Stakeholder Advisory Committee
John Payne, Deer Hound Hunter
I am 48 years young, married with two teenage children at home and live on the small farm I grew up on in western Goochland County, which has been in our family for over 100 years. Growing up on this "one plow farm," we raised sun-cured tobacco, beef cattle, and small grain. After graduating from high school I spent the next eight years in the electrical trade where I completed an apprenticeship program attaining a journeyman card in the commercial/industrial sector of the trade. After that, I spent five years with Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Company as a sales representative in Goochland. I have been in the real estate sales for the past 15 years and today I am self-employed as broker/co-owner of a small residential real estate firm.
Having had the opportunity and privilege to hunt my entire life on this farm and numerous others in the area, and now seeing the joy it brings my children has truly been a blessing. I have had the good fortune of raising and owning my own hounds for the last 25 years. While deer hunting with hounds is my primary focus, I also enjoy fox, rabbit, and coon hounds at work. I hold a leadership position with our local hunt club and am affiliated with several other clubs in the area. My interest in participating on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee is to do all I can to secure the time honored tradition of hunting with hounds in Virginia for generations to come. While there is much to consider in this process, know that I come to the table passionate, sincere, open minded, and with a positive attitude.