As a primary sponsor of the upcoming 35th Annual National Hunting & Fishing Day (NHFD) -- Saturday, September 23rd, 2006 -- The Outdoor Channel has announced a multi-city celebration to commemorate the occasion, underscoring their continued involvement in and commitment to the rapidly-expanding national outdoor community, and to providing the most authoritative and entertaining hunting, fishing, and outdoor lifestyle content available.
In two separate events organized on and around NHFD, The Outdoor Channel will participate in the official NHFD celebration taking place at the Wonders of Wildlife (WOW) Museum -- the National Fish and Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, MO and will also converge on Detroit, MI to sponsor a gala viewing party for the winner of TOC's highly-popular 5th annual "Win Your Own Fishing Show" (WYOFS) Contest.
Commenting on the day's significance, Amy Hendrickson, TOC's SVP of Affiliate Sales and Marketing, stated: "These two events taking place on National Hunting and Fishing Day are perfect examples of The Outdoor Channel's unwavering dedication to the outdoor community, and allows us to further extend our brand above and beyond our programming. We're thrilled to be a primary sponsor of NHFD, a day created not only to promote hunting and fishing, but also to shine a spotlight on the important role that hunting and fishing play in national wildlife conservation. Also occurring on NHFD, the Detroit viewing party for TOC's 2006 WYOFS Contest winner Joel Piatek was a must-do event -- underscoring the wide popularity of the Contest and the strong grass roots support for the Channel." She added, "We have the opportunity on NHFD to celebrate along with America's 82 million hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts and remind them that they will always have a home on The Outdoor Channel -- the undisputed #1 destination for outdoor lifestyle programming."
The 35th Annual National Hunting and Fishing Day -- a national day of recognition and conservation awareness brought into fruition by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and made a reality by President Richard Nixon's signed proclamation, will be celebrated nationwide in hundreds of individually organized events and officially recognized in ceremonies taking place at the WOW Museum in Springfield, MO. Numerous NHFD activities will be taking place at the WOW Museum throughout the day on Saturday, including appearances from Outdoor Channel personalities Stacey King, Rusty Faulk, Kim Rhode, and Rachel Phelps. In addition, auditions will be held from 9:00AM to 3:00PM for this year's edition of TOC's popular "Win Your Own Fishing Show" Contest. NHFD at WOW will culminate in an evening VIP reception, featuring H. Dale Hall, Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and a special performance from country music sensation Tracy Byrd.
Also on Saturday evening, 2006 "Win Your Own Fishing Show" Contest winner Joel Piatek will be present at a special Detroit, MI hometown viewing party, featuring the world premiere of his special custom-created fishing show episode. This year, over 5000 contestants auditioned for the 5th annual version of the WYOFS Contest in 64+ venues across the country, before being narrowed down to five semifinalists by a TOC panel. The public, viewing the original semifinalist auditions on TOC's website, www.outdoorchannel.com, ultimately voted Joel the winner and most deserving of his own fishing show for 2006.
For more information regarding National Hunting & Fishing Day, please visit the website at: www.nhfday.org or www.outdoorchannel.com
