One Eyed Willy's Hosts Outdoor Writers

One Eyed Willy’s Hosts Outdoor Writers Bill Cooper 4/30/16 A plump English Bull Dog by the name Deacon waddled towards me, plopped her rump down on my feet and stared at me with big, dark eyes. The aroma of Ray Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ, from Cabool, Missouri teased my sense of smell more than Deacon’s longing eyes teased my sense of sharing. Ok, I did sneak her a tiny bite. Fifteen outdoor media members from the Missouri Outdoor Communicators enjoyed the fabulous Ray Ray’s BBQ as part of the 2016 Lebanon/Bennett Spring Area Cast and Blast sponsored by the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation, Ozark Ridge Calls and zMax Micro-Lubricant. One Eyed Willy’s Campground and Canoe Outfitter provided Lodging and meeting rooms. Meals were provided by Bennett Spring State Park, One Eyed Willy’s, Ray Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ and the City of Lebanon. The City of Lebanon has three times been named to Outdoor Life’s annual “Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen” list. From the great outdoors to the great indoors, Lebanon offers the experienced traveler a wide variety of options. Fishing, hiking, hunting, concerts, shows, pieces of America’s storied history on Route 66 and much more all can be found in the Lebanon area. Cast and Blast participants experienced the best of Lebanon area turkey hunting, floating and fishing the Niangua River, kayaking, hiking and trout fishing at Bennett Spring State Park. Other activities included a tour of the Missouri Department of Conservation Fish Hatchery, casting lessons and a demonstration from former St. James resident and fly fishing expert Jim Rogers, a spring tour and exploring park grounds. One Eyed Willy’s is “The Place to be on the Niangua!” Willy’s is a full-service campground and canoe outfitter located on the Niangua River. Lodging options include an assortment of rustic yet comfortable cabins and primitive camp sites. Visitors may rent canoes, kayak, and rafts to float and fish. The Whiskey River Antique Store and Gift Shop, Pete’s Place restaurant and Fire in the Hole concession make life on the river grand. www.OneEyedWillys.com. Ray Ray’s Smokehouse Barbecue is a family-owned business committed to bringing you the very best in award winning bbq sauce and rub products. Ray Ray’s was name the 2012 Grand Champion of the First Annual Fin to Fur Smoke Off. Ray Ray’s products may be found in area grocery stores. www.TinyURL.com/RayRaysBBQ.com. zMax Micro-lubricant is a science-based product with molecules smaller than those of conventional oils. Once zMax is applied to the internal parts of a firearm, it disperses carbon and other harmful deposits, protecting the firearm from the inside out. www.zmax.com/products/firearms/. Bill Green of Ozark Ridge Turkey Calls has been making quality calls for over 20 years. Each call is developed using materials and techniques that cannot be duplicated by today’s modern mass produced calls. Ozark Ridge Turkey Calls are the finest handmade calls available. www.OzarkRidgeCalls.com. Bennett Spring State Park is the fourth largest spring in Missouri, with a daily flow of over 1000 million gallons of water per day. One of Missouri’s most popular state parks, Bennett Spring offers a variety of lodging options and fabulous trout fishing. www.BennettSpringStatePark.com. The Conservation Federation of Missouri is a a private organization made up of thousands of Missourians who work together to better our natural resources and represents Missouri’s citizen conservationists. CFM speaks for sportsmen whenever and wherever it is necessary, to support our collective opinions on the future of Missouri outdoors. www.ConFedMo.org. The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization founded in 1997 to help meet financial needs placed on natural resource conservation and conservation-related outdoor recreation. MCHF advances conservation and appreciation of forest, fish and wildlife resources by applying financial resources to the priorities of the Missouri Department of Conservation in collaboration with donors and other partners. www.MOCHF.org. Outdoor communicators from Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma participated in the 2016 MOC Cast and Blast. The Lebanon, Missouri area will greatly benefit from the media efforts of the participants. Participants included Brent Frazee, of the Kansas City Star, Barb Ostmann, travel writer, Bobby Whitehead of Outdoor Guide Magazine, Brad Wiegmann, social media guru, Dale Bowman, of SBC Global, Dennis Whiteside, of Streamguide, Gretcehn Steele, an Illinois journalist, Jason Jenkins, of Rural Missouri, Kenny Kieser, from Kansas City, Thayne and Jeannine Farmer, Tim Kjellesvik, The Thinking Woodsman podcast and Bill Cooper, of Outside Again Adventures TV-Online. The media material produced by participants of such events provides a virtual media blitz for hosting communities, agencies and businesses. The 2016 Missouri Outdoor Communicators Cast and Blast was organized by the Missouri Outdoor Communicators executive directors, the Beenders Walker Group. Contact Kyle Stewart at 573-619-3296 fro further information. EDITOR’S NOTE: Bill Cooper is an award winning outdoor writer who may be followed on www.aoutdoorstv.com, www.facebook.com/Outsidealways, www.outsideagainadventures.blogspot.com and blogs in www.leaderjournalcom, www.therolladailynews.com, www.waynesvilledailyguide.com, and www.lakenewsonline.com. Bill Cooper lives in rural St. James with his lovely, award winning photographer wife, Dian.