Linda Powell’s route to Outdoors Hall of Fame
At first, Linda Powell thought Garry Mason had made a mistake when he called, telling her she was being inducted in the Tennessee-based Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame. No way, she thought.
“I questioned him because I really didn’t understand it,” Powell said of the call from Mason, the LOHF’s founder and executive director. “I was driving and I thought maybe he had called the wrong person.”
Mason, who lives in Springville, Tenn., had the right person.
He just caught Powell, who has been the director of media relations at O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., one of the nation’s leading firearms company, for 15 years, off guard.
Considered a pioneer in her field, Powell will join five others in the LOHF’s 2018 class, including Doug Minor, vice president of sales & marketing for Collierville-based Strike King Lure Company; Jimmy Sites, contributor to the Sportsman’s Bible, outdoors advocate and host of Spiritual Outdoor Adventures; Orlando Wilson, a pioneer in outdoors fishing television; Charlie Brewer Jr., second generation owner of Charlie Brewer Slider Company and John McAteer, promotional pro staff manager for BearMagnet TV.
For sure, Powell took an unusual path to becoming a LOHF inductee.
Born and raised in North Carolina, Powell did not “discover” (as she calls it) her passion for the outdoors until later in life.
“What is really interesting is that I went to nursing school and spent the first half of my adult life in the medical field,” said Powell, who lives in Greensboro, N.C. “In typical burn-out, I just wanted to find something different to do. Little did I know that I would end up in the world of hunting and shooting.”
Her break came when she went to work for Remington. A friend told her about an opening at Remington, which was moving its worldwide headquarters to Madison, N.C. At the time she knew nothing about hunting, shooting or ammunition.
Remington hired her – at the age of 37 – to be an administrative assistant, working in an office to fill media requests for product information. It was during her time at Remington that she first went to the shooting range and learned to shoot. She also took a Becoming an Outdoors Woman course.
It was at Remington also that she shot a gun for the first time and ventured out on a bear hunt a year later. Now, Powell has 22 years’ experience in the firearms industry and become a pioneer in helping to bring more females into the industry.
“I am simply doing something that I love,” Powell said. “I guess in looking back and talking to Garry, it is unique in being a female in this position. Particularly in the past 20 years, there were not a lot of females in the industry; most definitely in a position like mine in representing a company.”
Still, she was shocked at her LOHF selection.
“It has been an incredible career and it is an honor for me to be in the outdoors industry,” she said. “I am thankful every day that I was introduced to the outdoors and shooting sports. I may have gotten a late start, but I’ve tried as hard as I can to try and catch up.”
An accomplished hunter, Powell travels across the country pursuing her favorite species -- bear, turkey and western big game – but more importantly, she said, is her enjoyment of sharing her adventures with others as the host of media groups in the field.
She is passionate about mentoring new hunters and is proud to have introduced her son and her mother to hunting and encouraging other women to participate in the shooting sports. Plus, her commitment goes beyond her day job. She is also a life member and former board member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
“Oh, my goodness,” she said. “My life changed. I grew up wanting to go into the medical field. I wanted to help people. I was pretty much a city girl that didn’t venture into the backyard for fear of what critter I might run into. I am so humbled by being selected for this honor. I still can’t believe it.”
One more thing should know about Powell is that she is waiting a match with a kidney donor.
“So far I am hanging in and haven’t had to start dialysis, but it is looming in the near future. Hope to find that match soon,” she said.
Rob Keck, host of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World radio show, will be the speaker at this year’s Legends of the Hall Fame banquet on August 25 on the General Jackson Showboat/Music City Queen in Nashville. Boarding begins at 9 a.m., and will be followed by the banquet and induction/award ceremony at 10.
The event is open to the public. Sponsorship information and individual ticket reservations may be obtained through the Legends of the Outdoors website at legendsoftheoutdoors.com or by calling 731-693-7770. Reservations must be made and purchased before July 31.
Got an item or note? E-mail Larry Rea at lroutdoors@att.net or go to his web site at lroutdoors.com; listen to Larry Rea on Outdoors with Larry Rea on Saturday mornings from 6-7:30 on ESPN 790-AM and 1520-AM and 95.3 in Brownsville, Tenn., and 6:30-8 on News/Talk 101.5 in Jackson, Tenn.