Ron Spomer Awarded the Second Annual Bushnell Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award
OutdoorHub 01.18.12
In 2011 Bushnell Outdoor Products created the Bushnell Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize the vast contributions the legendary writer and photojournalist has made to the optics and outdoor industry. The annual award was established to both honor McRae and recognize current and future journalists making a profound impact in the industry.
McRae, an avid and accomplished outdoorsman, spent the majority of his 50-year career testing and covering sports optics. Along the way, he always took the time to share his knowledge of not only optics, but journalism, photography and the outdoor world by mentoring young writers and industry professionals.
The 2012 Bushnell Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Ron Spomer, has spent 35 years as both a professional photographer and journalist, with work published in more than 120 periodicals and books. He is currently the host of “Winchester’s World of Whitetails” on the Versus Channel and a contributor to ten outdoor industry publications including American Hunter, North American Hunter, Rifle Magazine and Sports Afield, to name a few.
“Ron has dedicated his entire career to his passion, the outdoor industry, and his contributions are evident in many forms,” said Bill McRae. “It’s a pleasure to join Bushnell in recognizing a fellow outdoorsman who has not only contributed individually, but who has helped many others throughout his career.”
In addition to his current work, Ron has also authored ten books on big game, deer and predator hunting. A well-accomplished hunter, he has taken more than 140 species of game spanning six continents. Ron has an exhaustive knowledge of both game and non-game species, and remains committed to passing on his knowledge of hunting and the outdoors to future generations.
In addition to the industry award, Bushnell also established a scholarship at the University of California, Davis available to students pursuing a degree in optical science and engineering. The $7,500 scholarship at UC Davis, a nationally renowned optics institution, was the College of Engineering’s first corporate-sponsored scholarship named for an individual.
