Hi. So, let me start by saying thank you for reading my Sunday stories here at the Brainerd Dispatch. I've had so many people over the many years comment on what I've had to say and of course the ones that I hear (first hand), have been mainly good ones.
God has given us all a voice to use, and I guess I'm not afraid to use mine.
I'm going to use my "voice" today to tell you that I am done with my Fleet Farm affiliation as of Tuesday at 12:45 p.m.
As most of you know, the Mills family has sold Fleet Farm to a private equity firm based in New York.
It was nine years of some pretty sweet stuff and an opportunity for me to meet some really good people, and do a lot of "things" that I wouldn't have normally been able to do. So I would like to thank the Mills family for putting their faith in me.
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They were a major blessing to me and my family (and so many others) at a time in our life where we needed a "pick me up." From day one, it was said that it would be a crawl, walk, run type of plan. It seemed (in our little world) that we crawled for the first four years and that's a long time when you have an entrepreneurial mind such as mine. But once we were done crawling, we got right up and started running.
The "We Love It! Outdoors" television show was at the stage when we were running and gunning, and that aired for only three years. I've learned a lot over these nine years, that is for darn sure. There are so many good people in this outdoor industry, and of course some that claim and are perceived as good. But I guess now that I think about it, we are not going to heaven for being "good" or doing "good." That was little diversion, and I'm guessing you can imagine as I try to put down nine years of memories in a little story that I'm going to be all over the place.
There are just so many pieces to this "memory" it's crazy, and I would have to write a long book to really get it all out there. But, since I know I have my own faults, I will leave it as this ... don't always believe what you see and don't idolize anyone except for Jesus Christ!
So, it's time to move onward and upward.
What does that mean for us (my family, our business, etc.)? I'm not sure what it all looks like, but each day a little piece of the puzzle seems to be getting put into place.
One piece of the puzzle is a truck! I need a truck to pull my boat, and to run a kid here or there.
Yes, my truck was part of my Fleet Farm contract. Maybe it's time to go a little incognito, eh? Well, I've always liked stickers, ever since my childhood so we'll have to see! I even had bumper stickers on my headboard as a kid, a Vikings one for sure.
After finding a truck and a little (maybe a lot) more turkey hunting, it's time to put the nose to the grindstone and formulate a master plan.
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I will plan on keeping you posted, and I will assure you that there is still some gas in this tank! Walleyedan's Guide Service will certainly continue and we are booking trips now.
P.S. Congratulations to Luke Hansen for bagging his first ever gobbler the other morning, on his birthday!
Walleyedan
