Linda Powell: From Nurse to Huntress
John E. Phillips 05.30.13
Author’s Note: Linda Powell is Director of Media Relations for Mossberg (www.mossberg.com) and handles the company’s advertising for print, TV and online.
Linda Powell has hunted in Africa four times, has made seven or eight elk hunts, hunted grizzly bears once, and has been bear hunting in Russia. She says she has a passion for bear hunts and has been on more than 25 hunts for black bears. “I have taken more than 18 black bears, but I really enjoy watching the bears and learning how they behave. So, on some hunts I don’t take a bear. If I see a bear that seems like he wants to go home with me, then I take him.”
We asked Powell about the transition from being a nurse in the medical profession to being the only woman in a hunting camp. Powell answered, “The medical profession also was a male-dominated profession, so I was accustomed to working with men. My first year of hunting and shooting was really challenging for me. I was in my mid-thirties and had to learn the vocabulary of the outdoors. I approached this new job with Remington as though I was learning a foreign language. I was so naïve in the beginning that I didn’t know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle. Then I had to learn about gauge, caliber, and ballistics. In that first year, I went home many nights and cried and wondered what I’d gotten myself into without knowing much. I asked myself, ‘Will this ever make sense? Will I ever be successful in the world of hunting and shooting?’”
Powell says that mentors made a tremendous difference in how quickly she digested the finer points of hunting and shooting. “After one year and nine months, some of what I was learning made sense. The thing that really changed me as a person and made me realize I wanted to be a professional in the outdoors was that first black bear hunt with a muzzleloader. After the shot, I remember walking up and seeing the bear I had taken. I had an overwhelming rush of different emotions all at the same time. The overriding emotion was realizing that I was now a hunter and would be for the rest of my life, regardless of what I did professionally. I knew that I had changed as a person.”
In our next article we detail how Powell adapted to being the only woman in hunting camps across the world.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
