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SUNNY Temp: 53 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 19, 2002 Top employee cashes in on honor Outdoor Journal By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune After finally winning employee of the month at Medford’s G.I. Joe’s store last summer, Steven Nicovich was plenty happy just to take his $10 gift certificate and hang his smiling mug on the store wall. He never figured he would parlay the in-store honor into an international hunt of a lifetime. The 22-year-old clerk, who lives with his parents in Eagle Point, is headed to Canada on a moose hunt Friday thanks to winning a grand prize lottery drawing among all the employees of the month the Northwest outdoor chain store named last year. "All I thought was, cool, a little spending money," Nicovich says. "I didn’t think it would snowball the way it has." Nicovich won $3,200 in airplane vouchers and cash in the drawing, which occurred during the store’s party last July in Portland. He summarily plunked it down on a guided moose-hunting trip — an adventure he’s been eyeing since he ate his first mouthful of moose meat 15 years ago. "We already have an elk in my parents’ freezer; I’ve never hunted moose; and I haven’t eaten moose since I was a kid," Nicovich says. "To just say I’m stoked about this would be an understatement." G.I. Joe’s corporate managers are equally stoked to see Nicovich head north. Robb Simons, the chain’s director of employee services, says most winners of these annual giveaways usually pick tropical venues. And they were happy to juggle the prize to ensure that Nicovich got his adventure in the snow. "Hawaii seems to be where most people who win this want to go," Simons says. "Steve’s the first to go hunting. This kind of fell into place and we’re happy to fulfill his dreams." When it comes to hunting, Nicovich is more than just a dreamer. Already, he’s shot a black-tailed buck deer that’s registered in the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book and bagged a 300-pound black bear. Nicovich has shot a mule deer in Colorado and a white-tailed deer in Montana. He had been looking into a moose hunt in Alaska as recently as last year, but the high cost of travel and guide fees iced him out. That was before the mid-summer G.I. Joe’s gathering for employees of the month at its 20 Pacific Northwest stores, the corporate headquarters and distribution center. More than 150 of these employees had their names in the drawing for two grand prize trips, and Nicovich’s name was drawn first. He quickly arranged the moose hunt through a British Columbia outfitter, who knocked enough off his price so that the trip will cost Nicovich just $100 from his own wallet. He flies to British Columbia on Friday, then starts his five-day hunt Sunday. Nicovich says he’s after a "mature" moose, something with an antler spread of more than 45 inches wide — which would put it on the above-average scale. "If I get one over 50 inches, I’ll mount it," he says. Most of the hunting will be from horseback on or near waterways. The moose are in the rut now, and Nicovich expects to hunt bull moose lured in by cow calls. "I’m going to let the guide do all the calling," Nicovich says. "I don’t know how to do it, and we don’t sell any moose calls at the store." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S