LAVALE — Emma McCumber, 11, won the youth division of the 43rd annual Taxidermy Association Competition last weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a white-tailed deer head.
McCumber, of LaVale, said she loves stuffed animals, creating art and helping out her dad, Jason McCumber, at his business, Always Faithful Taxidermy.
“I was shocked, and really excited,” McCumber said. “There was a lot of good stuff there.”
McCumber competed against 12 other participants in the youth category.
McCumber is homeschooled through Calvary Christian Academy and plays sports at Calvary. She said her friends think her taxidermy is “really cool.”
McCumber plans on entering the competition again next year, but despite being only 11, she has grown out of the youth category and will move up into the amateur category.
“She loves art and has been really successful with it,” Emma’s mother, Jana McCumber, said.
In addition to taxidermy, McCumber also paints fishing lures and sells them at festivals and farmers markets. She also supplies many local bait and tackle stores with her lures. Her business is called Emma’s Reel Legendary Fishing Lures.
Natalie Leslie can be reached at 304-639-4403.