What do you like to do to relax when you’re not working?

Anything outside. I love to hang out on my boat with friends, and love to fish and hunt. I grew up being outside all the time. I had video games but never played them, I had more fun riding bikes, fishing, and just exploring, the kind of things kids don’t do enough of these days. When I have kids, I’ll keep them away from screens as much as I possibly can. Boy or girl, they’ll have a BB Gun before they have an Xbox. I was seven or eight, hunting with my dad, when I got my first buck — it was such a good feeling, and he was so proud. I’m looking forward to that with my kids someday.

Teak, my two-year-old black lab, is my duck hunting buddy. Sometimes we’ll just play, but he loves to train too. When I put his collar on him, he knows it’s time to work, and he is ready to go. It took patience to get Teak to where I wanted him to be, but it was so rewarding, for both of us, the first time I took him out, and he knew what he was supposed to do. He had his days when he was a puppy though! He tore up the cushions on our outside couch because we left him alone — but he is so good now.

What would a perfect day look like for you?

That’s easy, I’d go hunting in the morning when it’s cooler, then when it warmed up to around eighty degrees I’d go out on the boat with some friends and just have fun. Then have some Mexican food for dinner.

I’m planning a deer hunting trip to Ohio next year, and a duck hunting trip somewhere yet to be determined too. I imagine those trips will have some pretty perfect days. And I always enjoy spending time with my parents and sister, and sharing some duck poppers, or backstrap grilled with bacon, or grilled flounder with lemon pepper.