|
About Winterhawk
 |
Larry & Laura Amos with Laura's Bull |
For more than 30 years, Winterhawk Outfitters – one of the West’s premier hunting, fishing, and horseback vacation outfitters – has been successfully owned and operated by two individuals, Larry and Laura Amos. Of course there are many hands that make Winterhawk work, but Larry and Laura have kept the business focused on providing an honest, truly “west” experience with a down home touch since its beginning. But to give you an insight into the couple that makes Winterhawk tick day in, and day out, we sat down and asked them a few questions.
Tell us your lives before Winterhawk Outfitters?
Larry and Laura: Larry was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, and grew up in a rural area outside of Washington, PA. Larry was a professional bull rider and horseshoer in Pennsylvania where he shod horses for the public, and then went to work on a harness horse track. Laura was born and raised in Clinton, Iowa, a town in the eastern part of the state known for its lumber industry and was once regarded as the "Lumber Capital of the World. Prior to coming out west, Laura worked in the Midwest for a resort development company.
Tell us about you and your family?
Larry and Laura: Larry's mom moved to Colorado about a year ago, after living her entire life in western Pennsylvania. She now lives in Grand Junction, Colorado and we are happy to have her close by. She came to Colorado many, many years ago on a vacation. We put her on a mule and took her up to Island Lake where she cooked for John Elway and some of his friends for a week.
Laura's parents live in Wichita Kansas. Her dad, Dave has been a bowhunter since WAY before bow hunting was popular. He enjoys coming to Colorado elk hunting with Laura, and took his first bull elk a few years ago. We are hoping that they will move to Colorado soon...very soon. Larry and Laura met in the early 90s and were married in 1999. They have one daughter, Lauren Kay, who is 11 now. Her hobbies are horses, hunting (imagine that) skiing in the winter and boating and swimming in the summer. She loves life on the mountain, where she is "camp schooled" in the fall.
What are your other hobbies or special interests?
Larry and Laura: Larry loves to work, and "think" about Winterhawk....that's pretty much it. He is also enjoying the hunting trips that he and Lauren have been taking lately, and they are planning a bear hunt in June, Antelope in August, and then whitetail again in September. Laura and Lauren love to snow ski in the winter. Lauren is getting really good, and Laura is basically trying to keep up (literally). In the summer all three of us, and our little Shiatsu Teddy, spend as much time as we can on our boat at Lake Powell, before the busy season on the mountain starts.
What do you believe sets Winterhawk apart from other outfitters?
Larry and Laura: Larry’s TOTAL dedication and pride in what he does. And Laura’s brains!!
Do each of you have specific roles in the business? What are they?
Larry and Laura: WE both run the business, and our roles intermix a lot. Laura doesn't do the strenuous physical work....no way. I learned early that saddling horses, packing mules, etc. would NOT be a smart move on my part. Some girls enjoy that kind of stuff......not me. Larry hires and manages the crew on a daily basis. He doesn't do much paperwork anymore and is pretty lousy on a computer.... I cringe when he gets on my work computer...really. We've had some pretty good arguments about his computer "skills" so I do most, 99.9% of the office work. But it is still very much a family and “team” effort to make a business this complex operate as smoothly as it does.
Is there anything else you want people to know about you and/or the business?
Larry and Laura: It's for sale!!!! Ha, ha. Actually Larry claims he is NEVER going to retire. Laura could retire at any moment!
|
