MARION - There is a poetic symmetry in the fact that Ray Johnson spent the week prior to Thanksgiving distributing turkeys to the needy.

Johnson of Marion is president of Little Egypt Longbeards, the Williamson County affiliate of National Wild Turkey Federation. The club donates turkeys to the poor as a service project to the community.

"We've done it five to six years," Johnson said. "This year we're giving away 200. We're going to try to do some at Christmas through the Marion school system."

Some of the turkeys were donated directly to families that requested them; others were distributed to area families through local food pantries. Two of the organization's committee members are employed at Wal-Mart and they arranged for turkeys to be do-nated to the club.

The project is designed to show that National Wild Turkey Federation is about more than promoting turkey hunting, providing habitat for turkeys and raising money for the national federation.

"Sure, we enjoy turkey hunting," Johnson said. "I enjoy all kinds of hunting, but we do other things besides hunt.

"Our chapter gives a scholarship to a Williamson County student that goes into an outdoors field. That could be biology, wildlife management, it doesn't matter. We sponsor two hunter safety courses. We provide full meals for the kids. We give away a gun at each of the courses."

Little Egypt Longbeards provide a model for other chapters to follow. The Williamson County chapter was named NWTF's top club in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Johnson said the current membership is 1,275. Little Egypt Longbeards was founded in 1997.

"The second year, we had about 500 people attend our banquet," Johnson said. "They were shoulder to shoulder. Our average banquet is about 250."

While most members are avid turkey hunters, being a hunter is not a prerequisite for joining the organization or attending the banquet.

"You don't have to be a hunter, but they still enjoy a lot of the benefits we have through the NWTF," Johnson said.

Last year, the banquet netted about $41,000. Some of the funds are used locally. The club makes an annual $1,000 donation to Southern Illinois Celebration of National Hunting and Fishing Days.

Some of the money is sent to the national federation and donated back to the state through Superfund. Superfund dollars have helped the organization purchase a no-till drill, a four-wheeler and sprayer citizens can use to plant wildlife food plots.

Little Egypt Longbeards have raised more than $500,000 since the club began. And, since the inception of the NWTF, the national turkey population has risen from 1.3 to eight million.

Johnson said other funds were used to purchase educational trailers used by Conservation Police Officers in Illinois. Donations have been made to Women in the Outdoors and Wheeling Sportsmen.

"There are so many things we are involved in," he said.

Johnson is directly involved in NWTF's educational program.

"I go to the schools and give talks to the kids," he said. "We talk about hunting, habitat, turkey sounds and identification of tur-keys. The kids have kind of named me Mr. Turkey. I've done it so many years."

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com/618-351-5088