We live it, so we understand it. It's a lifestyle.
WHO WE ARE
We are businessmen, marketers, content creators and artists with a passion for the outdoors. We are outdoorsmen with a passion for business, improving sales and creating great content. We know hunting, shooting and the outdoor lifestyle because it is our lifestyle. It is threaded through everything we do and offers us an amazing perspective from which to view your business. Whether it’s in a duck blind in Louisiana, a deer stand in Iowa or overlooking a ridge calling to bugling elk, we find our best inspiration in the outdoor experiences you share with your customers—that all of us share together.
WHAT WE DO
We help great brands build even more visibility among consumers to help improve their bottom line. It’s that simple. We know your customers because we are your customers. We sit shoulder to shoulder with them in a pit blind and have shared stories with them around a campfire. And we take that lifetime of shared outdoor experiences and understanding of what’s important to sportsmen and combine it with our experience building and promoting brands to build your brand. Through creative partnerships and building powerful imagery and content that is seen on television, read in magazines, viewed online and shared through social media, we help businesses grow. Let us share our enthusiasm for adventure and the outdoor lifestyle with your brand. Trust the Confluence Group to take you on the journey of a lifetime.
ABOUT US
OUR HISTORY
The Confluence group officially formed in October 2016. Our history started many years before that. It began in the fields, forests and waterways our team members grew up on.
CONSERVATION EFFORTS
We care about wildlife and the habitat in which they live so that future generations will enjoy the outdoors as we do. That is why conservation is deep seeded in all that we do and stand for. Whether we’re working with clients like Honey Brake or with our partners at Ducks Unlimited, 4H or The NWTF, we make it a point to leave the environment better than we found it so that others can have a quality outdoor experience.
OUR current WORK
Our clients
OUR TEAM
Our team is our greatest asset! Please take a moment to meet our key members–your potential partners. Our team is full of senior leadership that is well rounded and very diverse. Each member has a very successful professional career including federal/state government, outdoor trade space, graphic arts, video/photography production, television production, media sales, nonprofit foundation management manufacturing, marine/watersports, strategic PR/media relations, and brand management. Beyond our professional experience, our people are authentic outdoorsmen and each has a subservient spirit striving to help others have success in what they do. We are truly a TEAM excited to meet your goals.
PATRICK (BUZZ) HAYES
BRAND INTEGRITY & IMAGE SPECIALIST
Buzz grew up hunting, fishing and creating art. After serving in the U.S. army as a paratrooper Buzz went to Old Dominion University for art and design. After 20 years as a successful photographer and designer Buzz still has a great devotion for all things outdoors and capturing that next award winning image. Buzz and his wife Chrissi resides in Virginia Beach, VA.
David Cahill
NATION SALES MANAGER
David Cahill currently serves as National Sales Manager for The Confluence Group/Honey Brake Lodge. He comes to Confluence with 30 years of experience at all sales levels in the outdoor industry. Prior to this role, David spent 20 years as a principal with AdvancedMarketingSpecialist. David has spent his entire professional career being in between Brand / manufacturers and every channel of retail distribution in the United States. An accomplished outdoorsman, David is also part of what is condsidered to be the "first family" of Stuggart, Arkansas. David's grandfather was the legendary Chick Major who developed Dixie Mallard Duck Calls. Chick was very instrumental in developing the competitive duck calling circuit and the World Duck Calling Championship, which is held in Stuttgart to this day. David earned a bachelor’s degree in Fish and Wildlife Management from Arkansas Tech University in 1988. He continues to be an avid outdoorsman while living in Plumerville, Arkansas with his wife Leslie.
LESLIE CAHILL
Executive Group Assistant
Leslie grew up in Stuttgart, Arkansas where farming and duck hunting are the mainstay of the community. Her upbringing instilled a deep sense of preservation of the land and wildlife for future generations. She brings a strong background of accounting, legal and organizational skills to the group. She and her husband reside on their cattle farm in Plumerville, Arkansas and are the parents of four sons, Jarod, Drew, Tyler and Will.
DOUG HOWLETT
EDITOR / PUBLIC RELATIONS
Doug has worked for the NRA, the NWTF, was deputy editor of Outdoor Life, editor-in-chief and online content director for Southern Sporting Journal and Grand View Outdoors and most recently served as editor-in-chief of Gun Digest the Magazine.
CLARK GORDIN
NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Over 40 years of sales and marketing experience. First Southeastern Regional Director for NWTF
Past CEO of the Ms Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks Foundation, 9 years. Part of the founders team for The Confluence Group.
BETH GORDIN
CONFLUENCE CONSUMER GOODS
22 years State Government and public relations, Responsible for procurement and negotiation of
new products for online commerce.
BENNIE ATKINSON
UPLAND SPECIALIST/TCG MARKETING
Bennie Atkinson is the General Manager of Prairie Wildlife Wingshooting Lodge in West Point; MS. Prairie Wildlife is an ORVIS endorsed property and was named ORVIS 2020 Wingshooting Lodge of the year. A native of Conyers, GA, Bennie attended The University of Alabama and Shelton State. His love of the outdoors moved him from an electrical-technical career to his current position as an outdoor professional. He is a founding member of the Native Grassland Alliance, member of the National Bobwhite Quail Technical Committee, and vice-president of the Mississippi Bobwhite chapter of Quail Forever at Mississippi State University. Bennie shares his love of football, baseball, wing shooting, and birddogs with his wife Cerrell and their 5 children.
KEVIN TATE
PR CONSULTANT
Kevin Tate is a longtime outdoor communicator, television producer and freelance writer. His work has aired on Outdoor Channel, ESPN2, The Golf Channel, Pursuit Network, Spike TV and the original TNN. He is past chairman of the Professional Outdoor Media Association and current chairman of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association. He was a dedicated newspaper journalist in a former life and continues his recovery through the kindness of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, for which he has produced an outdoors page every Friday for the past 12 years. He has spent his career modeling his work after that of Robert Ruark, Gene Hill and Patrick F. McManus. He lives in Tupelo, Miss., with his wife, Amy, and their two children.
JEFF BARNES
PROGRAM STRATEGY & SUSTAINABILITY
Jeff Barnes brings over 25 years of project and program experience with an emphasis on risk evaluation and mitigation. A native Tennessean, graduate of The University of Mississippi and resident of Marietta, Georgia, Jeff is blessed with a loving wife and two sons. Jeff is a volunteer with Ducks Unlimited. He has served as Georgia State Chairman, a member of the National Advisory Committee for Youth and Education, and multiple roles as an Area and District Chairman. An Eagle Scout himself, Jeff volunteers as an Assistant Scoutmaster for his son's Boy Scout Troop where he is able to share his love for the outdoors and passion for conservation to the next generation of outdoorsmen.
WILL LUMMUS
RODEO / WESTERN LIFESTYLE SPECIALIST
NFR Steer Wrestler; College rodeo coach; Horse-safe fencing and welding business operator
Qualified to compete in NFR in December 2022, his fifth-consecutive time to do so. Will is married to Jenna Lummus (barrel racer, pharmacist, realtor) and resides in Byhalia, Miss.
ED PIPPIN
MANAGER OF HOSPITALITY
ed@thecgrivers.com
A native of Louisiana Ed is an LSU Alumnus. Ed has 2 beautiful kids, Lorelei and Brodie.
JEREMY MOREAU
CHIEF OF FINANCE FOR TCG & FIDUCIARY COUNSEL FOR THE HONEY BRAKE CONFLUENCE FOUNDATION
Jeremy has spent the last decade as a principal architect of the company’s financial strategy for delivering sustainable, profitable growth for its shareholders. Jeremy is a Master alumnus of both LSU and the University of New Orleans. As an Eagle Scout, Jeremy volunteers his time as a Scoutmaster for youth and conducts ongoing training exercises for adults through the National Camping School. He shares his love of the outdoors & shooting sports with his wife and two sons.
our capabilities
what makes us unique?
75 years of outdoor tradespace experience and insight
Authentic and compelling content creation
Strategic PR support system for communication efforts (How to maximize exposure while minimizing your spend and increasing your ROI)
Abundance of key relationships in the outdoor tradespace
Event management and execution (Including Mississippi Governor’s Hunt, POMA Vision’s Afield, Overland Expo)
Vast relationships with the country music industry and artists who are outdoor enthusiasts
we can help you:
Expand your content library
Strengthen your connection to your consumer
Expand your exposure and reach
Lower your overhead
Improve your efficiency
Enhance your authenticity
Our partners
