24/7 Travel Stores partner with PF/QF for second annual conservation push
By Tom Carpenter, Editor - Pheasants Forever
November is pure magic in Kansas.
At long last, pheasant and quail seasons open and uplanders – and their bird dogs – spread out to hunt the state’s abundant public lands for roosters and bobs.
Waterfowlers get their day too, as ducks and geese stream in from iced-over waters to the North.
And we can’t forget Kansas’s legendary whitetails and the bruiser bucks that patrol the countryside as the rut kicks into high gear.
Like I said: magic. “And with hunters traveling the state up and down and left to right, it’s also a prime opportunity to raise funds for wildlife habitat and hunting heritage,” said Mark Augustine, president of 24/7 Stores. “Ten 24/7 Travel Stores in Kansas are located along the I-70 and I-35 corridors, ready to partner with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to ‘give back’ to the wildlife habitat and hunting heritage that is so important to everybody that hunts Kansas.”
Beginning Friday November 1 and running through Saturday November 30, 24/7 Travel Stores in Kansas are offering all customers the opportunity to make a donation to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever at the register, and also to purchase PF/QF merchandise right there in the store, a portion of the proceeds from which will go to PF and QF. 24/7 Stores are also donating directly to local PF and QF chapters in their communities.
In addition, customers can enter a drawing at each store for a PF/QF Orca cooler to be given away at the end of the promotion.
GIVING BACK TO HABITAT AND HERITAGE
Augustine is part of the second generation of family owners of the company. “Larry Triplett, founder of the stores and my father-in-law, made me a hunter,” says Augustine. “He hired me on in 1989.” Last year in this space we talked about Triplett’s deep commitment to upland habitat.
This year, hunting heritage was a focus when we discussed the 2019 promotion.
“My son Ted is the perfect example,” said Augustine. “Life as a young adult took him away from Kansas. But he had had the opportunity to really live the hunting and outdoor lifestyle growing up here. He missed it. It was part of him. He made a life choice and came back in April.”
“We started him in the business,” said Augustine. “He’s doing it all, learning it from the ground up. It’s good to have him here. Kansas’s outdoor lifestyle brought him back. 24/7 needs to keep giving back to that idea – that our habitat is everything and that youth need opportunities to get outdoor experiences. That’s why we’re all-in for helping PF and QF again.”
It’s in 24/7’s culture.
CREATING A HUNTING CULTURE
24/7 Store personnel talk hunters’ language. “Many of our managers and employees are hunters,” said Augustine. “For many Kansans, that’s just our way of life. But we educate and train employees who don’t hunt, too, to understand it and talk the language. They know what it means to have a hunter walk through the door. We care.”
That makes any 24/7 Store in Kansas a great place for any hunter to stop when they need to fill up with gas, grab something to eat and stock up on supplies. “We want to help PF and QF give back to conservation, and to keep the hunting culture alive,” said Augustine.
Last year over $24,000 was raised for upland habitat and hunting heritage. “Our stores did a great job. This year we want to make it $30,000.”