Director of Mossy Oak’s ProStaff Tim Anderson: Why Bestow the Title of Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year?
Editor’s Note: Many of us have learned that the quickest way to get from where we are to where we want to be is to find someone who already has achieved what we hope to achieve and do what they’ve done. One of the most-coveted positions in all the outdoor industry is being a Mossy Oak ProStaffer. This year, Tim Anderson, director of the Mossy Oak ProStaff, has created a new position – Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year. The first recipient is Bill Lewis of Omaha, Nebraska. This week we’ll learn why the Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year title has been created, what’s required to be the Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year, and what the Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year wins. The title, Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year, is the highest award Mossy Oak can bestow on a member of its ProStaff team.
I had each of the Mossy Oak ProStaff Regional Directors choose the person he considered the best Mossy Oak ProStaff member in his region to nominate that person for ProStaffer of the Year. Next I asked each of the managers to write a letter telling me why he thought the ProStaffer he nominated was the best ProStaffer in his region. To keep from interjecting any bias in the selection committee, I asked an independent group of outdoor people to read each of the letters for the nominees for 2016 ProStaffer of the Year and score each nominee, based on why the regional manager recommended that individual. We had 24 outstanding finalists, and Bill Lewis was the winner for 2016.
We decided to have a Mossy Oak ProStaffer of the Year, because over the last 8 years, members of the Mossy Oak ProStaff team have worked extremely hard to represent Mossy Oak in a wide variety of outdoor competitions and given of their time to help charitable organizations. They’ve spent thousands of hours volunteering in their communities to represent the values of Mossy Oak. As a company, Mossy Oak wanted to recognize some of the hard work that these men and women have put in to help grow the Mossy Oak family and the values of Mossy Oak.
We didn’t just recognize Bill Lewis. The 24 who were nominated as the best in their groups also were given prizes to show Mossy Oak’s appreciation for the outstanding jobs they had done for Mossy Oak in 2016. Bill will receive a big prize package with a lot of Mossy Oak gear, and Bill and his regional manager, D.J. Randolph, will go on an all-expense-paid hunting trip with the Mossy Oak crew.
This beginning of a new program is one we’re initiating this year to recognize Mossy Oak ProStaffers in each of our 24 regions. We want to let them know how much we sincerely appreciate the work they do with and for Mossy Oak each year. From this year moving forward, we’ll recognize one Mossy Oak ProStaffer in each of our regions, who is nominated as a ProStaffer of the Year. Then, as this year, an independent group of outdoor judges will select the best of the best to be recognized as the ProStaffer for that year. This award is one of the highest that any of our 1,100 Pro Staff members can achieve. These 1,100 people are ambassadors for the Mossy Oak brand and Mossy Oak’s licensees throughout the nation.
Mossy Oak Regional Manager D.J. Randolph Explains His Nomination of Bill Lewis
