seth, Author at Seth Dortch

Jul08

Davy Crockett Hunting Club Rite of Passage

Hunting Davy Crockett Hunting Club was a rite of passage for me. My great uncle, Herman Dortch, was a guide there and is where my dad learned how to be a waterfowler. Our friend and club member, Garth Fort, invited us to go on a memorable January day in 2013, and as luck would have it, we got to hunt blind 5 that. Blind 5 was Herman’s and my dad’s favorite spot. The stories I’ve heard of that spot amaze me, and it was an electrifying experience for me to hunt that same timber hole. Featured in the images below is Herman’s A5 shotgun he used.

The roots run deep here in West Tennessee, and the history of Davy Crockett Hunting Club is admired and appreciated by many throughout the sport of waterfowling. Established in 1947, this club is still one of the most prestigious clubs, especially for our region.

Scott Williams, Discovery Park of America CEO, is finishing a book on Davy Crockett’s relationship with West Tennessee. He will be including some information about Davy Crockett Hunting Club. Looking forward to reading it!

The images below are from our hunt at Blind 5.

Image 1: Blind #5

Image 2: My dad, Lee Dortch, and I in front of the plucking shed.

Image 3: Myself with the ducks we killed and Herman’s A5

Image 4: Hunting the far right end of blind #5

Apr01

Final Flight Outfitters Inc | Freelance Marketing Director

By seth | Creative, Uncategorized

Growing up, Final Flight Outfitters Inc was the best place in the world. What once started as a specialized waterfowling outdoor retailer, has grown into an industry leading e-commerce, mail order catalog, and brick & mortar retailer of firearms, ammunition, and all things hunting. Growing up in West Tennessee as an avid outdoorsman, and die hard waterfowler, the Powers were some of the people I admired most and celebrated in every way. Walking around the store hoping to have conversation with World Goose Calling Champion of Champions, Kelley Powers, or hoping to get something new for hunting was always in my mind during my experience. When my dad would tell me we were going to FFO for the day, my stoke was always high. Every time I went, it was like I had never been before. Every time was wonder and amazement. Then as a little kid, the dream was set in my heart and mind with the ambition to work there one day. It seemed like such a far off ambition, and for reality to be that the dream my younger self had came true almost eight years ago humbles me and has taught me so much about having ambition, and putting it into action. All praise to God for the opportunity of it coming true because I know now it was a part of a much greater plan, and so much gratitude for the Powers to invest and empower me. To have the connection and mentorship of Jon Ed, Tripp, and Kelley is beyond my wildest dream. They are some of the most influential people in my life personally and professionally.

I started part time in 2013 as a part-time sales associate as I was studying at UT Martin to get my degree in Agri-Business. Even when I transferred to MTSU where I graduated studying Agri-Business and Photography, I would go back and help during Christmas break and waterfowl season. When I graduated college, I had a choice to make and direction to seek from God. Be in mind, this is before any of my experience and career as a marketing and creative professional. I was either going to do full-time in the agriculture industry, or go-full time in the outdoor industry. Through much seeking and praying, I chose the outdoor industry and to pioneer a new full-time position for FFO; Marketing Director. I have never looked back and regretted that decision.

For the past three years, I have been full-time as the in-house Marketing Director for FFO. These past three years has been such a wild ride, and have challenged and grown me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I have been a one man band in many ways, but the music wouldn’t be played with excellence if it wasn’t for the incredible team at FFO always willing to take part in my crazy ideas or requests, even when they felt uncomfortable in the situation. It also wouldn’t be possible without the trust the Powers have in me, and the encouragement to take ownership in my position and our marketing. As an owner of a company, it’s your baby. There is extreme tension owners must navigate as their companies grow to delegate power, and provide strategic people with positions of great opportunity. Building trust with someone is a process. The length of that process always looks different, but a deep level of trust is never cultivated over night and is never yielding instant results of gratification. It takes work, and it takes time. The same goes for effective marketing.

As being a Marketing Director for a small business, even though this small business is operating at a very large scale on a national level, it has taught me to be creative in every way possible. To maximize the potential, and capitalize on opportunities. It has also required me to develop the attitude to take initiative of learning every aspect of marketing and branding. E-commerce, e-mail marketing, social media, content marketing, content creation, content deployment, influencer marketing, copy development, graphic design, print marketing, and the list goes on. Another large responsibility of the position is public relations. Whether that be digitally or in person. Learning how to effectively communicate on behalf of a brand, company, or organization has much responsibility to it. There is much more to talk about on all of this, but for a later date in a different way.

With a lot of transition unfolding in my personal life and moving locations from West Tennessee to East Tennessee, it has also required me to transition and shift my professional life as well. I will now be based in Knoxville, Tennessee. I have had countless people to reach out about my involvement with FFO, and even though my location is changing and things are transitioning, my work with FFO is not ending, but only changing. No longer will I be the full-time, in-house, Marketing Director, but starting as of today, I am a Freelance Marketing Director working remotely for Final Flight Outfitters Inc. I am very honored to continue to work with them, and for all marketing inquiries, I will continue to be their point man. With this change unfolding, it has resulted in me now having the opportunity to capitalize on opportunities with more brands and engaging in more industries. Whether you have needs, ideas, questions, or opportunities, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to connect and you can do so by clicking here.

Every day is a great day to maximize potential, and capitalize on opportunity.

– SD

Mar18

Rough Country + Overlanding | Seth Dortch Creative | Phase 1

By seth | Off-Roading

Rough Country and overlanding. A brand most know about, and an off-roading activity of exploration that many folks love to do. Put the two together, and a lot of stoke is brought into the conversation. It gets me stoked, and for many of you, I know it does you too. Rough Country Research & Development reached out to my wife, Heather, and I this past year about our 2013 Subaru Crosstrek and 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road for marketing efforts and collaboration. An absolute honor to be the ones sought out and considered for this. I can recall on specific moments as a child dreaming and envisioning my truck one day with a Rough Country Suspension Lift on it. To have the opportunity to not just have that come true, but to have the opportunity to be collaborating and working with them on such a connective and relational basis is epic and humbling.

Rough Country is an industry leading brand in the off-road performance space that is known worldwide as being one of the best creators and manufacturers of performance shocks and suspensions lifts, but has evolved into so much more. You may be reading this and very well have a Rough Country product modified on your vehicle outside. If you do, you already know what I am talking about when it comes to the quality and performance of what they make, and the trust in not just their product, their entire brand. Their entire operation is based in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Overlanding is an off-roading activity with travels to a specific destination where the journey is the sole focus of the experience. This outdoor recreational activity has unfolded into a massive and creative industry in itself from the vehicles manufactured, performance parts that are made, and the off-road destinations that have become globally known.

As a marketing and creative professional, much of my work is in the adventure, travel, and outdoor markets. As an outdoorsman, adventurer, and ambassador, much of my life has been off-road. Having transportation that gets me where I need to go and when I need to go in an effective way is crucial to me, and it being an eye-catcher visually matters to me as well. Toyota doesn’t stand alone as being the best manufacturer of vehicles optimized for the off-road lifestyle, but their TRD series sure is hard to beat. My 2019 Cement Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road that we purchased through Pepper’s Toyota in Paris, Tennessee has exceeded many expectations, not only for it’s performance, but the overall experience. When I am not adventuring off-road, I am traveling on the road a lot. I am constantly carrying gear with me whether that be camera gear, hunting gear, fishing gear, camping gear, and the list goes on. Through my own experience, I have grown much appreciation for the design and build of the Tacoma and how it has brought value to me.

Overland Research and Development for Rough Country is a new endeavor for them, and the sky is the limit for what they can do with the power team they have. Their ambition is to create and build overloading performance modifications that are durable, reliable, look stellar, and most importantly, perform. Overlanding puts vehicles and gear to the test in the wild and in some of the harshest environments. Mud, dust, rocks, creeks, snow, sand, and the list goes on when talking about the conditions that are adventured to arrive at the destination.

The start to my Tacoma Overland Build has began with phase one being completed. The first performance upgrades on my rig are the Rough Country 3″ Supsension Lift Kit with N3 lifted struts. These nitrogen charged struts provide lift to your rig while maintaining a smoother factory like ride. These Performance N3 Struts offer improved tire contact with the road for increased stability and performance. Each strut includes a pre-loaded coil for lightning-fast installation without the need for complicated strut disassembly. Rough Country’s Performance N3 Struts feature a massive bore and chrome-hardened piston rod with leak-proof piston seal for exceptional durability during off-road use. Each strut is specifically tuned for its intended application and includes a variable dampening system for outstanding handling and control on all road conditions.The RC suspension kit is an important performance mod, and a design that will perform. Rough Country R&D is in the works of continuing performance parts to accommodate this suspension kit and strut enhancement.

We went with the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 265/75R16 for now until wheel changes are made in the future. Many people can relate to the brand slogan “Built On BFG” because countless off-roading vehicles are riding on these tires every day. Dependable and aggressive all-terrain tires that still maintain great tread as the miles rack up. Not only do they perform well, but with their upgraded side wall design, look great.

The start to this overland Tacoma build with Rough Country has been exciting, and the best is yet to come. There are a lot of epic performance upgrades that the R&D team will be installing on this truck and releasing for consumers to capitalize on. To see Rough Country’s full line product line, go to https://www.roughcountry.com to check out how you can upgrade your rig with performance. Also, be sure to follow them on instagram: @roughcountry to see the epic content they kick out.

Keep your eyes peeled on my website for most blog posts, be sure to follow me on my social media platforms: Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

Thanks so much for reading, and for any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out by tapping here.

Every day is a great day to maximize potential and capitalize on opportunity.

– Seth Dortch Creative

Mar02

Blue Ridge Adventure | The Daily Dortches

By seth | The Daily Dortches

Reconnect. All relationships need a continual reconnection. There are so many distractions, demands for our attention, and focus on developing all areas of our lives that sometimes we sacrifice what is most important to us without ever realizing it. We sure do and we are learning that for our marriage. More often than we think and more needed than we realize.

Heather and I spent 3 nights and 2 days traveling around the Blue Ridge Province of Western North Carolina. We have had a lot of folks reach out wanting information so the following images and information are to help bring insight for those that would like to do the same. We want to empower others to heed their own adventure. Links will be provided below.

The location in which we dwelled for sleeping was in a rad little tiny home in the mountains just Southwest of Newland, North Carolina. We stayed at Buck Hill Campground where they have several options for tiny house lodging.

Day 1:

Slept in until about noon. Went roaming throughout Roan Mountain. Beautiful views and there are trails right off the road all throughout the road travel. We stopped by the Dollar General and picked up some Campbell soup for supper. Yes, a romantic supper can even unfold with Campbell soup.

Day 2:

Woke up about 5:30 am. At the campground, they have community bathrooms with running water and showers. Got cleaned up and dressed for the days adventure.

Anywhere we go, coffee is always a priority for us. We carried with us an aeropress and a Bonavita 1 liter electric kettle.

After morning coffee and personal quiet time, we traveled into Asheville which was about an hour Southwest of our location.

Went to High Five Coffee Bar and chatted with a local. I drank more coffee. Found out to always check during the winter months for closings on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Went to Antique Tobacco Barn. We could have spent all day there. You will be blown away with all the items and nostalgia they have there. Be ready to drop some big money. With that being said, you get what you pay for.

We then went to Wicked Weed Brewing Pub for Lunch. Heather had their normal Cheeseburger and I had their Buffalo burger. We both had sweet potato fries which were so solid.

Went to Diamond Brand Outdoors which is an outdoor retailer in Asheville. We always make it a priority to visit the local outdoor retailer in town. We purchased a few closeout items that they had for Arcteryx and Kelty; a pullover and a blanket. Also, visiting the local outdoor retailer allows for a lot of information to be obtained. Ask them questions about the best places to go, trails, etc.

We then went down to the French Broad River District AKA West Asheville AKA Arts District. In Asheville, there is incredible art everywhere you go that includes graffiti, murals, paintings, etc. Go check out the ” Good Vibes ” Silo which is now the ” Stay Weird ” Silo. If you google best places to take selfies in Asheville, some pretty rad locations will pop up.

We then traveled South to Triple Falls Trail located in Dupont State Forest. It is a trail with a series of waterfalls that are beautiful on the Little River. This river can be fished with plenty of wading access. I did not have my gear with me, but we will be going back.

Traveled Northwest to Black Bolsom Knob to gain some elevation and hike to get some views. To get there we drove through Pisgah National Forest onto Blue Ridge Parkway. Beautiful drive and scenery.

We drove about 2 hours North East to get back to our Tiny Home in Newland. We stopped in Asheville and ate at Asheville Brewing Co. Solid Pizza and good brews.

That night, we made a fire for pictures and to spend time around. The fire pit is provided at the tiny house location and aged, dried wood can be purchased from the campground owner for very little cost.

DAY 3:

We woke up, made some coffee, loaded up the Tacoma, and headed back towards West Tennessee.

LINKS:

Lodging:

https://glampinghub.com/unitedstatesofamerica/southeast/northcarolina/newland/cozy-cabin-getaway-rental-asheville/?checkin=&checkout=&guests=2

https://www.buckhillrvcampground.com

Food / Coffee:

http://highfivecoffee.com

https://www.wickedweedbrewing.com

https://www.ashevillebrewing.com

More information, visit:

https://www.exploreasheville.com