About Us

VISION, MISION, AND GOALS

Our Vision

Our Mission

Our Goals

Our Vision is to provide an environment for everyone to learn and experience the outdoors through our activities, properties, equipment, and facilities. DO participants will have the opportunity to re-engage in, or experience new outdoor activities.

Our mission is to provide life changing experiences for veterans, first-responders, youth, women, and organizations in our region through a healthy and safe outdoor environment.

We accomplish this , in collaboration with other organizations that share our vision through unplugged outdoor adventures, conservation programs, and education and volunteer opportunities

DO Strives to:

Educate and engage individuals in safe, meaningful, and fun outdoor activities.
Provide opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds to enjoy nature at Duckhorn Lodge.
Thank individuals who risk their lives for our country and safety - military, police, EMT's - through DO programs and facilities.
Collaborate with schools, community groups, military support organizations, and first-responders to ensure programming is appropriate, effective, and life-altering.
Design experiences of reward, revitalization, encouragement, and camaraderie for our constituents: Heartland residents, youth, veterans, and first responders.
Provide access for physically and mentally disabled individuals to enjoy nature and outdoor activities.

History

In 2008 when Bob Fry decided it was time to retire from the Orthodontic practice, the family knew that he would need something to keep him busy less he would drive them all crazy. Bob and his wife Mary purchased the 220 acres that the lodge sits on and set forth to build the lodge that now sits here as a retreat for the Fry family.

As is the case with many family retreats, it often sat empty and under utilized. In 2014 Bob was approached about taking over a local youth waterfowl clinic long held by Johnny Everhart, being the outdoorsman that he is and having a passion to share that with others, this was a no brainer. With some help of his hunting buddies, the first Youth Waterfowl Clinic was held in the fall of 2014. After a short discussion following that first event it was quickly decided to continue it annually. With their focus broadening, in 2017 Duckhorn Lodge hosted their first Women’s Pheasant Hunt, Youth Pheasant Hunt, and Veteran’s Pheasant Hunt, and those events still continue each year.

Up to this point, most of the cost of these events were being shouldered by Bob and his family, and it was apparent that there were many more opportunities to get people outdoors that the Fry family could fund solely on their own. This jump started the process to become an official not-for-profit charity and it finally came to fruition in the spring of 2019. As it stands now, Duckhorn Outdoors is a 501.C.3 charity with the moto to “Get people unplugged and outdoors”. DO is governed by a board of directors, which Bob is an integral part of, and is run almost entirely from volunteers, less some grounds work. It is the 501.C.3 designation that allowed DOA to expand its programming through numerous, generous donors.

Since 2019, DO’s programming has expanded to youth fishing events, veteran deer hunts, veteran duck hunts, and women’s retreats. It is through partnerships with outside organizations, like Missouri Disabled Sportsmen, that DO is able to host additional events opening access to the lodge and associated properties for them to use at bare minimal cost.

Constituents, Champions, Sponsors

Constituents

Duckhorn Outdoors targets demographic groups that need to be rewarded, educated, and/or enticed through the vast number of outdoor activities in Missouri and Kansas.

Duckhorn Outdoors holds a variety of events for youth, women, physically and mentally disabled, first-responders, veterans, young adults and Duckhorn Outdoors Champions.

The impact on these individuals, volunteers and participants, is in many cases life changing. Youngsters are thrilled with catching their first fish, camping out with their troop, and talking around a campfire. Veterans and First-Responders are building mutual support communities through events and helping DOA set-up and put-on events.

These are all great examples of how lives are enhanced through DuckHorn programming and facilities.

Champions (Volunteers)

The Champions are volunteers and/or family members that plan, coordinate, and manage the events. In 2024, Duckhorn Outdoors has hosted 16 separate events with more than 1,500 volunteer hours and 200 participants.