From the Somerset Co. (PA) Daily American:
Fisheries biologist to be Game Supper speaker
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MEYERSDALE – A lifelong participant in the outdoors, Kevin Yokum will be the featured speaker at the annual Game Supper to be held on Jan. 16 at the Meyersdale Grace Brethren Church, 112 Beachley Street. The event will be held in the church’s Activities’ Building, located at the rear of the main church facility.Yokum, a resident of Ellamore, W.Va., is a fisheries biologist for the West Virginia DNR and a freelance outdoor writer, combining his life’s passion into a two-fold career. He began hunting and fishing in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains with his parents and grandparents. The sportsman tradition was simply a way of life in the Yokum family, and early on he knew a career involving the outdoors was imminent.
The supper is open to the public and is free, although a free will offering will be taken to help defray expenses. Reservations are required and the deadline is Jan. 13. They can be made by calling the church at 634-5980. The menu will include a wide variety of donated wild game and fish in addition to other meats. Several door prizes will be awarded. A pretty good athlete in his younger days, Kevin played baseball at Davis and Elkins College and went on to graduate with a double major in environmental science and biology. He continued his education, and received an M.S. in biology from Marshall University, and started working as a researcher for the U.S. Forest Service and as a college instructor at Davis and Elkins College. In less than a year he landed his dream job as a fisheries biologist with the West Virginia DNR and was quickly promoted to district fisheries biologist. One of six district biologists in the state, Kevin works with many different species of freshwater sportfish, managing their populations to offer better fishing opportunities for anglers. On any given day Kevin may be stocking fish from a helicopter, tagging a 50-inch musky, electrofishing a wild mountain brook trout stream or explaining a wildlife regulation to legislators at the state capital. Kevin’s second career as an outdoor writer began to emerge when he began writing articles explaining the scientific rational behind hunting and angling issues. Now days he has become a popular outdoor writer who regular publishes articles in In-Fisherman, Bassmaster, Sport Fishing and Black Powder Guns and Hunting. His works can also be found in more that 20 other state and national publications. On occasion he contributes seasonal outdoor columns to Morgantown’s Dominion Post and the Elkins Inter-Mountain newspapers. Kevin has had opportunities to work with the staff of BASS and ESPN, and is regularly featured on the radio show West Virginia Outdoors. He has made various appearances on the Outdoor Channel and recently filmed a series of full-length TV fishing shots for West Virginia television stations. Realizing that a bit of divine intervention must be involved in the extraordinary writing opportunities he was afforded, Kevin felt called to write a book for hunters and anglers which would bridge the gap between the passion that true sportsmen feel in the outdoors and the love of the Lord Jesus. His first book, ‘Heart Shot’ is an inspiring devotional serving to help sportsmen overcome life’s challenges through hunting and fishing adventures. Since ‘Heart Shot” was released in August 2004, Kevin has conducted numerous speaking engagements at church functions, sportsmen’s clubs and banquets throughout the country. As time permits, Kevin continues to travel the world pursuing hunting and fishing adventures. Destinations have included Costa Rica, Switzerland, Austria, Scotland, Mexico and U.S. destinations such as the Florida Keys, the Everglades and Yellowstone. Kevin, his wife, Amy and their children are active members of Landmark Baptist Church in Elkins, W.Va. There they work with many ministries in the church including a teen ministry, ages 2-3 and a young adult Sunday School group. Kevin exclaims, “God has blessed me in so many ways, I consider it a real privilege to speak to folks about outdoor adventures, and the extraordinary opportunity the Lord has presented to each of us with His sacrifice on the cross.” Grace Brethren Pastor Randy Haulk emphasizes that the Game Supper is open to the public, but it is important that reservations be made by the Jan. 13 deadline. |