Jacobs set out to fully tap into the buying power of the nation’s 50 million fishing enthusiasts with the 1996 acquisition of a small fishing-tournament company he later renamed FLW Outdoors after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.

Jacobs saw FLW Outdoors tournaments as a unique and powerful opportunity to communicate with a huge consumer group that had never been pursued. In 1997, Jacobs hooked the giant retailer, Wal-Mart, as a title sponsor, which eventually allowed Jacobs to court the world’s leading consumer products companies. As a result of Jacobs’ efforts, more than 50 leading consumer brands, including brands owned by global powerhouses BP, General Motors, Kellogg’s, and Procter & Gamble, now sponsor FLW Outdoors tournaments.

In 2007, FLW Outdoors made history by awarding the sport’s first $1 million check to Arkansas angler Scott Suggs when he won the Forrest Wood Cup championship.

Among his personal accomplishments, Jacobs underwrote and served as chairman of the 1991 International Summer Special Olympics Games, which were held in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Jacobs has personally funded the building, furnishing and overall operations of Dells Place, a group home for developmentally challenged individuals; Functional Industries, an occupational workshop for physically and mentally disabled individuals; and The Art Center of Minnesota. Additionally, Jacobs supports several other local and nonprofit organizations benefiting the arts, disabled, developmentally challenged and homeless.

John Powell grew up on a “rawhide” farm in Elmore County, AL, northeast of Montgomery. He fished commercially until joining the Army Air Corps in 1947. After a 22-year service in the Air Force, Powell continued his love of fishing to a new tournament circuit organization established in his hometown, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.

He was a longtime friend of B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott and borrowed a V-hull plywood boat to fish the second Bassmaster tournament, on Smith Lake in Alabama in 1967. Scott loaned him a canoe-like Chrysler boat to fish additional events, which he used to win the first tournament on Lake Eufaula with a stunning catch of 132 pounds. After a tour in Vietnam, he retired from service and began fishing professionally, becoming the first to win consecutive tournaments, in 1971 on Sam Rayburn and Table Rock lakes. Powell qualified for six Bassmaster Classic championships.

Powell was an early innovator of shallow-water fishing with plastic worms, which were gaining popularity in the 1970s after Mann’s Bait Company hit the market with the Jelly Worm. Powell regularly told anglers in the boat with him to set the hook quickly when they felt a bite instead of waiting. But he was known for his patience and adept casting skills. Powell died in 2007.