Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Shooting Programs Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission accepts Quail Forever gift to endowment; staff highlights statewide FFA and scholastic shooting programs
Summary
The commission accepted a $1,000 donation from the Oklahoma chapter of Quail Forever to the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation MidwayUSA endowment, which will be matched and produce annual distributions for shooting-education programs. Staff described the scale of FFA shoots, Scholastic Shooting Sports and other outreach.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation accepted a $1,000 donation from the Oklahoma chapter of Quail Forever to be placed into the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation MidwayUSA endowment to support the agency's shooting-education programs.
Damon Springer, senior communication and education specialist, said the agency runs multiple shotgun and scholastic shooting events across the state. "We'll be going through about mid November, about 6 different events and all over the state in all 4 corners. So, probably about 1,600 kids that'll be involved in that over those shoots," Springer said. He described the Scholastic Shooting Sports program as a trap-based high school competition that involves roughly 1,500 to 1,800 students and requires training teachers and coaches at the school level.
Staff explained the endowment structure: donated funds are placed into a foundation endowment and then matched by the MidwayUSA Foundation; an annual percentage of earnings is distributed to the agency to pay for program needs such as ammunition, targets and other operating costs. Sean McCabe of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation and representatives from Quail Forever (James Deach and Kevin Bennett) attended and described the chapter's history of supporting education events and the decision to return funding to the department.
Commissioners moved and seconded the motion to accept the $1,000 gift and approved it by roll call. Staff thanked game wardens and chapter volunteers who serve as instructors for learn-to-shoot events.
The agency also reported that education staff ran a "Women on Target" event that drew about 400 participants and that training-the-trainer approaches certified multiple teachers and FFA instructors for hunter education and archery instruction. The gift and endowment match are intended to provide durable funding for those and other shooting-sports offerings across the state.
