With his Top Five single "That Ain't My Truck," Rhett Akins became a sensation in the summer of 1995. Rhett grew up in Valdosta, GA, learning to play guitar and forming his first band with his two younger brothers by the time he was 11. In 1992, he moved to Nashville, where he began singing on demos, as well as securing a publishing deal of his own. Decca Records secured a demo of one of Akins' songs and the label offered him a contract. “A Thousand Memories”, Akins' debut album, was released in 1994. After his first two singles -- "What They're Talkin' About" and "I Brake for Brunettes" -- cracked the Top 40, "That Ain't My Truck" became his breakthrough hit, rocketing to number three in the summer of 1995. "That Ain't My Truck" became his signature song and helped the album become a hit. For most of 1995, he toured as Reba McEntire's opening act, performing a few dates as a headliner as well. In the summer of 1996, Rhett released his second album, “Somebody New”, which was an instant hit. He returned in January 1998 with his third album, What Livin's All About and signed with Audiom Records for 2002's “Friday Night in Dixie” and later with BNA Records for 2006's “People Like Me”. Of special note, Rhett was a bone marrow donor for his brother.

Although Mike Banks is obviously know for his football talents, he was an outstanding high school all purpose athlete at Ogden, holding the school record for most single-game points (43) in basketball leading the conference in scoring with 21 points per game, and earned four letters in track and field. Mike selected ISU for college where he was a 3 year starter, finishing his career with 59 receptions for 584 yards (9.9-yard average) in 43 games. While at ISU he was a two-time All-Big 12 Conference honorable mention selection. In 2002 Mike was drafted by Arizona where he played until 2004. And then spent the 2005 season with the New Orleans Saints.

Phil sold his first magazine story in 1985. A full-time outdoor writer since 1993, his work has appeared in numerous national publications including Field & Steam, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, American Rifleman and Time. Named Field & Stream’s Shooting Editor in 2002, he contributes a monthly shotgunning column to the magazine. He is also the author of the Field & Stream Turkey Hunting Handbook. He has traveled to 19 states, 3 Canadian provinces and South America in pursuit of upland birds.

In 1985, Northeast Louisiana’s Bubby Brister ranked 7th in the nation in passing and total offense and earned 1st Team All-Southland Conference Quarterback as well as Most Valuable Offensive Player in Louisiana. Drafted in the 3rd round Bubby played seven years in Pittsburgh, two in Philadelphia, one for the Jets, three in Denver and one for the Vikings. During his NFL career Bubby ended up with 1207 completions in 2212 attempts for 14,445 passing yards and 81 touchdowns, and an overall completion average of 54.6%. His rushing record was also phenomenal consisting of 191 attempts for 546 yards, and 8 touchdowns. Bubby and his wife, Bonnie, have two children, Madeline and Walter Andrew Brister IV (Andrew), and now reside in Mandeville, La. These days, Bubby is involved in doing fishing and hunting shows both locally and nationally.

Featured Artist

James Edward “Rusty” Brotherton, the only child of Ronald and Lela Brotherton, was born in Rock Island, Illinois on October 31, 1931. He attended school in West Liberty, Iowa, U.S.A.F. Washington DC, received his Bachelor of Arts  at U.C.L.A. and Master of fine Arts at UCLA.  Brotherton has traveled and studied art throughout the world, including Spain, where he continued his quest for capturing the essence of humanity and wildlife with paint and brush.

Some of his latest works include a large mural at the Muscatine County Conservation’s Learning Center; many Native American portraits i.e. “Wirlwindian;” wildlife scenes, i.e. “Surprise, Surprise;” portraits of friends and scenic views created from his rendezvous in New Orleans and Florida.

His ability to master the unity of form, space and color, has enabled him to create realistic images on canvas, walls, paper, sculptures, and furniture. His unique sense of humor is depicted in some of his latest works where he incorporates a bit of fantasy into his paintings i.e. “Sioux Chief.” His sense of creativity and flair for the “unusual” has enabled him to combine illusive and realistic objects into stimulating illustrations. His muse is the world.  His Iowa studio “A Rustyc Studio” is located along the Cedar River in Atalissa where he continues to create.

Barnie shot his first duck in 1976 at the age of 16, and was hooked. Since that first experience in the blind, he has pursued ducks and geese across much of the United States and Canada, and in that time, has arguably become one of the best duck callers the sport has ever seen. In 1989 Barnie captured his first World Duck Calling Championship. He added a second World Championship ring to his collection in 1999, and in 2000 he made history. When Barnie walked off the stage in Stuttgart, AR in November 2000, he had won his third World Duck Calling Championship, and in doing so, became the first person in 26 years to win back-to-back championships. His third title, which forced him into automatic retirement, put him into an elite fraternity of callers. Today, Barnie works as a pro for Big Foot Decoys and the Clinton Decoy Company.

Jeff is one of country music's hottest stars. There is also no doubt that his demeanor is the polar opposite of what most would associate with being "a star." He is charming, unassuming and affable. Carson experienced the bloom of 'first love' with country radio ten years ago when his smash ballad "The Car" impacted in '96, transporting him to the top of the charts, sweeping the ACM 'Video Of The Year'. Coming off and across the boards #1 with "Not On Your Love," "The Car" seemingly put the soft-spoken Arkansas born young singer in the fast lane to superstardom. He then followed up with the Top #5 hit, Holdin’ onto Somethin’ written by key songwriter Craig Wiseman, who has penned another up tempo for Jeff’s completed “Greatest Hits” package due out soon. Jeff and wife Kim are enjoying their life with son, Dayton Grei, born on Nov. 1st, 2003. “It’s a love like nothing else and we are so very thankful and blessed to have him in our lives.

As a senior at Byron IL HS, Considine was Sean was one of the school's top athletes on the state's best football teams. After walking on at Iowa and redshirting his freshman year, he caught the eye of his coaches and earned a scholarship and starting position at safety. Sean’s career at Iowa culminated in All-Big Ten honors as a senior, while also being a Academic All-Big Ten student-athlete. In his four year career he register 157 tackles, 6 INTs (2 for scores) and 5 blocked kicks, 4 of which led to TDs. Sean was drafted as the 1st pick in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. In just his second season he earned the starting strong safety spot. This season was a break out year for him with 86 tackles and an interception. Married to Nicole Horsley on 7/1/06, the couple lives in Deptford, NJ.  

Master of Ceremonies

Gary Edwards has been the WMT Radio host of the Morning Show, The Open Line and The Afternoon Edition for 14 years. He co-hosted The Children’s Miracle Network Telethon in Iowa for 6 years. Gary is a native of Dubuque. Gary’s radio career spans 29 years and his community involvement and philanthropic efforts are well known in Eastern Iowa. He spent his college days at Wartburg College in Waverly and Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis. Gary is currently an employee benefits specialist at TrueNorth Companies in Cedar Rapids.

Cal Eldred prepped at Urbana High School and was a standout at the University of Iowa. He was taken in the 1st round of the MLB draft in 1989 as the 17th pick overall by Milwaukee. Cal spent the first 9 seasons of his MLB career with the Brewers before being traded to the White Sox for two years and then three more years with the Cardinals. Following the 2005 season Cal retired from the majors after posting a stellar 2.19 ERA for the National League champions. Among Cal’s career highlights was having a sparkling 1.79 ERA in 1992, pitching in two games of the 2004 World Series and earning 20 victories in his first 30 career appearances in the majors, tying him for the quickest 20 wins in MLB history with three other hurlers. Cal is now settling into retirement with his wife, Christi, and their children, CJ, Luke, Emily, Abby and Hollee.  

One of the most impressive features of Joel’s resume is the fact that every time Joel joined a team, that team immediately became a contender- that is no coincidence. Joel was the anchor of the offensive lines that marked the rise of the Fry era of Hawkeye football in the early 80’s. In 1984 Joel was drafted by the Saints and during his 10-year career, New Orleans enjoyed by far their most successful era in franchise history. After retirement Joel moved back to Iowa City, where he and his wife, Jeanie, live with their daughter Anna. In 2005 Joel was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame.

A collegiate all-star running back and track star at the University of Iowa, Jim was a 2 sport varsity letterman in football and track. Jim played 7 years as a running back in the National Football League. He was a second round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1976. He went on to play for the Denver Broncos for 4 years and led the team in rushing and receiving in 1980. He also played in Super Bowl XII. He finished his career by playing two seasons for the Green Bay Packers.
Since his retirement Jim has spent 20 years as a commercial artist, marketing specialist and journalist. He is currently VP of Marketing for Water Valley, Northern Colorado’s largest resort style community in Windsor.

If there was ever a man born to spend his entire life in baseball, it was Bruce Kimm. Bruce was born and raised in Norway, Iowa, which has produced an astonishing number of outstanding baseball players. Although he has more recently been known for his managing and coaching accomplishments, Bruce was drafted by the White Sox out of high school and made his major league debut in 1976. He spent a total of 12 years in the pros and played catcher for the White Sox, Cubs and Tigers. After Bruce hung up his cleats in 1980 he continued his career in baseball by coaching in the minor leagues for Lakeland, Cedar Rapids (Reds), Orlando and Iowa (Cubs). In 2002 Bruce was named the manager of the Chicago Cubs.

Sean is a local product of West Branch. While a Bear he was 1989, 1990 and 1991 state high school golf champion. At Iowa he was immediately successful and was 1992 Big 10 Freshman of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 10. As a senior he was 2nd Team All American and 1st Team All Big Ten. As a professional golfer Sean has spent several years on tour with many accomplishments, including: 1997 Iowa Open Champion, 1998 Waterloo Open Champion, 2002 and 2003 Assistant Player of the year of the Iowa Section, 2003 Iowa Section Champion for Low Scoring Average, 2003 National Buick Scramble Champions, 2003 U.S. Open participant. Today, Sean continues with his golf career and he and his wife, Mundi, make their home in the Iowa City area with their son Reed and daughter Grace. Sean is an avid hunter and is the Head Golf Pro at Brown Deer Golf Course and a professional for J.D. Turner Golf Schools.

Wisconsin’s Greg Miller is a hardcore deer hunter with 40 years worth of deer hunting experience.  Greg has hunted whitetails in 16 states and three Canadian Provinces.  His biggest bucks to date are a 180 3/8 typical gun-kill from Alberta and a 202 5/8 non-typical bow-kill from Wisconsin.
    Greg has written for all the major hunting publications, and to date has had more than 1000 articles published.  He also has authored five books on deer hunting and co-authored more than two dozen others. 
    In the mid-1990's Greg began appearing in and co-producing the “PrimeTime Bucks” deer hunting videos for Hunter’s Specialties.  The videos have been some of the most popular and best-selling on the market.  He also has made regular appearances on “Realtree’s Monster Bucks” videos.
   Greg currently is co-producer and co-host of the highly rated TV show, “North American Whitetail Television”, which appears on The Outdoor Channel.  He also is a co-host for  “Realtree’s Whitetail Country” on ESPN-2 and for “Gore-Tex Outdoor Adventures” on Outdoor Life Network.  In addition, Greg makes guest appearances on “Thompson Center’s Game Trails” and “H.S. Outdoors” on The Outdoor Channel.   

 A retired Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman, Nelson played defensive tackle for the Cowboys until a knee injury ended his career in 1989. Robb was also an alternate on the United States Olympic Team as a Hammer thrower in 1988. He was a defensive lineman and hammer thrower at the University of Texas. Robb and his partner NFL Hall of Fame Member, Anthony Munoz, have represented over 300 NFL clients and entertainers including Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, and MLB players including Tim Wakefield. Robb has also worked with Country Singers Garth Brooks, Craig Morgan and Gary Morris. Robb is also legal counsel for the NFL Alumni – Rocky Mountain Chapter and serves on the Agent Advisory Committee for the NFL Players Association. An avid outdoorsman, Robb has hunted and fished all over the country and is on the Mathews Bows Celebrity Pro Staff. Robb is currently also working with Cabela’s Trophy Properties marketing hunting and fishing properties. Robb and his wife Wendy have two son’s Brady (9) and Hunter (deceased). They live in Windsor, Colorado. They are very active in “Hunter’s Dream for a Cure” (huntersdream.org), a charity named after their late son Hunter that raises money for children with neurological diseases and programs for special needs children. The foundation raises money through two annual major celebrity events the Dave Diaz-Infante & Mark Schlereth Charity Golf Classic and the Celebrity Hunt for a Cure. The foundation has raised close to $1,000,000 since its inception and the research clinic it started at the Kennedy Krieger Institute & Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore was recently renamed the Hunter Nelson Sturge Weber Center.

Stan has hunted whitetails for 40 years, harvesting numerous whitetail bucks with a bow, three of which scored over 200 inches. He has given hunting seminars all across North America and been the subject of many feature magazine articles. His hunting successes have been featured in North American Whitetail magazine, Illinois Game and Fish magazine and several other media sources. He has appeared in several hunting videos and television shows, including Realtree Outdoors and Hunter's Specialties Prime Time series. He is co-hosting North American Whitetail Television, airing July 2004 on the Outdoor Channel. Stan is also co-hosting Whitetail Country on ESPN beginning in October, 2004. Stan hunts 100% wild whitetails on public and private property and is well known for his expertise in treestand placement and patterning big mature bucks. Stan is a longtime National Pro Staff member for Hunter's Specialties.

Pat Reeve, from Plainview Minnesota, has been deer hunting since the age of six when his father Keith started taking him along to sit on his deer stand. Pat's passion for the sport of hunting has turned into a full- time career. He started working in the outdoor industry as a deer hunting guide in West Central Wisconsin for Bluff Country Outfitters. As a guide, Pat met several people in the television business who influenced him to turn his hobby of video and photography into a profession. Pat worked as a freelance videographer for the several years before landing his first "Dream Job" running the camera and working for Hunters Specialties, in 1997. Since then Pat has earned a reputation for being one of the best cameramen in the industry. He was behind the camera and filmed the largest Non-Typical be harvested on professional video in 2002. In 2003, Pat took his career to a higher level when he became the producer and co-host for North American Whitetail Television. Pat's work has been seen on all the major outdoor networks and he is also featured as one of the whitetail experts on Tom Mirada's "Realtree Whitetail Country" on ESPN. In the past seven years, Pat has taken thirty- three mature whitetail bucks on camera along with moose, bear, antelope and turkey. On November 14, 2005, Pat harvested the largest typical ever on professional video with a bow. The buck scores 203" gross typical. Pat has been married for eleven years to his very understanding wife Holly and they have four wonderful children Olivia, Cole, Carson and Isabel. They enjoy spending time as a family looking for shed antlers in the spring.

Hailing from Ankeny HS, Kyle was named to the elite all-state team as a junior and senior and was regarded as one of the top prep kickers in the Midwest. He was on the all-conference first team three years in high school and connected on 11-15 field goal attempts as a senior, including a best of 56 yards. He was also successful on 58-59 PATs and 56 of his 76 kickoffs went for touchbacks in his senior season. Kyle chose the Hawkeyes for college and just finished his final season ranking 10th in career scoring with 189 points. His 94 points in 2005 ranks seventh in single-season scoring. For all games played, Kyle ranked first in field goal percentage (81%), third in kick scoring (7.8), third in field goals per game (1.42) and fourth in PAT percentage (97.7%). In league games, he ranked first in field goal percentage (82.4%), second in field goals per game (1.75), second in kick scoring (8.5) and fifth in PAT percentage (96.3%). He also ranked 26th in the nation in field goals per game (1.42) and 39th in overall scoring per game (7.8). In 2004 he tied the Iowa single-season record with 21 field goals.

Hunter’s Specialties pro staffer Allen Treadwell, of Seligman, Missouri, is an avid hunter and decorated shotgun shooter who's won numerous titles, including 2000 Missouri State Athlete of the Year, 2001 Championship of the American Champion and 2003 National Collegiate Champion (shooting). He's the holder of two National Records in International Skeet Shooting, and he's an Olympic Team Alternate. Allen is a pro staff member of Bass Pro Shops Red Head Pro Hunting Team and of Nikon Optics. He's also a pro shooter for Mathews Bows. When Allen isn't competing in shotgun competitions, he's winning tournaments with his rifle, bow and muzzleloader.

Arguably the most famous outdoorsman in America, Babe has spent the last 25 years as the host of "Good Fishing" and more recently "Outdoor Secrets," seen throughout North America on both broadcast and cable stations. Babe has succeeded in fulfilling his dream of being self-employed in the outdoors industry through a combination of hard work, good business instincts, and a gift for communicating his love of hunting and fishing. Babe is a member of the Sports Legends Hall of Fame, the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, and the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame. Although more known for his time on the water, Babe has been an avid hunter since the age of 8, taking his first whitetail at 12. Babe and his wife Kris, who is well known in her own right for her cooking segments on the TV shows and the magazine columns she writes, still live not far from the family cabin on Hay Lake near Brainerd, where Babe learned to hunt and fish as a kid.

While we all know Kris from her cooking spots on TV and her cooking columns in newspapers and magazines, anyone who attended last year’s AFAC hunt knows she is also an excellent shooter and can hold her own in the field and on the clays course. Being an active hunter along with her husband, Kris' search for new and intriguing ways to prepare fish and game produced so many interesting recipes that she and Babe decided to start a cooking feature called "Kris’ Kitchen". The feature turned out to be very popular with viewers and has been a staple of their TV programs ever since. In addition to recipes, Kris’column deals with everything from the handling and storage of game to collecting wild mushrooms to selecting wines that compliment outdoor cuisine.