I was born and raised in rural, western New York. My father introduced me to shooting sports and hunting at a very young age. Whitetail deer was definitely our family favorite, but after harvesting my first Pope & Young buck I became quite obsessed.  It started with being disciplined in holding off for more mature bucks.  It then turned into property management, with food plots and habitat improvement to follow.  For the past 20 years I have been helping friends and family with food plotting and habitat improvement.  I’ve been married to my wife Jodi for over 30 years, where we raised our 2 children.  Although, she started hunting much later in life Jodi has become quite the accomplished hunter.  Both our kids Derek and Marissa were introduced to hunting at a young age, where we all continue to hunt together.

In 2008 I opened a small archery shop that started out as Drape’s Archery, which became way busier than I anticipated.  A few years later I had incorporated to Drape’s Outdoors, LLC.  With the surprising success of the store and a demanding career in law enforcement.  I had to make a choice, as I was burning the candle at both ends.  In 2016 I made a decision to sell the business to a good friend of mine.

In 2024 it was time for me to retire from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, where I spent more than 25 years serving my community.  I retired at the rank of Patrol Sergeant, which is where I spent nearly 19 years of my career.  I spent nearly 10 years on our SWAT Team, which was a lot of fun with some great training.  Nothing was more rewarding than the 22 years I spent as a K-9 handler.  This was a childhood dream that helped me find my way right back to the outdoors.  I was able to serve with 3 different K-9 partners, where we were New York State Certified, in Patrol, Tracking and Advanced Narcotics Detection.

As I approached retirement.  I knew I wanted to do something in the outdoor industry.  I founded Drape’s Dirt Worx, LLC.  Specializing in consulting and habitat improvement.  We do everything from forestry mulching, land clearing, and of course my favorite food plotting.

In 2025 I was presented with an interesting opportunity to work with Base Camp Country Real Estate.  Already having a strong background in sales and the outdoor industry.  I found that this may just be the perfect fit in relationship to all my past experiences in life.  My entire life has been built around honesty, trust and loyalty.  Whether it was in law enforcement or working with customers, “ doing the right thing” has always served me well.

New York County territories: All