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Wild Turkey Federation Honors IBEW Retiree’s Leadership

March 27, 2012

Traveling to Chicago and St. Louis, after serving as a motor machinist mate on a Navy amphibious landing craft during World War II, Gene Denton, a freshly-minted Arkansas lineman, couldn’t boast like his big city co-workers about their teams—the Cubs, White Sox and Cardinals. But Denton was every bit a sportsman, part of a family with a hunting tradition going back to 1704 when his first ancestor arrived from Scotland.

In February, Denton, 85, former business manager of Little Rock Local 295, was honored for his teamwork—never missing a meeting as a 32-year member of the board of the National Wild Turkey Federation, one of the nation’s most successful hunting and conservation organizations.

With chapters in every state and Canada, the federation has spent more than $372 million since 1985 to help wildlife agencies trap and relocate turkeys to areas of suitable habitat and improve the health of the nation’s forests and woodlands. Once almost extinct, the rebounding presence of wild turkeys—a sacred part of American Indian culture and early folklore—is considered one of the best conservation stories in the history of North American wildlife.

Denton joined NWTF in 1975, two years after its founding, upon the suggestion of a friend, a wildlife biologist with an Arkansas state agency. After a short time, he led the state’s chapter and then served on the organization’s national board, including a stint as president, from 1980 until his retirement in February.

“Whatever I do, I do full speed,” says Denton, whose four sons, Bill, Jim, Paul and Larry followed him into the electrical trade. Hunting with his sons was an important way to make up for his long absences on the road. Those experiences inspired Denton to help develop the group’s youth outreach program, involving boys and girls in shooting programs, hiking, canoeing, and conservation efforts.  He also has worked with the group’s Women in the Outdoors program and the Wheeling program for persons with disabilities.

A story on the Log Cabin Democrat blog reports on Denton’s 2008 induction into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame. He described how he started calling turkeys in his youth with sounds made from a “piece of slate and a wood peg,” progressing onto other types of calls. But he said:

Calling comes second. Knowing turkeys is more important. You have to know what a turkey is likely to do in different situations to be a good hunter.

The same versatility was needed in his work as a federation leader, dealing with others from much  different backgrounds, says Denton, whose grandsons, Aaron and Clay Denton and a daughter-in-law Gwen are also members of Local 295.  He says being a lineman in charge of a local of inside wiremen tested his leadership abilities. Denton adds:

I served on the board with some wealthy and prestigious people. I was still a lineman. You could still smell the creosote on me downwind.  But it was kind of like when I was a business manager. If everyone didn’t like me, at least they respected me.

Sam Mars III, the current president of NWTF’s board, says:

Gene’s a home run. His ability to get down to anyone’s level and communicate is uncanny. He’s full of wisdom.  He always said you have to do the right thing for the right reasons, but he always threw in…at the right time…I can’t put a price on what he has done for me as a mentor and a friend.

Louis Yount, who began service on the federation’s executive board in 1987, says Denton’s union background was apparent in his approach to work in the federation. The retired Sunoco construction and design engineer says:

The regular members of the NWTF always had a strong advocate in Gene, who made sure the organization’s constitutional obligations were met. I considered him a good counselor. If I had some       things I was concerned about or didn’t know what to do, Gene always seemed to know the right path to take.

  Long concerned about the damage outsourcing production afflicts the nation’s economy, Denton advocated for the federation to order American-made hats and clothing and other merchandise to sell to members.  He says:

One board member told me I was just pushing for buying American-made goods because I was a union guy. I told him I was an American before I was union.

Drawing comparisons between his work in the IBEW and the NWTF, Denton, whose son, Jim, is a Tenth District International Representative, says:

I still enjoy the benefits I earned with my membership in the premiere labor organization in our country. I believe that you support your leaders. If you have differences with them, you don’t lay down. You get active.

An accountant’s son, who followed the other the men in his family into a union trade, Denton understands the difficulty reaching out to build the federation’s financial base. He says:

The product we’re merchandising is conservation. Doing things for turkeys is not a high priority in an economy where a married couple can both work and still bring home less than $40,000 a year.

 It’s a hard sell, but the group is making modest gains in membership, operating in the black. The federation has saved 17 million acres of wild turkey habitat from destruction by unrestricted development, and more young people are involved in a healthy outdoor activity.

Retiring as a lineman in 1989, Denton, who held several union offices over 42 years, traveled across the U.S. and as far as New Zealand hunting turkeys and making new friends, often with his wife Clara, also an IBEW member. “I like to see what’s on the other side of the mountain,” he says.

 Conserving nature and preserving bonds between people are part of the same mission, says Denton. “I’m of the opinion that you can’t tell where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from,” says Denton, who reminds younger electricians that benefits they take for granted, like coffee breaks, didn’t exist when he entered the trade. Similarly, one had to travel 60 miles to another county to hunt turkeys. But through hard work, activism and advocacy, a nearby bounty has been nurtured.