SCI Annual Convention Achieving Unprecedented Growth
Safari Club International 12.15.11
Tucson, AZ – Safari Club International’s (SCI) 40th Annual Hunters’ Convention taking place February 1-4th, 2012 is on pace to be the most successful Convention in the history of the organization. SCI member registrations are 20% ahead of 2011’s convention to date and SCI will be bringing 13% more exhibitors than in any other year. The total convention exhibit hall is over 50% greater than in 2011, with over one million square feet of the world’s finest hunts, finest guns and greatest taxidermy.
“In these difficult economic times we are more appreciative than ever of the incredible generosity of SCI’s members and exhibitors,” said SCI Chief Communications Officer Larry Rudolph. “With a record $8 million of donations from our valued exhibitors SCI can to continue our mission of being First for Hunters.”
Attendees of the 40th Annual SCI Hunters’ Convention will be granted unprecedented access to the most celebrated international hunting outfitters and the premier custom firearms in the world. Register today at www.showsci.com to join the largest gathering of sportsmen and women from around the world!
The keynotes speakers and evening entertainment for SCI’s members at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV include National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre and musicians Martina McBride, Trace Adkins, Brit Beat and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.
Contact: Media@safariclub.org
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.
