Not Your Average Joe's

Joe Gavin, past president of the Des Moines Chapter, and Joe Beeman, Ames Chapter member, received the Sportsman of the Year award from the Des Moines Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America and WHO Radio. The statewide award recognizes commitment to natural resources and the environment. These two Ikes are certainly not your average Joe’s!

Joe Gavin, Des Moines Chapter (Iowa)
Joe Gavin was honored for his devotion to Izaak Walton League projects, including the Iowa Outdoor Expo for Kids and Families, for which he chairs the planning committee. “The award was an honor and I certainly thank the Ikes and WHO Radio,” says Gavin, “but it had a whole lot more to do with the Ikes who made this event a success and, of course, all the people who put on demonstrations and things for kids and their families to do. Young people, active and excited, are what make an organization go!”

Pictured above: Joe Gavin (left) with WHO Radio’s Keith Kirkpatrick (right). Kirkpatrick, also an Ike, is co-host of the weekly “Sportsman’s Notebook” radio program, the longest-running talk show in the country.

Joe Beeman, Ames Chapter (Iowa)
Joe Beeman was honored for his devotion to hunting, fishing, and trap and skeet shooting and for passing along an environmental ethic to his four sons and the community. It was his son Brad who nominated Beeman, saying, “Joe is an avid hunter and fisherman, still hitting the great outdoors to gather everything from bass to wild turkeys. We call him the ‘Bass Whisperer’ for his uncanny ability to get in the head of fish and flush out a school for boat mates to catch.” Beeman has inspired many with his outdoors way of life, teaching respect for and conservation of natural resources.