Legend Biography

Doug Minor was born into a family that embraced the outdoors. Doug's father was an avid duck hunter and bass fisherman, who introduced his passions to his son at an early age. His family moved from a subdivision in Nashville, Tennessee, to the countryside of small-town Dickson, Tennessee, when Doug was twelve years old. Doug befriended all the nearby farmers and landowners, which gained him hunting and fishing rights on over 2,000 acres. He saved his school lunch money to buy shotgun shells so that he could bird hunt every evening after completing his chores. During summers, he worked in hay and tobacco, and at age sixteen, he began working after school and during summers at Custom Marine Boat Company, which manufactured Cherokee fiberglass boats.
After graduating from Dickson County High School in 1975, Doug’s first full-time job was with Hydra Sports Boat Company, but within a year he joined the staff of J&M Sports Center in Dickson, Tennessee. Doug ran the hunting and fishing side of the store for five years and opened a part-time taxidermy shop, where he spent his nights. Doug then moved to Thomas Specialty Company in Nashville, where he was hired as an on-road salesperson and reported to Patsy Curtis. Within four years, Doug was awarded the sales manager position and led Thomas Specialty Company’s sales efforts for the following two years. Doug was then hired by JWM Company in North Carolina to set up new accounts in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and West Virginia. He successfully did so by adding 160 retail stores to the company's customer list. Seven years later, he accepted a Manufacturer’s Representative position with Bob May Company and managed the Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia territories. This experience led to an offer from Rogers Southeast and Associates, where he held a position in sales for eight years.
Doug also sub-represented a line of duck calls – those of the notorious Duck Commander. The job interview was simple. Doug Called Phil Robertson, asking to sell his calls, and Phil remarked that he had no success with reps because most of them not only could not blow a duck call but also did not even duck hunt. Doug replied that he did both, to which Phil responded, "Are you using my calls now? If so, go get one and let’s see what you got." Doug blew the call for Phil over the phone. Phil said, "That’ll work. Talk to Miss Kay and set up the details.” Doug received his sales commissions from Duck Commander unconventionally in the receipt of hundreds of duck calls for his personal use rather than in money. He then sold the calls to organizations such as Ducks Unlimited for membership incentives.
During this time Doug also started buying and improving old farmland and established a beef cattle operation, which ran 240 heads of Angus Cross cattle. Doug ran cattle for thirteen years with help from his father when he was traveling with work. Doug always took pride in watching his daughter Annie grow up in the outdoors. At feeding time, she would call the cattle with a toy flute from a truck window and painstakingly attempt to name each cow. Doug later sold his herd of cattle, changing his goal to the pursuit and preservation of wildlife. He hosted youth hunts for children in which over fifty youth hunters killed their first deer or turkey on his land. Doug’s passions for waterfowl and land development led him to invest in tracts of dry-row crop farmland on which he designed and built several successful waterfowl impoundments. Although partly developed for personal use and enjoyment, he leased annual hunting rights on some of the projects to offset development costs. Today, Doug continues to consult private landowners regarding the farming and development of their waterfowl impoundments.
After eight years with Rogers Southeast, Doug accepted a full-time sales position, which led to a life-long career at Strike King Lure Company. Doug led Strike King’s sales and marketing efforts from 1990 to present. In 2002, Doug created Strike King’s TV production company Shazam Productions. Over the years, Shazam has won several Golden Moose and Telly Awards and has been instrumental in Strike King’s success in the industry. In 2009 Doug remarried Mary Cozart Minor, who shares his passion for the outdoors. Doug and Mary reside in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. When not hard at work, you can find them trout and bass fishing or hunting for waterfowl and big game. Doug's only child Annie Minor graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in May 2018 and has acquired a position as an Associate at a law firm in Atlanta, Georgia.