Hometown: Bentonville, Arizona
Home Lake: Beaver Lake
Favorite Lake: Lake Okeechobee
Angling Hero: Larry Nixon
Hobbies: Archery hunting, crappie fishing, spending time with my wife and son.
I was born and raised on a farm in NW Arkansas, close to Beaver Lake. There were three things that my life revolved around growing up on the farm: hard work, athletics, and the great outdoors. My father taught me at a very young age that the only way you can get what you want out of life is to work hard and be dedicated to what you have committed yourself to doing. I have tried to uphold these values throughout my life. In high school I was selected as an all-state player in both football and baseball. In college I earned the title as an all-conference defensive lineman.
Although I was involved in athletics my whole life, my true dream was to be a full-time professional fisherman. I knew once I graduated college I had to be successful at work in order to be able to afford to fish tournaments. I started with Tyson Foods, Inc. in May of 1993, 2 days following college graduation. I was promoted quickly through the management ranks and in April of 2000 I was promoted to the position of plant manager at the Randall Road processing facility. At 28, I was the youngest plant manager that Tyson Foods had at that time. During my last 6 years with Tyson Foods, Inc. I managed 500 employees in a fast-paced, highly-productive processing environment with a $31 million annual budget.
Through hard work, disciplined investing, and with the encouragement from an extremely supportive wife I left my job with Tyson Foods in February of 2006 to pursue my true dream and ultimate career goal of being a full-time professional fisherman. I have been truly blessed in life and I plan on carrying on these same values of hard work and dedication in my fishing career that have enabled me to be so successful in my previous endeavors.
