Featured photo: John Brown (L) and Rex Moncrief (R) when they started The Outdoor News 30-plus years ago.
How long ago was it? Thirty years, maybe longer? I was doing some work writing material for timber company giant, Willamette Industries, when our paths first crossed.
It was back then that a couple of ambitious young guys from the Ruston area, John Brown and Rex Moncrief, embarked on a television adventure. Neither knew much about what they were getting into but they dived into the project headfirst, producing a television program, “The Outdoor News”, that ran on Monroe stations for a few years.
One of their sponsors was Willamette Industries and John and Rex had Willamette’s biologist, Luke Lewis, and me on their programs a few times.
After The Outdoor News ran its course, both John and Rex moved on to other more lucrative ventures. Because of his expertise behind a camera, John hired on as producer of several outdoors related programs, eventually being named Executive Producer at the National Wild Turkey Federation where he worked, shooting and producing film of turkey hunts around the nation.
Rex, on the other hand, put his cerebral knowledge of computers to work, eventually forming his own company, “Smarter Geek”, from his headquarters in Bossier City where he spends most of his time selling computers and working with both small businesses and home users who need help with understanding how computers work and how to fix them when they don’t.
I have been the recipient of Rex’s expertise a number oftimes because I am one of those folks who depend on a computer to produce my work but know diddly squat about how they work or what to do when I encounter a problem, which I frequently do. I have Rex’s number on speed dial and probably bother him more than I should in getting him to fix what I can’t.
Back to John Brown. After retirement, he moved back to this area and uses his expertise not only in making video cameras work but in sitting down in front of his computer, that Rex probably sold him, and writing stories for outdoors publications.
I was turned on to this idea of writing about my two friends when the March issue of Louisiana Sportsman magazine landed in my mailbox. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the feature cover photo. It was Rex Moncrief holding up a big bass he had caught.
Flipping the pages of the magazine until I found the article that corresponded to the cover photo, I was surprised and pleased to see that the article had been written by the other half of “The Outdoor News” combo, John Brown.
His article entitled “The Fantastic Five” featured catching spring bass on North Louisiana lakes. One of the lakes featured was Lake Claiborne and the angler he interviewed for the story was none other than his friend, Rex Moncrief.
Rex has transitioned to his own venture, other than working on computers, by creating a web site borrowing the name that he and John started 30 years ago, “The Outdoor News”. He produces a multi-media platform, delivering high quality hunting and fishing content across various digital channels. He often shows up on social media talking about and showing how and where he’s catching bass.
It has been especially gratifying to me to have kept up with these two fellows over the years and to have watched them do what they do today, realizing that their little TV venture years ago triggered something in them that continues to entertain and educate today.