In This Issue:
This time of year is magical when it comes to the deer rutting, pheasants cackling, geese honking, coyotes howling, turkeys scurrying and ducks chuckling.
Some of my most fond Christmas and New Year holiday memories involved waterfowl and/or pheasant hunting on or near the ice-frozen ponds of Colorado and Iowa, deer and hog hunting in South Texas and bow hunting in the rugged landscape and canyons near Leakey, Texas. These are truly gifts of nature and America — to be able to enjoy the Hunting Heritage with family and friends over a corn field, wetland, mountain top, forest, brush land or open pasture.
My wish for all of you is that same gift — may you open it in good health, favor and with lots of gleeful spirit! Here’s hoping it is one of your favorite presents in 2016!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Steve Hall, HE Coordinator
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THANKS for your hard work in 2016!
FY 16 HE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Students Trained – 65,642
- Field Activities – 16,066
- Students that Live-fired – 6,417
- New Instructors Trained – 389
- Active Instructors – 2,492
- HOURS Taught – 47,646
- VALUE of Service – $1,143,504
- Courses Held – 4,151
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HE ADVANCED/OUTREACH:
- HE Staff Outreach Events – 72
- Hunting 101 Pilots – 10
HE – FUNDED PARTNER NUMBERS:
- TX Agrilife HE Basic/Adv – 1,684
- TX Agrilife 4-H Students – 2,937
- TYHP Hunts – 190
- TYHP Youth Hunters – 1,095
- Huntmaster Workshops – 13
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There is still two more days to get me your well wishes as we plan to take Kathy Powell out for a holiday dinner next week and will present her your well wishes at that time. Please send to:
st********@tp**.gov
.
Donations towards Kathy Powell’s retirement gift are now being accepted by “THEIA”, so we can thank her for the time she served our Texas hunter education community.
Please send checks no later than December 31st to: THEIA; ATTN Denise Harmel-Garza
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Actors (Hunters) Needed – For a Game Warden K-9 story, TPWD Media staff needs 4 white males, in their mid-20’s (or looking like mid-20’s) and one white male about 14 or 15 years of age for a reenactment scene. The young hunters will be dove hunting and the youngest will hide his gun and ammo in the woods. The K-9 will find the gun and ammo. The videographer will be riding with the K-9 unit which shows up after another Game Warden has already approached the group and suspected a gun of being hidden. Faces of the hunters will be blurred. Any willing, preferably free, actors to play the parts of the dove hunters? If so, please contact:
st********@tp**.gov
Instructor Stories – To reach more prospective hunters and continue to remind existing hunters to be safe in the field, Kalkomey’s Hunter Ed is now featuring stories submitted by real hunter ed instructors on their blog and social media. They would love to get some input from hunters all across the country. Is there an instructor or two who might be interested in sharing his/her story with new hunters?
You can see an example of one of their popular posts here: http://www.hunter-ed.com/blog/letter-landowner-elk-hunt/
If you think YOU might have a good story to share, please send it to Megan Dyer; Content Marketing Strategist, Kalkomey, LLC at:
md***@ka******.com
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Karen Horn, BOW graduate, is pictured with Jack Chamberlain (L), owner of Tinney Creek Outfitters, and her mentor, Raymond Gonzales, BOW and bowhunter education instructor. She took her first white-tailed doe on a recent hunt in McMahon, Texas.
Karen commented, “The Becoming An Outdoor Woman (BOW) program has allowed me to experience the outdoors and hunting at a hands-on level. The step-by-step training and mentor-ship provided by Raymond and others in the program is outstanding. My confidence grows with every adventure.”
Congratulations to Karen and all BOW Participants!
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Ben Plunkett, Livingston, one of the younger Hunter Ed instructors at age 24, works as a forester with Texas A&M University, and is stationed in the Jones Forest near Conroe. Ben chased this deer for 3 years before finally getting the opportunity to take him. Congratulations Ben! Keep hunting, learning and teaching Hunter Education!
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THE ORS is about ready to go –whew! Much has gone into the application. THANKS to HE instructors that helped TEST the system this past month to work out a few kinks — called “bugs” in the training and testing process.
The goal now is to roll out the system in January 2017 for three reasons.
- We can tabulate incentive awards using the HABES system for 2016 prior to modifying the system in ORS.
- It’s after the peak season — which enables us to transition to the new ORS over the next several months to ensure everyone is on board and/or trained as needed.
- The calendar year makes for a good starting point, fresh after the holidays.
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