Virginia Call Makers Contest!

ROANOKE, VA — Volunteers from National Wild Turkey Federation Chapters throughout Virginia converged on the Holiday Inn Valley View in Roanoke on Saturday, January 25th for the inaugural Turkey Call Makers Competition held during their annual Awards Banquet.

The Call Makers Competition was the brainchild of NWTF Regional Director Billy Hall in an effort to allow some of the best call makers from Virginia and surrounding states to showcase their abilities.  Hall commented, “Virginia is fortunate to have some very talented call makers and we wanted to provide them with a platform to display their craftsmanship to the largest group of turkey hunting enthusiasts in the state.  For a first-time event, we had a great response from the call makers, receiving 29 calls, and we hope to expand the competition at our future Awards Banquets.”

The competition includes two prestigious awards; The People’s Choice Award, and the Top Grossing Call Award.  All calls are displayed on a silent auction for the banquet attendees, and the winners are decided based on the highest bid of all calls and the total number of individual votes for the most popular call.

The winner of both awards this year was Cliff Presley of Front Royal, VA.  This long-box box call was made of butternut and cherry, and sported a custom cedar lid.  Presley is an active member of the Skyline Strutters NWTF Chapter, an avid turkey hunter, and has two sons who are well known on the turkey calling circuit.  Presley’s call making expertise has won him awards at past NWTF National Conventions and we were honored to reward him with these esteemed awards.  When notified of the awards, Presley stated, “I’m honored and humbled to receive this recognition.  To be recognized by my turkey hunting peers is gratifying, and I truly thank them for this honor.”  Cliff Presley can be reached at:  (540)635-2769 or email:   gobblerhuntinfool@gmail.com.  

The NWTF is a national nonprofit conservation organization that was founded in 1973 and has worked with wildlife agencies to restore wild turkey populations from 1.3 million wild turkeys to nearly 7 million today.  Now, NWTF’s volunteers raise funds and work daily to improve critical wildlife habitat, increase access to public hunting land and introduce new people to the outdoors and hunting.  Together, the NWTF's partners, sponsors and grassroots members have raised and spent more than $372 million preserving hunting heritage and conserving nearly 17 million acres of essential wildlife habitat.

For more information about this event, contact Linda Layser at 540-490-0353 or visit:  www.vanwtf.com or https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaNWTF