Safari Club International Supports U.S. Olympic Shooting Team Members Kim Rhode, Corey Cogdell
Safari Club International 07.09.12
Safari Club International is proud to support two of the U.S.A.’s most successful women shooters, Kim Rhode and Corey Cogdell, during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. The two will serve as international ambassadors representing SCI throughout their Olympic performances, among other competitions.
“By working with Safari Club International, the mission of conservation and advocacy become an important part of reaching out to people interested in my sport. As I head to the Olympic Games and other shooting competitions, we can get the message out to millions of people that Safari Club International is the leading organization in the fight to protect hunting and shooting,” said Rhode.
“I am excited to represent Safari Club International and their mission. The traditions of hunting and shooting must be preserved. Without organizations like Safari Club International, future generations will not have the opportunities Kim and I have been fortunate to experience,” said Cogdell.
Kim Rhode is a life member of Safari Club International and supporter of the conservation and advocacy programs Safari Club International promotes.Ms. Rhode has won an Olympic medal in each of the last four Olympics Games, beginning in Atlanta in 1996 where she won her first gold medal. She is the most decorated shotgun shooter in history. With another medal opportunity at the London Games, she will become the first American athlete to have won five medals in an individual sport in five consecutive Olympic Games. Kim Rhode will compete in both international skeet and bunker trap events. Having competed in double trap in previous Olympic Games, she will be the only woman in shooting history to have ever competed in all three shotgun events in the Olympic Games.
Corey Cogdell is the only U.S. woman to ever win an Olympic medal in Women’s International Trap. Corey made the National Development Team in 2006 at Fall Selection when she placed first in the Junior Women’s Trap competition. She then captured the bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games. Ms. Cogdell earned her a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team through the Olympic selection matches held in September of 2007 and March 2008. In August of 2008, Corey Cogdell won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
“We could not be happier than to have these two Olympians as representatives of Safari Club International. Their ability to promote the organization’s advocacy and hunting heritage programs to millions of people worldwide is truly a gift for Safari Club International,” said John Whipple, President of Safari Club International. “Every member will watch with pride as the two compete in London and at other competitions around the world wearing the Safari Club International logo.”
The 2012 Summer Olympics will be held in London July 26 through August 6, 2012, with the shooting sport competition to be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks beginning July 28. Safari Club International’s support builds upon years of involvement with both Kim Rhode and Corey Cogdell’s careers. Safari Club International sponsored the World Cup event earlier this year at the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club held March 21- April 1, 2012.
Protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation, SCI’s two areas of focus, historically has been the interest of hundreds of individuals long before SCI was established. But how did SCI as an organization begin?
Forty years ago, there were many safari clubs across the country made up of local, unaffiliated groups of hunters. One such was Safari Club of Los Angeles, which was formed in April 1971 by forty-seven individuals. In early 1972, an out-of-towner from a similar club in Chicago attended one of the monthly Wednesday night meetings, and it was decided that the L.A. club should attempt to combine with the one in Chicago to make it an affiliated chapter. The founder of Safari Club of Los Angeles, C.J. McElroy, went to the Windy City and instituted the new chapter.
Eleven months after the formation of Safari Club of Los Angeles, on March 9, 1972, the name was changed officially to Safari Club International. SCI continued to reach out to other independent safari clubs throughout the United States in an effort to combine them into a single overall organization.
Today, interest in SCI’s two primary missions has grown a worldwide network. Subsequent involvement and promotion of these missions is rooted in each of our 55,000 members, supported through each of our 190 membership chapters found across the globe, and put into action by government representatives and personnel both nationally and internationally.
In this way, we can encourage an appreciation for nature and wildlife so that conservation efforts remain strong, while also fighting to protect our rich hunting heritage. Big changes can be achieved through the endeavors of many who are united in a mission – the mission of Safari Club International.
