15 April 2005

Governor Sebelius to kick off annual One-Shot Turkey Hunt

This weekend, Governor Kathleen Sebelius will help kick off the 2005 turkey season in the 19th Annual Governor’s One-Shot Turkey Hunt. The event is being held April 15-17 in El Dorado.

“This is my third year hunting in this event and each year my aim keeps getting better. Last year, I shot my first turkey and this year I’m ready for another one. This is a great way to promote hunting and the great wildlife we have here in Kansas,” Governor Sebelius said. Two years ago, Governor Sebelius shot a turkey but it got up and ran away.

The hunt is in its 19th year and brings key people from different professions to the region to experience Kansas hospitality. It was started in 1987 by Governor Mike Hayden who now serves as the Secretary of Wildlife & Parks.

The event has grown dramatically over the past 19 years. In 1987, there were 22 celebrities, 22 guides, and 50 landowners who provided land to be used.

This year, there are over 600 volunteers at work in putting the hunt together. Volunteers include guides, landowners, financial and merchandise sponsors and the many people who do the hands-on work. The event involves 24 committees, 252 landowners, 70 guides and a public banquet that is expected to draw more than 700 people.

Governor Sebelius will hunt in the company of celebrities, including former Kansas Governors Mike Hayden and Bill Graves; former Governor of Alabama Don Siegleman; Jeannette Rudy, a Nashville philanthropist who started a Butler County organization to assist disabled youth and adults; Beth Williams, president and founder of Tech Trans International, the exclusive provider of language services for the International Space Station Program; Dan Lankas former Kansas State University football player and K-State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee; Retired Marine Corps General Buck Bedard; Rob Keck from National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF); and Christi Henry from the NWTF’s Women in the Outdoors Program.

Celebrities attend by invitation only. Once they have attended they become eligible to join the Past Shooters Association, which entitles them to an invitation each year. Each hunter must provide their entry form and registration fees. This year’s event has 85 hunters.