Volunteers, Special Guests Celebrate Conservation in St. Louis with DU

ore than 1,100 volunteers, staff and special guests convened in the great city of St. Louis last week as part of Ducks Unlimited’s (DU) annual convention.

Guest speakers during the week’s business session included John Paul Morris, general manager of Bass Pro’s online stores, who joined DU CEO Dale Hall on stage to give the audience a virtual walkthrough of the Bass Pro Shops destination store set to open in Memphis next year. The video tour focused on the Waterfowling Heritage Center, a space donated by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris that will feature numerous duck hunting and conservation elements. The duo also wowed the audience with a special message from NASCAR’s Tony Stewart, driver of the Bass Pro Shops sponsored No. 14 Chevrolet, and John Paul Morris unveiled a new NASCAR paint scheme featuring the DU logo. The car will race at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona on July 5.

“To cap off a week of such great camaraderie with the unveiling of the NASCAR paint scheme donated by Bass Pro Shops was tremendous,” Hall said. “The unwavering commitment to conservation shown by the Morris family is nothing short of stellar. We truly appreciate the partnership we have with Bass Pro Shops and look forward to both the NASCAR racing in Daytona and the opening of the Waterfowling Heritage Center.”

Other guest speakers during the business session included EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who thrilled the crowd with stories of growing up hunting.

“It was truly an honor to have such a distinguished Supreme Court Justice speak to our volunteers in St. Louis,” Hall said. “Justice Scalia has given opinions on some of the most impactful court cases in history, and to spend time with him was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime privilege.”

Along with the great guest speakers, convention attendees also had the opportunity to tour St. Louis and historic hunting clubs and DU restoration projects in the region, visit the botanical gardens and get a lesson in beer brewing at the Anheuser Busch facility.

Capping off the week was a gala where DU volunteers and conservation enthusiasts raised nearly $200,000 for DU’s mission.

Sponsors for this year’s event included: Bird Dog Flavored Whiskey, Discover Financial Services, Jack Daniels, Kraftig Light, Monsanto, Nestle-Purina, United Country Auction Services and Winchester Ammunition.

For more information about next year’s convention, May 27-31, 2015 in Milwaukee, visit www.ducks.org.

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. DU got its start in 1937 during the Dust Bowl when North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. Determined not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl dwindled beyond recovery, a small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited. Its mission: habitat conservation. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. DU is able to multilaterally deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.