Safari Club International Recognizes Congressman Paul Ryan as the 2013 Federal Legislator of the Year
Safari Club International 01.17.13
Safari Club International (SCI) is pleased to recognize Representative Paul Ryan (Wisc.) as the 2013 SCI Federal Legislator of the Year. The award will be presented during the evening banquet on Jan. 25, 2013 at the world’s greatest convention dedicated to North American and international hunting, the 41st Annual Safari Club International Hunters’ Convention.
“No other legislator is more deserving of this award after the 2012 election cycle than Congressman Paul Ryan,” said SCI President John Whipple. “Being an avid hunter, Congressman Ryan was a champion to our cause, and put the preservation of hunting heritage in the national spotlight during his 2012 vice-presidential campaign. Be it in a business suit or full field attire, voters across the country saw the indelible image of him, with his bow at full draw; showing indisputable evidence of his commitment to being the voice for sportsmen and women both on the campaign trail and in the 112th Congress. SCI is proud to honor Representative Ryan as the 2013 SCI Federal Legislator of the Year.”
“It is an honor to be recognized by Safari Club International and its members as the 2013 Federal Legislator of the Year. I’m grateful to win this award and even more excited to be able to pass on to my children the hunting traditions and values that SCI stands for,” Ryan said. “The values of sportsmen and women have been a focus throughout my career and I will continue to support the hunting traditions and rights we cherish.”
Aside from his legislative work in Congress and with Safari Club International, Ryan is a member of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), having previously served as co-chairman for CSC in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.
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.
