After a 5 yr lay off due to back problems I am back to shooting my long bow and recurve… of course having a 9 yr old daughter that wants to learn to shoot helped the recovery process a lot.
One thing I did not give up was teaching the NYS Bowhunter Safety Class, however, that was just too important to give up. I now live in Maryland and have just retired from the NYS program. I am proud to say that I have completed just over 30 yrs as a NYS Master Instructor. To my great surprise the NYS DEC Hunter Safety Program rewarded my efforts with a beautiful custom knife. Something to be treasured, but not as much as the memories of all the students who have passed through my classes and the new instructors I helped to train. I was fortunate to receive my Instructor Certification from none other than Bill Wadsworth, the father of Bowhunting education. I was one of the first Bowhunting instructors in NYS, back when the program was voluntary…
But, having retired from the NYS program something was missing. Well, it is not missing any more. I have recently been certified as a Maryland Hunter Safety Instructor and a Maryland Bowhunter Safety Instructor. Maryland does not have mandatory Bowhunter education, but they do have an active program that I hope I can help along.
I realize that this might sound like I am bragging, but that is not the case… I am actually thanking all those students and new instructors that I trained for making my time as a Bowhunter more than just shooting and going into the woods to harvest a deer.
Attached is a picture of the knife that NYS gave me for my 30 yrs of service… I doubt I have another 30 yrs in me (I turn 59 this year), but I will teach as long as I am able and wanted in Maryland.
Topic: Not bragging... but saying thank you.... (Read 606 times)
