Ralph Nocerino

Ralph Nocerino spent his childhood along the Great South Bay in Long Island, NY, where continues to hunt Black duck and Broadbill.  A former insurance broker, Nocerino pursued his love of waterfowl and big game hunting as a side hobby.  In 1972, Nocerino attended his first decoy show at the U.S. National Decoy Show in Babylon, NY where he learned how to carve gunning stools from Al McCormick.  In 1975, he entered his gunning stools into the U.S. National Decoy Show and won Second in Show.  Since then, he has won many awards for his competitive carvings and in 1980 onwards served as the chairman for the U.S. National Decoy Show.