| Back in 2008 I had the honor of getting to interview and write a biographical piece about one of my outdoors heroes--Gary Clancy. As long as I can remember, I've been reading his stories and advice about hunting and fishing that also included plenty of examples of how to be a good man, a good father, and a high quality writer. One of the biggest compliments I've received over the years has been from people who say that my writing style reminds them of Gary Clancy. When I pressed them for details of what that means (because I never would put myself in that ballpark) they told me because I write like I'm sitting there telling you the story. That's just what Gary was a master at doing and it has made me want to re-release the audio I recorded during my interview with him back in 2008... I recorded that after driving down to the Owatonna Deer and Turkey Show where I sat with him and his wife Nancy. The recording was paused many times as the two of them sold and autographed books, chatted with adoring fans, and hung out inbetween seminars. The audio is largely unedited (intentionally) so my apologies for any odd moments. I've had the pleasure of chatting with Gary many times over the years, most of the time at Game Fair when he put on seminars there. I even let him park his giant Lake Assault boat on my driveway for a weekend so he could jet off to Cass Lake after his final seminar, rather than drive back to southeastern Minnesota to pick up the boat. While our schedules never aligned to go hunting or fishing together as we often talked about, the advice and insights I've gained from him over the years are as close as I can come to being out there with him. A special thank you to Gary's wife Nancy and his entire family, especially his son-in-law Lee Clancy who I had a wonderful conversation with in the days following Gary's death. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend that you read a final "Note to Gary" written by Outdoor News editor Rob Drieslein and the obituary he wrote a few days later.  | A special request... I also request that you consider making a contribution to the Gary L. Clancy Wildlife Management Area project being coordinated by the Build A Wildlife Area program coordinated by Pheasants Forever, Outdoor News, Game Fair and the Minnesota DNR. Every dollar that you contribute is matched twice meaning that $1 donated becomes $3 for the project. The goal is to raise $100,000 and with every little bit that will happen! Click here to learn more about the project and to contribute.  A photo I took of Gary at Game Fair in 2013...he never failed to fill the tent!  Gary and Nancy Clancy back in 2008 at the Owatonna Deer and Turkey Show. Spending several hours with them was a joy with many life lessons. |
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