I have been an SCI life member since 1997 and am starting my third term on the Alabama Chapter Board of Directors. In past terms I have served as the chairman of the Sportsmen Against Hunger Committee. This is my first year as editor of the chapter magazine after assisting Randall Bush with the previous edition. I grew up hunting rabbits with my dad and uncles and did not bag a whitetail deer until I was in my 30s. Dr. Morgan Silvers introduced me to Safari Club International and opened a huge door in my hunting life. Morgan inspired me to begin collecting big game species and climbing the World Hunting Awards ladder. Over the past 25 years, the WHA quest has led me to hunt 5 continents while taking 88 species of big game animals to date. At the 2024 national convention I was honored (along with 4 other Alabama chapter members) to be recognized on stage as a WHA Fourth pinnacle of Achievement winner.

To me the World Hunting Awards program represents the best of what Safari Club International is about. The money raised by the WHA program is a major funding source for worldwide wildlife conservation. On a personal level, it thrills me that every animal I enter into the program becomes a detailed “forever” preserved record of my life long hunting journey that my son and grandchildren can appreciate and pass on to future generations.