 (See our family Photos here) 
The journey that found me beginning Modern Habitat Solutions started 2 decades ago with a growing passion for managing God's creation. I was learning things the hard way at that time in my life, and successes and failures taught me a lot. There wasnt a lot written about food plots and habitat development at that time. Most of what I learned was from trial and error. However, looking back now, the most pivotal point in my life was the loss of my best friend, hunting buddy, college roommate and in my opinion, reflection of myself, Kevin, who died in an auto accident within a short time of us graduating from Purdue University and starting our own lives.
Back then, I never imagined being involved in the outdoor industry or bringing a product to market. Kevin and I had kept in constant contact and were comparing notes on the successes of our individual habitat projects, but he was miles ahead of me after purchasing a beautiful farm in Southern Indiana, and had really been putting things into practice. I remember to this day the feeling that I had overhearing the phone call from Jody his wife when my wife Lora answered the phone. I immediately knew in my heart what had happened by her emotional reaction. It was a numbing, unrealistic feeling. In the days and weeks after he died, I was found myself for the first time contemplating eternity, and thinking questions like: "Where is he right now? I wonder if he made it to Heaven? What if that had been me?" Not understanding at the time why this was happening to me, all of this wondering and questioning revealed my life was missing a very fundamental, key element. I did not have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe, The One who designed all the wild places that were so much an integral part of my life. I was also carrying a huge weight on my back from all of the wrongs and sins that I had committed throughout my life. One day, months later, my friend Shane Tatom saw an opportunity and offered to give me a ride to pick up my truck from a service center. He frankly stated, out of the blue like he's commenting on the weather "You know Tom, Satan loves guys like you. You're sitting on the fence and thinking that you are going to make it to heaven because you're a nice guy, and havent ever done anything really bad. He doesn't even have to do anything to you because he knows that you will bring yourself down." I'll admit that I was a little confused. What was he trying to say? Was I right in reading between the lines and that he meant that I was going to end up in hell? I remember thinking, "Only really bad people go there..right?" "I have never done anything too bad." And "I know enough about God." Those words stuck in my mind, and I began another step in my journey of self-examination and seeking the Truth.  During the next several weeks, I was seemingly surrounded by people who were sharing with me about the joy and peace that they knew, and were happy to tell me how I could discover the same for myself. My wife had months earlier dedicated her life, and had been regularly attending church. Come to find out that she had even been secretly praying earnestly that I would feel the emptiness of my separation from God, and that God would draw me to himself. One Sunday morning, I restlessly awoke extra early and asked if I could go to church with her that day. She smiled and said she would love it if I would attend with her. She later told me that she was afraid to say anything more, not wanting me to change my mind. I was admittedly very nervous and scared to go to this evangelical church, but that first morning in that church was all it took for me. It seemed that the pastor's message was EXACTLY scripted for me to hear that day. I couldnt believe what I was hearing. This guy has read my mail. I choked back the emotions as hard as I could, hands clenching the pew in front of me and tears streaming down my face. In the end, when he called for anyone who did not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior to come forward, I couldnt stand it any longer. I remember thinking that I didnt care what I looked like, what people were going to think of me, and what was going to happen next. All I knew undeniably was that I had to respond. It seemed like I literally floated to the front. I turned it all over to Him that morning, reciting the sinners prayer with that pastor who helped me get through it. I received forgiveness of my sins, and absolutely emerged a brand new man!
My life was instantly changed, and I felt, and acted, and treated people completely different. Even with all of these awesome changes, months later, I found myself in a hospital recovering from a surgery to remove a tumor from my spinal cord that could have/should have paralyzed my legs, but did leave me with some nerve damage that I deal with to this day. It was during my recovery that I spotted an ad for a book on food plots and habitat development called "Grow Em Right" by Craig and Neil Dougherty. Finally a book on what I have been experimenting with for years! I anxiously ordered the book and read it cover to cover in a couple days, then read it again. I was excited, energized and ready to get out and do something! The first thing that I did when I was well enough, was to book a trip to North Country Whitetails demo center in Upstate New York for a tour of the Dougherty property. While discussing some of my challenges in preparing and planting food plots with Craig Dougherty, I realized that even these guys shared the same dissatisfaction with available tools. They were also doing the "equipment shuffle" using 3 or 4 pieces to get the job done.  A design for a new food plot implement and a business plan for Modern Habitat Solutions was "born" during this tour of the North Country property. I carried this vision in my head after leaving there and the constant thought "Why can't I be the one to fill this need?"
Some research revealed that there was really nothing like "The Firminator" out there; a real commercial-grade, all-in-one piece of equipment. Being a high-detail, and high-standards type, with a solid equipment background, I began the designing and prototyping. Now here we are years after those exciting first days of revelation and change, producing what we feel is the absolute "Best Food Plot Implement on Earth". Our business is really a family affair. My wife Lora runs our office, mailing out packets and taking orders while our two teen-age daughters Morgan and Lauren help me a lot with things like photographing, shooting video, installing test plots, and of course volunteering to hunt our best food plots. My landscaping, commercial seeding, wildlife training, and farming experience connected with God's will for my life, and he opened doors for us that even to this day totally amaze me. Add to this the love of my family and the bond we share walking the "narrow path" together and it's no wonder we came up with some truly, quality products. This has not been an easy road, being a small family start up business in a big industry and there have been many bumps along the way. But we are solid in our belief that tenacity and faith in a great idea will ultimately lead to success.  If you notice in our company logo, in it I have prominently displayed a Bible verse. Matthew 13:8 is a verse from the Parable of the Seed and the Sower. Jesus says "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred-fold." The obvious connection here is that good seed, on good, well-prepared ground will yield a tremendous crop. We like to think that this applies very appropriately to The Firminator and our business, but just as Jesus was describing something much deeper, the acceptance or rejection of his salvation message, that by sharing my story, or "testimony", we too plant seeds in others' hearts. If your heart is "good ground", maybe someday these words will produce growth, and you too will want to know more about this wonderful Savior that we serve.
Thank you for taking the time to read this story, and feel free to contact me directly any time! Warm Regards, Tom James Founder/Inventor of The Firminator |
