Events

Next Chapter Meeting will be March 19, 2019

Our next chapter meeting will be held on March 19, 2019 at the Marriott Hotel on Highway 280 in Birmingham. If you plan to attend, click rbushsci@att.net to send an RSVP email at least 3 days in advance. Please include the number in your party.

Board Meeting
5:00 – 6:00

Cocktails
5:30 – 6:30

Dinner & Programs (Meals are now $25 per person)
6:30 – 9:00

The Birmingham Marriott is located at 3590 Grandview Parkway on HWY 280 across the highway from the Cahaba Center at Grandview.

News

SCI Alabama Chapter Logo Clothing

We now have Alabama Chapter logo clothing. Select the links below to preview items currently available. Contact Jonathan Lehr at jl4outdoors@gmail.com for purchase information.

Fleece Vests

Hats

Polo Shirts

Wicking Polo Shirts

Effective Immediately…

Under new regulations, hunters who harvest white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose in CWD-affected states are not allowed to bring the whole deer carcass back to Alabama. Any deer body part that contains spinal or brain tissue is specifically banned from Alabama.

“Alabama’s late to the dance, but we’re at least there now,” said Chuck Sykes, Director of the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division. “We have now joined 36 other states with similar regulations. It’s been prohibited to bring live deer into the state for some time now. The intent of that regulation was to help prevent the potential to spread diseases. A dead deer can transmit diseases just like a live one. So this was just logical. We finally did something that should have been done a long time ago.”

Sykes said to be in compliance with the new regulation, hunters who harvest a deer in a CWD-affected state must debone the meat, cape the deer and cut off the skull plate with the antlers attached. That skull plate must be thoroughly cleaned of all brain material before it is imported into Alabama.

Read the entire article at www.outdooralabama.com

SCI Online Record Book Now Free to Members

Simply browse to www.scirecordbook.org to quickly and easily access the entire SCI record book. This great tool not only provides the information that you are looking for; it also offers multiple search options that you will find very interesting and helpful. In addition to a reference, you can submit your own report. If you haven’t already done so, have your membership number handy, go to www.scirecordbook.org, and select REGISTER to sign up for the free Standard SCI Member Subscription.

Banquet is This Saturday Feb. 23rd! Get Your Tickets Now!

Posted in Feature on January 27, 2019 at 10:00 am

Our 2019 Annual Banquet will be held on February 23rd at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame located at the Talladega International Speedway. This year your ticket will not only include entry to the banquet but will include admission to the museum and a track tour with a ride around the track (track tours conclude at 4:00 PM). Individual tickets are $100 or a table of 8 for $680, a savings of $120. Also available will be a VIP Package which includes the table for 8 persons, ads in the auction program and the chapter Newsletter, a sponsorship, preferential seating at the evening events, and a chance on the raffle drawing for a shotgun exclusive to the VIP Package holders.

                  PURCHASE BANQUET TICKETS HERE!

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Banquet Schedule

9:00 AM – Doors open to General Public (free admission until 3:00 PM)
10:00 AM – Museum Opens and Track Tours Begin
1:00 – 1:30 PM – Scoring Whitetail Deer Seminar (Randall Bush)
1:45 – 2:15 PM – Scoring African Game Animals Seminar (Chris Williams)
2:30 – 3:00 PM – Safety Factors in Traveling in Africa Seminar (Pieter Viviers)
3:15 – 3:45 PM – Turkey Hunting and Calling Techniques Seminar (Jason Bussey)
4:00 PM – Silent Auction Begins, Bars Open, and Track Tours Conclude
6:30 PM – Dinner (catered by Classic On Noble) Followed by Live Auction
9:30 PM – Evening Events Conclude

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Posted in Feature on January 26, 2019 at 10:00 am

In 2003 when Randall Bush turned over the Alabama Chapter presidency to George Kraft, George presented the customary Past President’s plaque to Randall at the May chapter meeting. Randall and George had worked very closely during Randall’s four years as chapter president and George was well aware of the work being done behind the scene. Randall’s wife Janice had been there during this time doing the jobs necessary to help make the chapter successful, but not being recognized for any of it. George decided to make an award to recognize the hard work that Janice had done for the chapter. This was the “First Lady Award” and it was intended to be just a one-time award and was presented to Janice at this meeting.
Following George’s term, it was again recognized that his wife Becky had also gone above and beyond in working for the chapter. In recognition of this, Becky was also presented a “First Lady Award”. This award was not intended to be given just because a person was the spouse of the chapter president, only when that person put forth efforts worthy of recognition.
Over the last 15 years only three of the awards have ever been presented. The recipients were, Janice Bush, Becky Kraft and Diann Chitwood.
This year we had another very worthy candidate for the award, Sherry Williams, wife of the chapter president, Chris Williams. Chris would be the first to tell you that Sherry worked as hard as he did to keep the chapter running smoothly and successfully. Sherry never slowed down and was always there when anyone needed her. The award could not have gone to a more worthy person.
At the November Alabama Chapter meeting Sherry’s efforts were rewarded by being the fourth recipient of the “First Lady Award”. On hand to present the award was Janice Bush, the first recipient of this award.

Chapter Donates to Alabama Department of Conservation

Posted in Feature on January 23, 2019 at 1:56 pm

The Alabama Chapter of SCI had the pleasure of hosting the Alabama Department of Conservation at the September bi-monthly meeting. Wildlife Biologist Keith Gauldin was in attendance as the representative and spoke on various efforts they had going throughout the state to include coyote tracking studies, black bear sightings, CWD testing, and the major topic of the evening, the Adult Mentoring Program. This program was started in hopes of gaining new members into the hunting community. Most hunters are followed by their children, which only replaces them in the field and is really only a temporary addition. They are targeting individuals who have never hunted or have hunted very little and have a desire to at least give it a try with the hopeful possibility of enjoying it to the point of retention, thus gaining a new member to conservation and wildlife management. The Alabama Chapter tries to be involved with numerous organizations and efforts nationwide and contribute to worthy causes every year. The chapter donates to assist in the funding and even has volunteers to work the efforts which includes some travel to other states. The Alabama Chapter made a donation to the Alabama Department of Conservation in the amount of $4,000 to assist with their Adult Mentoring Program in hopes to gain more hunters in the field and more support on the home front as well as potentially future SCI members. With the donations from other conservation organizations combined with that of the Alabama Chapter it helps the receiving parties to achieve their goals concerning conservation and the fight against all who oppose. The donations will be well used and appreciated. Every little bit helps and with the efforts, money, and time given from all organizations this will help ensure that the sport of hunting remains safe and active for years to come. If you would like to donate or are interested in getting involved in your local outdoors programs and SCI, visit our contact page for individuals who will assist you.

SCI’s American Wilderness Leadership School

Posted in Feature on October 3, 2018 at 7:47 pm

Nestled in the beautiful Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson, Wyoming, the American Wilderness Leadership School (“AWLS”) provides the perfect atmosphere for educational programs. Established in 1976 with the vision of providing educators with a useful hands-on experience that they can bring home to their classrooms, AWLS has provided an accredited wildlife management program for 5,473 primary and secondary teachers. The school offers six dates each summer for these fun and exciting eight-day sessions. Some of the topics covered include wildlife conservation and management, endangered species and outdoor ethics, ecosystems, economic contribution of sportsman in conservation, outdoor survival and the shooting sports – firearm safety, shotgun, rifle, and archery. Participants also enjoy a whitewater rafting trip on the Snake River.
This year the Alabama Chapter of SCI has again provided this unique opportunity for two young ladies, Chloe Medlin and McKenna Franklin, both of whom are pursuing college degrees in the wildlife related fields. The chapter provided the tuition and airfare for these students to attend the AWLS. Below is their account of the experience.

Dear Mr. Bush and the Safari Club,
Thank you so much for making this life-changing experience possible for us. We are going to write this together because we started this trip only knowing each other’s name, and we ended this trip knowing we would be lifelong friends! It is amazing how we learned so much about so many things in just a week. We made some great friends from around the country and still talk and text with them every couple of days. We hope to be able to do something in the future to help keep the American Wilderness Leadership School going.

McKENNA: Before I left for this trip, I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian and I had chosen Wildlife Pre-Vet as my major. This trip definitely transformed my path in life. Now that I am back at Auburn University, I have changed my major to Wildlife Ecology and Management. I want to keep learning more about wildlife conservation and how the whole world is affected by this. I truly admire the passion that these instructors had for what they were teaching us, and I hope that I will be able to do that one day. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this trip possible for me!

CHLOE: I have always been a hunter with my dad and grandfather, and it has been something that I love. This trip made me realize the value of hunting and how it is disappearing among this generation. I will always want to hunt and fish, and now I understand how important it is to teach others the importance of hunting in our ecosystem. My major at Auburn University will be Wildlife Enterprise Management where I will be able to be surrounded by the consumptive use of wildlife and the value of wildlife conservation in order to continue that. Thank you so much for sending me to Jackson Hole!

Thank you for everything!
McKenna Franklin Chloe Medlin