lasting true friendships. With these three ladies,

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Gear & Accessories for Men, Gear & Accessories for Women, turkey hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.