The writer, Tony Sanders is the host of the Tony Sanders Outdoors Radio Show on WGOW, an award-winning Hunter Education Instructor and a dedicated volunteer for many conservation causes.

I am often challenged by people I meet on what it is that drives me to volunteer as much time as I do, or what sportsmen give back. There are times when I just can’t convey why we do what we do... but I try.

Perhaps my 20-hour day (Saturday)will help even the toughest critic understand.

The day started at 4 am. After getting ready, I drove to the radio station to do my radio show, Tony Sanders Outdoors.

We went off the air at 8 am and I rushed to my car, headed for Nashville. I was joined by JP Raines, a fellow volunteer Hunter Education Instructor for more than 35 years. In
Nashville we were honored to help distribute $148,000 raised by the Friends of the NRA all around the state. These grants went to over 60 groups that introduce shooting sports to young people.

JP and I returned to Chattanooga and headed straight for the National Wild Turkey [NWTF] Banquet at Chester Frost Park. We were there until 11 pm raising more money for this outstanding conservation cause.

Now, what "they" don’t understand.

The reason so many are willing to do such 20 hour days became very clear a few weeks back on my radio show, ending last night.

Don Oasi, the President of the Cherokee Chapter of the NWTF, was appearing on the radio show to promote the NWTF upcoming banquet. While on the air, he shared that four chapter members had anonymously agreed to pay the cost of the banquet for every young boy or girl under the age of 17 that came to the banquet. They had also agreed to pay for the NWTF Jakes membership for each of these young people as well.

One caller to the radio show said that his son had become interested in turkey hunting and the caller had no idea how to help him as he had never been successful hunting turkey.

Don offered to give his son a turkey call when he came to the banquet and then he would also make sure he knew how to use the call before he left.

What we did not know, was the caller was, like so many people today, unemployed due to the economy and getting free tickets was the only way he could afford to bring his son to the event.

I can assure you, they had a good time at the event and all the NWTF members provided this young man everything Don promised that morning on the radio from membership, turkey calls and a tremendous amount of education about turkey hunting.

To cap off the evening, the NWTF had planned to give away a shotgun to one of the JAKES in attendance. While I do not believe in luck ... you can imagine what happened. This young man, who wants so badly to become a hunter, was the winner of the shotgun. A better script could not have been written.

This young man’s life, and his dad’s, has forever been altered by a collection of strangers that had nothing on their agenda other than making a difference.

This is one story... but there are so many more that occur everyday in our conservation community.

Why did I put in a 20-hour day?

So I could be just a very small part of this story and share with the men and women who give of themselves to help preserve the sport we love so much.

Paying it forward is an idea that so many have embraced. I dare say over the next 50 or 60 years this young man will forever understand the concept of paying it forward.