Ron Kistler is an accountant. But don't conger up images of a man chained to columns of numbers.

Instead picture a man clad head to toe in camouflage, hunting turkeys.Accounting is what he does for a livelihood; turkey hunting is a favorite pursuit.For decades, Kistler has been devoted to the National Wild Turkey Federation.Yes, he loves to hunt turkeys, but he also loves to support NWTF programs that create habitat, mentor young hunters and encourage women in outdoor pursuits. He volunteered faithfully for his home NWTF organization, the Jerry Zimmerman Memorial Chapter, Lehigh Valley, where he is a life member.But in recent years, he outdid himself."Through my involvement over the years I was personally astounded by the number of programs and functions each NWTF chapter does," Kistler said."The volunteers in this organization are incredible, in chapters of every size."Several years ago, Kistler's home life was in upheaval. His wife's daughter Jill had been diagnosed with leukemia. His wife Sandy went to New Jersey to help Jill through chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, and was sometimes away for weeks.Although he was busy at Kistler and Cagle Accounting, Kuhnsville, Kistler found himself needing a project to fill his free time. At the time, no NWTF chapters in Pennsylvania had "tax exempt" status. Kistler thought they should, and dove into the work."Each application was six pages long, and there were 58 additional sheets of paperwork added to prove the non-profit status," he explained."From the time that I started, which was in June, it took me until February of the following year to complete the work."Kistler completed a staggering 85 applications, covering every chapter in Pennsylvania. At their 40th annual Convention earlier this month, the NWTF recognized Kistler with the C.B. McLeod Award, given to people who are dedicated to wildlife conservation. Kistler traveled to Edgefield, South Carolina, to accept the award."Ron's efforts will help local and state NWTF chapters more efficiently use their fundraising dollars to support conservation projects," said George Thornton, NWTF CEO."He is a valued member of our NWTF family and we are grateful for his contributions to our mission."Chapters raise much of their budget through their annual banquet, which includes costs such as hall rental, raffle prizes and banquet food.Kistler said that the average cost of a banquet is about $5,000. If that $5,000 is not subject to the six percent sales tax, the chapter saves $300. Multiply the $300 times 85 chapters!"That's money that can be used for habitat projects and educational programs," Kistler said. "Programs like Hunting Heritage, Jakes (for youth) and Women in the Outdoors."As part of the application process, I had to interview people who volunteer at chapters and include how many hours they work," Kistler said."I was so moved by the number of volunteers and the number of hours they worked - for example, at the Jerry Zimmerman Memorial Chapter, there are two men who each take a week off from work to prepare for the Jakes program, and for that event we have 175 volunteers and 225 kids.""The people in the NWTF, from the top down, and from the bottom up, are terrific," Kistler said. "It was a lot of work, but also a lot of self-satisfaction for me to get it done."Kistler is not resting on his laurels. He's already duplicating the project in Maryland.