By W. Laird Hamberlin, SCI CEO
There are two major things happening in March. Now is the time to mark your calendars for the beginning of the wild turkey hunting seasons in North America and for the amazing Cinegética hunting fair in Spain. Although those two things may seem distant from each other, they are tied together because one is a hunting activity and the other is a hunting fair — a fair where a crowd of about 40,000 hunters visit 290 exhibitors March 14-17 in Madrid, Spain.
Last March, SCI entered into an exciting partnership with Cinegética, the first of its kind in the history of hunting.
This marks an important new chapter in the global effort to defend hunters’ freedoms in Europe. The Cinegética and SCI partnership is critical as we prepare future generations to go afield while effectively communicating the essential role of hunters in conservation.
Back in the U.S., the opening of wild turkey hunting is a rite of spring for hunters because it is the first major season of the year in North America. The turkey hunting seasons in the spring and the dove hunting seasons in the fall see massive numbers of hunters in the wilds and set the pace for all other kinds of hunting for the rest of the year.
I plan to make the most of the upcoming wild turkey hunting seasons and hope other members will also join in the fun. There is just something about wild turkey hunting that sets it apart and makes it something special. For SCI members who never have had the pleasure of hunting wild turkeys, I encourage you to give it a try. I am certain you will be glad you did.
We’ll have more to report on just how great the Convention was this year in Nashville because all indicators ahead of time were that it was destined to be one of the best in history, if not THE absolute best.
And immediately following the SCI Convention each year is what we call the Banquet Season when Chapters hold their fundraisers locally. I plan to attend a bunch of them this year and invite all members to attend Chapter banquets in your areas. While you are there, bid high and often on auction items because these banquets are where Chapters raise most of the money it takes for them to conduct projects locally throughout
the year.
Looking a little farther into the future, I hope to see everyone at the May Board of Directors meeting in the Washington, D.C., area and the concurrent Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.
Regardless how active individual members are able to be within SCI, SCI has many ways for all of you to make a positive difference. Just your membership alone is a beginning and proof that you care about hunting and its future.
Thank you for that and good hunting.
