Waterfowling Heritage Center Meeting - August 10, 2013

In that same regard, I am excited to provide a quick overview of another project that will result in increased brand exposure for Ducks Unlimited.Bass Pro Shops is coming to Downtown Memphis in a big way. Bass Pro plans to turn the Pyramid, a downtown landmark that was once used as a sports arena, into a destination retail store for outdoor enthusiasts. It will be the company’s primary waterfowl hunting store, and Bass Pro has generously offered DU an opportunity to be a significant part of the new facility. Bass Pro estimates that at least 2 million people will visit the Memphis store each year, with first-time visitors spending an average of three hours in the store. So, DU’s presence in the Memphis Bass Pro will allow us to showcase our brand and tell our story to a large number of outdoor enthusiasts each year.
DU’s space will be on the mezzanine level and will be part of a large waterfowl-themed area within the store.This is a view looking up at the waterfowl area from the ground floor. You see the aviary in front. The dark green area behind and to the right of the aviary will be DU’s Waterfowling Heritage Center, and the lighter green area behind and to the left of the aviary will be Bass Pro’s waterfowl retail space.
DU’s space will be on the mezzanine level and will be part of a large waterfowl-themed area within the store.This is a view looking up at the waterfowl area from the ground floor. You see the aviary in front. The dark green area behind and to the right of the aviary will be DU’s Waterfowling Heritage Center, and the lighter green area behind and to the left of the aviary will be Bass Pro’s waterfowl retail space.
Bass Pro is planning an 8,000-square-foot waterfowl village on one of the store’s mezzanine levels. This section will include an aviary with three duck ponds, Bass Pro’s waterfowl retail space, and 4,600 square feet of exhibit space for Ducks Unlimited.
This schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center: The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage ConservingNorth America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt And The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU memberOver the next few months, staff will be gathering items for the various display cases, working with a taxidermist, securing photographs and video footage, producing content plans for video monitors throughout the exhibits, and working with an outside company to create habitat models for the conservation area. This is a tremendous opportunity for DU. The committee is excited about the plans that are in place and the progress we are making, and we are all looking forward to the opening of this new Bass Pro Shop megastore in 2014. As you can see, Marketing and Communications has its hand in some exciting things right now, and I am looking forward to a great couple of years.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Shane is fired up about the project and already has lots of birds in his freezers for us. He put out calls to some of his top clients in January, and they have sent him birds from all over the continent, including Alaska and Mexico. Here in Memphis, John Hoffman and Mike Checkett also set aside some birds for the project. So we have made good progress, and the next step is to determine the number of mounted birds we will need and where we will want to display them throughout the WHC. The content team will be working on those details over the next few weeks. Thanks, everyone, for taking time to meet today. I appreciate your willingness to help with this project, and to take on the additional work that lies ahead for each of the content teams. I hope you will find it a fun and interesting experience.Your team leader will be in touch soon to set up a meeting for your exhibit area. Let’s plan for this group to meet again on April 1 so that each content team can report on progress. Thanks again and have a great weekend.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since that meeting, the steering team has been working closely with Bass Pro’s architects and designers to bring our plan to life. This first-draft schematic shows the primary elements of the Waterfowling Heritage Center:The Ducks Unlimited Story, where we will tell our history The History of Waterfowling, where we will celebrate our hunting heritage Conserving North America’s Waterfowl, where we will highlight our conservation mission and achievements The Duck Blind, a small theater with 180-degree projection where visitors will be able to experience the excitement of a duck hunt The Duck Lodge, where visitors can relax by the fireplace, watch videos, view artwork and taxidermy, admire waterfowling collectibles such as guns and duck calls, and sign up to be a DU member And the Aviary, where folks can see live puddle ducks and divers up close Over the last few weeks, the steering team has been working with Bass Pro to refine our concepts, create a final plan, and produce more detailed schematics for each exhibit. So, we have a solid plan in place. Now it’s time to focus on the specific content we will need to secure or produce for each part of the WHC.
Since Jim Alexander could not be here this morning, I will quickly run through the plan for The Duck Lodge. Okay, the fundamental goals of The Duck Lodge are: To offer visitors a relaxing environment where they can enjoy waterfowl-related artwork and museum-quality taxidermy; watch videos of waterfowl; learn more about DU; become a member; view collections of decoys, duck calls, shotguns, and other waterfowling collectibles. to increase DU membership and awareness of DU events and to allow visitors to interact with a Bass Pro waterfowl specialist who can answer their questions about waterfowl, conservation, waterfowl hunting, and waterfowling equipment and clothing. This area will convey the feel of a duck lodge, but will be nicely furnished with comfortable seating and a large fireplace. So, let’s quickly run through the plan for the Duck Lodge.