Some people have the opportunity to combine their hobbies and their careers, and even include family.
Joe Sears of Spencer is among those lucky folks.
Sears, a professional hunting guide and owner of Adventure Game Calls, involves his wife and his children in his outdoor pursuits.
"The family that prays together, and hunts together, stays together," Sears likes to say.
Sears, an avid outdoorsman and hunter all of his life, started making game calls for himself and some friends in 1981. Adventure Game Calls became a full-time business in 1988.
A stumbling economy and increased license fees and other costs haven't helped his game call or guiding businesses, but people still find a way to pay for their hunting and fishing trips, Sears said.
"We've had people come in from as far away as Harrisburg, Pa., and coming in from up near Boston," he said.
"We've had people in from Connecticut. Husbands and wives and sons and daughters come in. That's what is really great.
"We have every different occupation here, from doctors to people driving salt trucks and snow plows," Sears said. "It's a definite plus. If you are going on a trip, you are going to spend some money. It definitely helps the economy here. I always enjoy seeing it."
Hunting isn't just a business for Sears, it's his life -- and it's a passion that has blossomed in his children as well. Jeana, Jackie and Joey all became accomplished hunters at an early age.
Sears figures he's given the economy locally and elsewhere a boost himself over the years.
"We travel, too. We're always spending," he said. "You always need this or that."
