SCI Celebrates World’s Greatest Hunters’ Convention and Wildlife Conservation
Safari Club International 01.30.13
Safari Club International’s 41st Annual Hunters’ Convention once again solidified its place as the premier worldwide hunting convention. The second largest SCI convention held in Reno, Nevada earned near record donations from SCI members and vendors, ensuring the organization’s mission of hunter and hunting advocacy will continue around the world.
“Creating the world’s largest convention dedicated to the hunter is always a challenge, yet our convention has exceeded every expectation for Safari Club International,” said SCI President John Whipple. “Every exhibitor and every SCI member made incredible donations to our mission programs this year, which will protect hunting for the next generation of sportsmen and women.”
“Hunters across all continents understand SCI’s fight to improve hunters’ rights, and we’re the sole organization improving wildlife conservation through sustainable use,” added SCI Chief Executive Officer Phil DeLone. “We thank everyone who joined SCI in Reno, and I look forward to seeing even more international hunters in Las Vegas next year.”
Contributions made at the 2013 Hunters’ Convention include:
- $14.8 million for Hunter Advocacy and Wildlife Conservation.
- More than$1.2 million for SCI Foundation’s Scientific Lion Conservation Initiative.
- $235,600 for Safari Club International’s Political Action Committee. (SCI-PAC)
- Nearly $100,000 for the Hunter Defense Fund, the first Super-PAC representing hunters.
Notable Guests of the 2013 SCI Hunters’ Convention:
- General Chuck Yeager
- Larry and Brenda Potterfield, President, Midway USA
- Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice-President, National Rifle Association
- Olympic Gold Medalist Kim Rhode
- Olympic Medalist Corey Cogdell
- Movie Actor Ricky Schroder
- Jeff Crane, President, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
- Jim Shockey, Hunting Celebrity, Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures
- Craig Boddington, Hunting Celebrity, Tracks Across Africa
- Mike Rogers Jr., Hunting Celebrity, Expedition Safari Television
Political Officials in Attendance:
- Former Vice-President Dick Cheney
- Governor Brian Sandoval, Nevada
- Former Governor Mike Huckabee, Arkansas
- Dean Heller, Senator, Nevada
- Don Young, Representative, Alaska
- Dr. Paul Broun, Representative, Georgia
- Cynthia Lummis, Representative, Wyoming
- John Kline, Representative, Minnesota
- Mike Thompson, Representative, California
- Austin Scott, Representative, Georgia
- Steve Stockman, Representative, Texas
Safari Club International’s 42nd Annual Hunters’ Convention will return to Las Vegas, Nev., February 5-8, 2014, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
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.
