Team River Valley

Dr. Greg Caldwell, affectionately known as “Doc” is the president of River Valley Game Calls, Inc. and a semi-retired chiropractor. “Doc” presently sits on the Pennsylvania board of directors of the National Wild Turkey Federation acting as chairperson for the public relations, advertising, turkey calling and membership committees. He also serves on the By-laws, finance, education, youth, and Turkey Talk magazine committees.

After participating in the calling circuit during the 70’s and 80’s, Greg now judges or emcees many turkey calling contests, including the PA state championships, the Masters (6 years in a row), and the 2006 U.S. Open. As an NWTF board member, he has won the Irvin Buttray Memorial Service award, the Frank Piper Turkey Hunting Safety Award, and the James E. Willhelm Memorial Conservation Award for his efforts in introducing others to the sport of turkey hunting - particularly youth. “Doc” was one of the 10 mentored youth hunting committee members instrumental in passing the first ever Families Afield legislation in the United States. The information and format written by Greg was chosen as the guideline used in the language of the law and the eventual regulations governing the mentored youth hunting program.

"Doc” has taken several grand slams and the royal slam. He has personally harvested over 300 wild turkeys using rifle, shotgun, black powder, hand gun, and bow. He has also guided over 100 successful hunters during his 46 plus years in the outdoors. Greg has been blessed with the opportunity to have hunted throughout the United States as well as Canada, Mexico and Africa.

Ron grew up in central Pennsylvania where he still resides with his wife and 3 children. Ron's father and uncle first introduced him to hunting at a very young age. He has been a successful hunter for the last 35 years, harvesting many deer and trophy gobblers along with 3 Pennsylvania black bears. Turkey hunting has taken over his life for the last 15 years or so, just ask his wife.

Ron has had the pleasure of taking many friends and relatives into the woods around central Pennsylvania. He really enjoys the sport of turkey calling so much that some of these 14 to 80 year old friends were able to take there first gobblers. "There's nothing better than seeing someone take their first bird", he says.

Ron is a member of the NWTF, NRA and assists with the JAKES and Women in the Outdoors programs. He also volunteers his time as a certified hunter- trapper education instructor for the past 5 years. He thoroughly enjoys teaching young boys and girls the rules of the woods.

"I am excited to be connected with River Valley Game Calls and such a great group of people. I hope to have some great hunting adventures."

Michael Homan killed his first turkey at the age of 16. Since then he has taken over 50 birds. That was the same age Michael took his first archery buck. As a teenager, his first three deer were all heart shot running deer with a 30-30 rifle. Michael has harvested whitetails in several states using rifle, muzzleloader, bow, handgun and slug gun.

Michael has successfully maintained an auto collision repair business for over 25 years. He enjoys flying, has his pilot’s license, and owns his own plane. He is a positive addition to the River Valley Game Call Corporation.  Michael became a member of the River Valley team as its vice president of operations in 2005.

Michael shares that strong commitment to the outdoor and wildlife conservation as his other partners.  He brings a good heart and gentle attitude to the people. With his skills, self-employment background, organizational qualities, and ability to travel from point A to point B a lot quicker than most, Michael is the perfect fit as River Valley’s day-to-day operational director. 

Ken has been an avid hunter since he was a young boy; now that he is a few years older he has become a fanatic hunter.  Hunting or scouting for himself just wasn’t enough so he worked as a guide in the mid-west for 7 years. In 2002 he started Triple “B” Outfitters which is located in south Central Ohio.  Now with his own outfitting business and a prostaff member of River Valley Game Calls, Inc. he gets to scout, guide, film or hunt with family and friends almost year round. He and his clients have taken many trophy class whitetails in the past 10 years which provides Ken with many memories that will never be forgotten.  As great as those memories are, none of them compare to the successful hunt he had in the spring of 2006 with his wife, Wendy and his son Justin.  Wendy and Ken each harvested a turkey which was really exciting, but what made this hunt so memorable was the harvesting of a mature bird on film by Justin who is just 5 years old. The spring of 2006 will never be forgotten by mom, dad or Justin!

In closing, what we all need to remember is that young boys and girls are the future of our sport. Whenever you get a chance, open the door to the outdoors to anew hunter, young or old, male or female…you won’t regret it and neither will they.

Good hunting,
Ken

Joe Byler Sr., River Valley Game Call pro staffer, presently is the President of the Nittany Valley Longbeards Chapter of the PA Turkey Federation.  Joe was born and raised on a farm and currently works for Genex Corp. Inc. as a breeding program specialist. He started hunting when he was 5 years old, shooting a squirrel when he was 6 years old, a buck at 10, and his first turkey at the age 0f 13. While Joe can use most animal or bird calls on the market, he is proficient using his natural voice. He has harvested over 140 turkeys in 8 states as well as taking whitetail deer, elk, and bear with both rifle and bow.

Joe has participated in past turkey calling contests and currently judges many sanctioned contests.  He is an excellent turkey hunting speaker and teaches call usage at JAKES events. He is a sponsor member of NWTF, life member of the NRA and life member of North American Hunting Club. Joe guides many others on successful hunts and enjoys sharing his knowledge with everyone, especially youth and newcomers to the sport.  He works to preserve the wild turkey, other wild life and our hunting heritage.

Josh “Beaner” Hansen has been living in Wichita, KS for the past 18 years where he attended and graduated from Friends University with a Bachelors degree in Video Production and Graphic Design. He now guides turkey hunts for Paradise Adventures in Altoona KS. Beaner also works for KAKE channel Ten and Dicks Sporting Goods. During the 2006 spring season he successfully guided and or killed 30 plus gobblers. He started turkey hunting at the age of twelve when his dad took him out to harvest his first bird.  Josh has been addicted ever since.  The one thing he loves about turkey hunting is that every situation is a little different and he learns something new every time.  He also loves to hunt deer in the great state of Kansas. Beaner harvested three Pope and Young Bucks, the biggest being a 143-class buck. Some other animals he hunts are wild boar in Texas and elk in Montana.  Josh loves the outdoors and everything that goes along with it. He became a River Valley pro staffer in 2006.

Growing up in a small town in Central PA, Matt Moore was introduced to the great outdoors at a very young age. Matt was taught woodmanship and respect for all aspects of nature through the eyes of his father, grandfather and uncle. Through them, Matt grew up to be a pretty respectable hunter.          He has been successful during all of his deer and turkey hunting excursions. Turkey and archery hunting are two of Matt’s obsessions. Hunting birds in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina has been a cool experience. Being able to call birds in for other people especially first time hunters is a passion that’s better than shooting one himself.  During the 2004 VA spring season Matt was able to call in a huge longbeard for his father (Kerry Moore) who resides in southern Virginia.  In 2006 he called another big longbeard for his grandfather (Doyle Moore) as well as calling in birds for himself. Matt is also very competitive in turkey calling contests.  He started competition calling in 2004 when he became a pro staffer for River Valley Game Calls, finally winning his first competition at the 2006 Eastern Sport Show in Harrisburg, PA.  Matt is an active member of the NWTF and the IBO where he shoots in archery competitions.

Being part of River Valley Game Calls has been an awesome experience and a dream come true for Matt. He hopes his knowledge of the outdoors will help take this game call company to a new level. With God’s blessing and his hunting skills, Matt is certainly an asset to River Valley.

Skip has been a avid outdoorsman for 27 years, the bug bit him early and his love for the outdoors has grown over the years, Skip is a life member of the United Bow Hunters of Pennsylvania and has a passion for hunting with a bow. He also formed the Pocono Mt. Chapter of the NWTF, and is a member of the PA state NWTF board of directors and is a member of the NRA.

Skip has a love for turkey hunting and has harvested birds in seven different states, 42 to go!! He has taken a B&C Quebec Labrador Caribou and several P&Y white tails, but above all his own accomplishments he gets the biggest thrill in sharing the first hunting experience with a newcomer to the sport, being very active in the NWTF Jakes program gives him the opportunity to do just that with the hunters of tomorrow.

I am proud to be part of the River Valley team, It is a honor to spend time with other people who feel the same way I do about preserving our hunting heritage. I will do my best to help make River Valley Game calls number one! Oh, and don’t forget your MOJO…. YEAH BABY!!!

Kurt Nunnenkamp speaks for both he and his brother Mike. He might as well because they have been doing things for each other and with each other all their lives. That is amazing! Here it is 2006 and Kurt at 50 and Mike at 56 have never left home, so to speak.  Kurt moved a total of two and a half miles from where they grew up and Mike still lives on that very same location. Mike moved a quarter mile from the old homestead and then moved back in 1986, after building his family a new home on the very spot their original home was on. What Kurt is trying to say here is, they are definitely homeboys. Growing up to love, appreciate and respect Gods great outdoors, right there in good ol’ S.E. Kansas. The outdoors is their way of life and being farmers and in the outfitting business keeps them out their pretty much all the time.  Working with their brains, hands, and muscles, has been their way of life, while always keeping a watchful eye on the weather, day in and day out. The weather plays a very big part in both of their ventures.  Mike is a grandfather, five times over.  He has a wonderful wife, Nancy, and three children, (all grown up now), Brandon, Brian, and Brenda. Kurt has two beautiful children, Hunter and Hannah, and wife, Michele.  Mike and Kurt grew up in a family of six, with two sisters, Alana and Christy.In 1985, Michele and Kurt started what they then called Paradise Quail Hunting, in which he guided quail hunts only. This was the beginning of something that has really blossomed into a menagerie of things. Mike became his partner in the hunting business in 1994. That is also when they changed the name to Paradise Adventures, Inc. Their camp house, (lodge) will sleep up to 30 people and is only a half a mile from Mike’s home. They have remodeled, added on to and revamped the old two-story farmhouse. It came with the piece of property that Mike bought back in the late 80’s. It soon became the ideal place to put up their hunters and fisherman or whoever wants to visit. They now take people from all over the world hunting and fishing for all kinds of different critters.  Deer, ducks, geese, turkeys, coyotes, bobcats, bass, catfish, and of course, quail. In doing all of this, they met a fine gentleman by the name of Greg Caldwell, (Doc). Doc and Kurt grew to be great friends and during this time Doc became owner of River Valley Game Calls. This was perfect, because now Paradise uses only RVGC’s on all of their hunts. They now average around 130 clients in camp.

Mike and Kurt are proud to be on the River Valley Pro Staff and have been doing all they can to support the team.  River Valley has an excellent line of products with more, much more to come. Kurt and Mike have been on the team for about 2 years now, and it feels like home to them. “Hey, that’s the same thing people say about our camp, it feels like home.  We are a FAMILY.”

Hunting and fishing have been a huge part of Paul Phillips’ life. Ever since he was old enough to tag along with his father and grandfather, Paul has enjoyed the outdoors. Before his hunting years began he spent countless days training beagles and chasing cottontails with his grandfather. If he wasn’t doing that, then he was probably on the trout stream with his father.

From there, his passion for hunting and fishing grew. Paul’s main pursuits are trout, white-tailed deer and wild turkeys. He has been chasing white-tails for approximately 25 years and wild turkeys for 10 years. Paul has harvested numerous animals of both species. His focus now is to teach his children and introduce other people, especially youth, to the great outdoors. He hopes his positive and ethical approach to hunting and fishing will influence everyone he comes in contact with.

Paul is active with the National Wild Turkey Federation. His local chapter, the Allegheny Mountain Chapter, has been one of the top chapters in the state of Pennsylvania in creating wildlife food plots and herbaceous openings for wild turkeys and other wildlife. Giving back to the sport he enjoys is a huge priority for Paul. He joined Team River Valley in 2001 to help promote the River Valley Game Call business in the southwest central part of the state.

Growing up in a small rural town in North-Central Pennsylvania surrounded by mountains and vast woodlands, Rob couldn't help but take to the woods and fields for recreation. Not unlike most things that Rob sets his mind to, hunting soon became not only a part of his life, but a part of who he is.

“I remember as a young boy, I would ride my bicycle for miles just to wing shoot doves.", His love for the outdoors and animals only escalated from that young time.

Years later his experiences in hunting has taken him to many different states and Canada in pursuit of different big game animals. His nearly 20 years of calling whitetails was the foreground for successfully hunting, calling and harvesting a variety of big game animals including bull elk, bear, whitetails and spring and fall turkeys. The majority of which were harvested with bow and arrow.

With hunting partner and friend, Doug Marquardt, he developed a passion for video taping their hunts. Adding that element of challenge to their hunt and taking numerous animals on film, they've produced some of the most exciting fair chase-real Pennsylvania video footage of not only whitetail deer harvests with bow and blackpowder, but also the keen eyed Eastern spring gobbler.

Teaming up with River Valley Game Call's Ray Smith, Rob anticipates continued success, top notch quality hunts and exciting video footage. Rob's credits include, but not limited to, memberships in the National Wild Turkey Federation where he shares his passion and assists in the JAKES program teaching youngsters about hunting and the outdoors. His obsession with bowhunting includes his membership in the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, Hoyt's National Shooting Staff, local and regional competitions, and he can frequently be found sharing his archery technical and bowhunting knowledge amidst the Huntingnet.com Bulletin Board where he takes pride in being a moderator on their staff.

"My goal is to bring with me to River Valley Game Calls, my passion and experience in hunting and calling to help produce and promote some of the best calls and videos available today. I hope to ensure that future generations can enjoy the outdoors and hunting as I have. God Bless, Wishing you good shooting".

Competitive turkey calling has led Dennis “Wags” Wagner to River Valley.  His expertise has not gone unnoticed.Dennis has won open titles in four states and numerous top five finishes at the Master’s Invitationals. He has made the cut at every major contest, and has placed as high as fifth in the Grand Nationals. This, along with his understanding of the wild turkey language has enabled him to teach others how to master the mouth call. Turkey season is a great time for “Wags” to spend quality time with friends and family. “I love to hear that Gobble!!”  Once turkey season is over you can find him in search of whitetails. Checking trail cams on his property or just talking to the locals about big buck sightings are what keeps him going during the summer.

He is a member of the NWTF as well as a life member of the NRA and NAHC. He also has ties to several sportsmen’s associations in his hometown area.

Outside of hunting Dennis also enjoys time on his farm with his wife and four dogs.

He encourages everyone who loves the hunting lifestyle to pass the tradition on to the next generation.  This expresses “Wags” passion for the outdoors and his desire to preserve our hunting heritage.

I grew up in rural Centre County PA in the small town of Madisonburg.  My summers were spent on my grandfather’s farm working with him and my father. The farm was next to a mountain range and I fell in love with the outdoors exploring the fields and mountains on that farm. My father and grandfather taught me how to shoot a gun at a young age and would take me along on their hunting adventures. I started hunting at age twelve with my two mentors and turkey hunting became a passion early on. I have been a successful hunter for 46 years, harvesting many deer including a Big Bucks of Maine Club deer and many trophy turkeys.

I have had the opportunity to guide friends, relatives and youngsters turkey hunting for over 20 years.  I am an NRA member, NWTF member and past president of the Nittany Valley Longbeards local chapter of the NWTF. I have conducted numerous turkey hunting seminars and assisted with the Jakes and Women in the Outdoors programs. There is no better reward for me then seeing someone with a big smile after you have called in a bird they harvest. The outdoor experience is one of the joys in life.

I am excited to be a member of the River Valley Game Calls team and to be involved with such good people.  I hope to share my hunting knowledge and have many memorable hunting experiences with everyone I have the pleasure of interacting with.

Born and raised in Missouri, Lance was taught hunting by his father since the age of five. At the age of 8, he took his first turkey, which created an addiction that has no cure. Lance has passionately been calling competitively as well as in the woods ever since.  Even though Lance has just joined the River Valley team in 2006, he already is one of their top callers. Look out “Wags” and Matt. You three well do well together. Since picking up a bow in 1997 deer hunting has been an almost natural ongoing success story. Now as a prostaffer for River Valley Game Calls, Lance is able to carry out his dream, not only as a caller for a professional company but also as a viable videographer. Along with long time friend, hunting partner, and fellow prostaffer James Jennings, the mid-west is blessed with a dynamic duo. Already, River Valley has grown further West as a result of these two.

Lance lives with his daughter and expectant wife, Kim in Columbia, Missouri.
 
I am an avid hunter who began hunting whitetails at the age of twelve. I have had the opportunity to hunt several species of game throughout the United States and also in Canada. I enjoy hunting with archery equipment and have been associated with the archery industry for sixteen years. This has allowed me to participate as a pro shooter for several companies including PSE, Hoyt, and currently Ross Bows. I have also had the privilege  to work with Dick Sutton  of Sutton Archery for 16 years and assist him in coaching youth and adult archery lessons. The experience has allowed me to work with many well know people in the archery and hunting industry, helping me to become certified as a bow tech. and sharpen my hunting skills with the knowledge they’ve shared with me. I’m also a member of the NWTF. After all that my first love still remains hunting whitetails.  I’ve taken this love to a new level by guiding and filming hunts for the last seven years with Ken Fernburg of Triple “B” Outfitters.  While hunting with Ken I was fortunate enough to harvest a buck of a life time. In 2004 I harvested what we call the drop tine buck, he gross scored 209 inches, I was told to play the lottery that day. I’m like most of you out there, hunting consumes my life. It is a year long process, from scouting to hanging stands, or roosting that big long beard, to the hunt. You just have to love every minute of it. I hope you all have great success in all that you pursue.

I grew up in North Central Missouri and started bow hunting at the age of 14.  I took my first deer at 16 and took my first Pope and Young buck at 19. I also took my first turkey at the ripe old age of 15. Since then I have taken over 50 whitetails with a bow, 14 of which scored over 130 on the Pope and Young.  After getting my first turkey I have taken over 30 of them. I currently have my taxidermist license and take great pride in my work and have great respect in the animals I preserve.  Although my passion is bow hunting mature whitetails I also love to video hunts as well.  Now that I have children I am looking forward to spending time in the outdoors with them.

I am very proud to be part of River Valley Game Calls because it is a great company run by great people!!