Phil H. Bracewell, Sr. (1918-2011), who lived in Hickory, North Carolina, was a founding director of Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited NC, a founding trustee of the NC Nature Conservancy, and the founder of Bracewell Furniture Company. His favorite local trout stream was the South Toe River. Few have given more time and energy to conservation in the Southern Appalachians. His activism extended to a national level from the early 1950s until 2001. Phil was appointed by Governor Jim Martin as the state’s Sedimentation Control Commissioner and later served on the Duke Power Environmental Advisory Council. Phil became active in the Catawba County Wildlife Club and a lifelong member of the NC Wildlife Federation in the early 1950s, where he served as the Northwestern president and a term as president of the state federation. He served as an NC national delegate on the Wildlife Federation’s National Affairs Committee for 16 years. In 1974, he was recognized as Conservationist of the Year, and in 1977, he was inducted into the NC Wildlife Hall of Fame. In 1990, he became the founding trustee for the Catawba County Wildlife Education Committee, where he combed through hundreds of applications seeking four-year degrees in marine biology over a period of 22 years. Phil was a founder and served 12 years as a trustee on the NC Wildlife Education Committee. In 1964, Phil became one of the eight founding fathers of the initial TU chapters in NC and founded the Northwestern Chapter. NWTU membership dwindled but was revitalized in 1986 through a membership drive—the chapter was awarded the TU National Gold Trout Award, the highest recognition from TU National, for this effort. The chapter demonstrated extraordinary fundraising ability, leading the nation for over 10 years and setting the record for the highest net dollar TU banquet. “Phil Bracewell led the way for the NWTF Chapter to become one of the most successful Trout Unlimited chapters in the nation,” said Steve Mull, past NWTU president. As a lifelong member of TU, Phil was a national director for over 16 years and chairman of the Awards Committee for 14 years. In 1984, he was awarded a special Distinguished Service Award from TU National. The NWTU-Philip H. Bracewell, Sr. Conservation Education Endowment was established in his honor. Phil was deeply involved in other organizations, including the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, National Wild Turkey Federation, NC Rifle and Pistol Association, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Izaak Walton League, Ruffed Grouse Society, and Boy Scouts of America Troop #1 at Corinth Reform Church. Phil’s 2015 Stream Blazer exhibit is now on display in the Southern Appalachian Fly Fishing Museum.
Phil was inducted in 2016 in the Conservation category for his years of dedication to the sport as a founding member of the original NC chapter of TU and as a volunteer conservation leader who served numerous terms as a TU national director. He was the fundraising leader of the Northwestern Chapter of TU, which set numerous national banquet records.