RISON - Organizers are expecting hundreds of youth from throughout the region to make their way to Rison this Saturday for the 24th Annual JAKES Day sponsored by the Cleveland County Cutters & Strutters chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).Registration for the free event will this Saturday, March 3, at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Rison. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the education activities starting at 8 a.m.The day will include more than 10 educational stations, free lunch for youth and a drawing for hundreds of door prizes including deer stands, guns, bows, fishing gear and much more. This will be the first year for the annual event to be held at the fairgrounds. Organizers made the decision last spring to move it to after seeing an overflow crowd at last year's JAKES Day held at the "Old Turkey Farm" off Mt. Elba Road south of Rison.JAKES is an acronym for Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship. The purpose of the NWTF program is for "informing, educating and involving youth 17 and younger in wildlife conservation and the wise stewardship of our natural resources." Cleveland County JAKES Day has been one of the state's best attended for several years. In fact, the event was one of four nationwide to receive an R3 award from the national NWTF during the NWTF National Convention and Sport Show in Nashville, Tenn. The awards are presented to groups to recognize "outstanding achievements in the recruitment, retention and reactivation of hunters." John Varnell, one of the organizers of the 2024 JAKES Day, said the youth attending this year will pass through a variety of stations featuring presentations related to the outdoors. Among the educational stations scheduled for this year's event includes wildlife interpreters from Cane Creek State Park, Jeff Lawson of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission with a display of wild animal pelts, Tyler Phillips and Matt Ingram teaching shooting safety, ...
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