Toxey Daniel Haas III (born January 21, 1960) is an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and conservationist. In 1986, he founded Haas Outdoors, Inc. where he currently serves as CEO.

Early life and education

Haas was born and raised in

West Point, Mississippi West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, United States, in the Golden Triangle region of the state. The population was 11,307 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Clay County and the principal city of the West Point Micropolitan ...

where he attended Oak Hill Academy. His father Fox took him hunting at Choctaw Bluff, a hunting club near

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. A tree at their favorite hunting spot known as the Mossy Oak tree would serve as key inspiration in Haas' business career.Imes, Birney. "Toxey Haas' Great Outdoors." Catfish Alley. Spring 2012: 62-67. Print. After graduating in 1976, he continued his education at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

. While at Mississippi State, he was a member of

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

fraternity and attained his bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Haas married Diane Lusk, and they moved back to West Point. He began working for

Bryan Foods Bryan Foods is an American meat company founded in 1936 by John H. Bryan, Sr and W.B. Bryan in West Point, Mississippi. Information The company was acquired in 1968 by Sara Lee Corporation, now Hillshire Brands which was later acquired by Tyson ...

, a division of

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * Sara (2010 ...

Career

Haas had an idea to improve the conventional camouflage that hunters used. Haas gained inspiration from leaves, twigs, and dirt and pursued his first camouflage pattern. After being turned down many times, Crystal Springs Print Works in Georgia agreed to print his pattern. However, they had a 10,000 yard minimum, and he could only afford 800 yards. Haas convinced them to make an exception. Haas officially left his job at Bryan for his entrepreneurial pursuits and enlisted the help of his friend Bill Sugg as his partner. In 1986, Toxey Haas founded

Mossy Oak Mossy Oak is a West Point, Mississippi–based branded camouflage and outdoor lifestyle company founded by Toxey Haas in 1986. Mossy Oak is owned and operated by its parent company Haas Outdoors, Inc. History Haas, an avid outdoorsman, gained ...

Brand Camouflage and its parent company Haas Outdoors, Inc. The first

clothing was sewn by Haas' mother in his childhood home. Haas and his friend Chris Hawley cofounded Mossy Oak's real estate company Mossy Oak Properties in 1999. Haas, along with

wildlife biologist A wildlife biologist studies animals and their behavior along with the role each animal plays in its natural habitat. The duties of a wildlife biologist can include: developing and conducting experiments/studies on animals in their natural habitats, ...

Grant Woods, cofounded BioLogic in 1999. BioLogic is headquartered in West Point. Founded in 2007, Nativ Nurseries is headquartered in West Point and grows and sells trees for landowners.

Awards and recognition

*Mississippi Small Business Person of the Year (1989) *West Point Hall of Fame (1999) *Catch-A-Dream "Corporate Vision Award" (2004) *Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame (2009) *

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American nonprofit organization 501(c) dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It has had a membership of around 700,000 since January 2013. ...

Hero of Conservation (2009) *

College of Business Alumnus of the Year (2017) *National Wild Turkey Federation Lifetime Achievement Conservation Award (2022)

Appearances in literature

Chapters of the following books regard Haas' endeavors: * ''Storms of Perfection'', Andy Andrews * ''Mississippians'', Neil White * ''Mississippi Entrepreneurs'', Polly Dement * ''What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs'', Jan NormanNorman, Jan. "What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs." Chicago: Dearborn, 1999,2004. Print.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Toxey 1960 births Living people American conservationists American retail chief executives Businesspeople from Mississippi Mississippi State University alumni People from West Point, Mississippi