Jannakis Wins 2009 Georgia State Turkey Calling Championship

The Georgia State Turkey Calling Championship was held at Unicoi State Park on Jan. 12. The top-three finishers in order were (from left) Chris Jannakis, Doug Benefield and Mike Stovall.

Chris Jannakis of Gray won last month’s Georgia State Turkey Calling Championship at Unicoi State Park. The win marks Jannakis’ first win in the event, which runs in conjunction with the Georgia State Convention and Awards Banquet of the Georgia State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).

Second place went to Doug Benefield of Newnan; Mike Stovall from Eatonton finished third.

The annual Dixie Classic was also held, and Jeff Sipe of Conover, N.C. won that contest. Doug Benefield finished second, and Joe Drake of Fortson was third.

The Intermediate champion was Dakota Russell, and the Junior Division winner was David Lee Armistead.

The annual DNR Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award went to Cpl. Derrell Worth. During the 2007 Georgia turkey season, Cpl. Worth concentrated his public outreach efforts on educating the youth in Greene County schools about the Eastern wild turkey. He presented several information and education programs in the schools, reaching more than 125 students. Cpl. Worth taught the students about the habitat, traits and behavior of the wild turkey.

In addition to public outreach, Cpl. Worth also is committed to the detection and apprehension of turkey violations. He logged more than 200 hours in pursuit of turkey violations this past spring.

The NWTF strives to involve youth in all facets of the organization, including turkey-calling contests. Here are the junior and intermediate callers who participated in the Unicoi event (from left): Dakota Russell, Danielle Sexton, Chris Drake, Shepard Moon, Lewis Armistead and David Lee Armistead.