The 13th Annual Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame has included Fox Haas, father of Mossy Oak Founder Toxey Haas, in its 2014 class of inductees.
Fox Haas was instrumental in the re-establishment of wild turkeys in east central Mississippi, hosting one of the region's first successfully transplanted flocks on land under his control in the 1970s. In cooperation with state wildlife officials, strict management efforts and supervision of the resource helped 10 transplanted hens and two transplanted jakes flourish into 60 birds in three years' time, then saw that flock disperse as it continued to expand throughout the hollows and river bottoms of the state's prairie region in the years that followed.
"It was very rewarding, to see them thrive like that," Haas said, "particularly when turkey hunting is a sport you enjoy so much. You're there before daylight, and you're watching the sun come up through the trees. You hear the woods wake up. I don't know that you can separate the experience into pieces. It's all part of the same thing."
Founded by Garry Mason, the “Legends of the Outdoors” National Hall of Fame has been established to recognize those outdoor sportsmen and sportswomen who, through countless hours of hard work and devotion to the outdoors in both hunting and fishing, have played an integral part in setting the standards and guidelines for the rest of the outdoor world to follow.
2014 class of inductees include: Dan Moultrie – Founder of MOULTRIE Game Feeders and Trail Cameras; Bob Sealy – CEO and Founder of Sealy Outdoors; Helen Sevier – Lady B.A.S.S., former VP of Marketing & Co-Owner of B.A.S.S.; “Cowboy” Jim Fernandez – Co-Designer of the Double Reed Duck Call and Founder of Sure-Shot Game Calls; Fox Haas – a Pioneer in Wildlife Conservation; Tom Miranda – Nationally known Trapper, Bowhunter and Outdoors Television Producer; and Terry Denmon – Founding Partner and Host of MOJO Outdoors.
The induction ceremony was held August 16 in Nashville, Tenn., upon the docked General Jackson Showboat/Music City Queen on the Cumberland River. In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, Dr. Jimmy Sites received The American Outdoor Sportsman of the Year award and Mr. Carroll Sites was given The Guardian Eagle Award.
Past Mossy Oak inductees are Toxey Haas in 2009 and Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland in 2013.
For more information on Garry Mason’s Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame, visit www.legendsoftheoutdoors.com.
