Hello and Welcome!

My name is Preston Lawson. I am the Owner, Head Chef, Professional Hunter, Travel Consultant and SCI Scorer for The Gumbo Ranch, LLC. I am a Life Member of Safari Club International, North American Hunting Club and the National Rifle Association. I am a Senior Sponsor of the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited. Member of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Quality Deer Management Association. I, and my clients, have many quality trophies listed in the record books of Pope & Young, SCI, Records of Exotics and the Billfish Foundation.

After 20 years of Corporate titles and millions of dollars spent entertaining customers and friends, I realized the people I was spending these precious positioning dollars with, did not understand the value and purpose of my efforts. As a result, I began a small catering company in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL to handle corporate functions with an executive's perspective. We also donated our time to worthwhile causes like the Ronald McDonald House, Sertoma Club, Kiwanis, church fundraisers and community events. My wife, Beckie, and I moved back to Charleston, SC in 1994 to open Carolina Cajun Cookers as a restaurant and expanded catering operation. The next year we opened T'Jean Custom Catering and began the roll-out of our now famous theme parties which might include the traditional Christmas and New Year's celebrations or the lesser known Tea Party, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo or Summer Picnic themes. We, and our customers have enjoyed developing new themes each year.

In 1998, we invested in The Gumbo Ranch near San Angelo, TX. We had a total of 20,000 contiguous acres and were the first large ranch to adopt the Antler King feeding program. The results were astounding and we looked to booking hunts to manage our exploding deer and turkey populations. Those fortunate to have hunted with us then, now know what quality wildlife management can produce. With the rapidly escalating land values in west Texas, the ranch was sold and we began to explore the same quality of outdoor experience at other properties across the United States and in Africa. Today we can offer the hunter an experience that surpasses the original Gumbo Ranch virtually anywhere they want to go. Great care is given to identifying trophy quality, package value and overall customer satisfaction at each destination we recommend.

Now, free of other business responsibilities, I can focus on as my dear, late neighbor "Grits" Gresham once put it - "freelance starvation"! I have always enjoyed the outdoors, but could not make it pay as well as a corporate salary. With our oldest daughter now a practicing attorney; our son a Chef graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary academy; our middle daughter a State Farm sales agent and our youngest daughter finishing high school, Beckie and I can focus on making this dream come true. We look forward to an opportunity to share our excitement, experience and passion for your next party or hunt of a lifetime. Thank you for visiting and please come again!