Charlie Alsheimer with his wife, Carla, talking to attendees of the event.

Last night, I got to spend the evening at an event featuring nationally-known speaker and whitetail expert Charlie Alsheimer at the Blairsville Alliance Church in Blairsville, PA. This wasn’t the first time I saw Charlie speak or that I interacted with him. Several years ago I was a presenter at an event where he was the main attraction, and when I first saw him speak I was just starting college. From the first time I met him and heard him talk I was a big fan of his work and personal journey, and that’s still very much the case today.

I hung out with Jason and Rob from Apparition Scents, who had a display at the event. We got to talk with a lot of people about the products, which can only help build the local customer base. There were about 200 people in attendance, and they were treated to a wild game feast fit for a king, door prizes, and of course, Charlie’s presentation. They got all of this for the unbelievable price of $0. Kudos to the folks at the church for pulling off such an amazing event for nothing more than donations. I was actually lucky enough to win a nice pocket knife with a whitetail photo on the sides.

About 200 people attended Charlie's program, and nobody left disappointed.

I spent a fair amount of time talking with Charlie, mostly about deer management. He has been working hard in his backyard, Bath, NY, and is part of a program that has nearly 200 landowners involved. Even though he does countless programs and travels thousands of miles each year talking about whitetails, it’s obvious he remains passionate about his work. His love for whitetails and life in general clearly shows through in his amazing photography and writing. One of the best books I ever read related to whitetail hunting and behavior is Whitetails by the Moon, which Charlie wrote with colleague Wayne Laroche. If you get a chance, I encourage you to visit Charlie’s website, and maybe even purchase a book from his 0n-line store. You won’t be disappointed.