Legend Biography

Joella Bates is a Wildlife professional and dedicated outdoors participant. She has
worked as a naturalist, wildlife officer, fisheries manager, and environmental scientist
prior to becoming an outdoors promoter.. She is also a writer, speaker, instructor,
coach, sales person, and motivator drawing many persons into outdoor adventures.
She was honored as a 2005 inductee into the Outdoor Channel’s Circle of Honor. In
2004, Joella was selected as the Event Coordinator for the Jack Daniels – Field and
Stream Magazine’s Total Outdoorsman Challenge. Joella coordinates many outfitted
hunts for groups. She is currently the vendor coordinator for the Sportsman’s
Division of a major travel company.
Joella has partnered with the National Whitetail Deer Education Foundation
(Deerassic Park) and is actively involved in an outreach program that is reconnecting
youth, women, and families with the outdoor world through archery programs.
After attending the University of Tennessee at Martin on a rifle scholarship and
earning a B.S. in Natural Resources Management, she added a M.S. in Biology with
emphasis in Fisheries Management from Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville,
TN. In 1996, Joella became an inductee into the UTM Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 1989, Joella took up archery for bowhunting; she has taken 62 different species of
animals with her bows including becoming the first woman bow hunter to harvest a
Cape buffalo in 2001; a Wild Turkey Grand Slam in 2004; and the Big 5 (lioness,
elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and green hunted a white rhinoceros) in 2009. She is
the first bow hunter to take the Big 5 of Africa in a single safari in < 30 days.
Joella has claimed five 3-D Archery World Championship Titles – four as a Woman
Pro and has earned over $100,000 in tournaments along with numerous national,
regional, state, and local titles.