Mentorship program AMP reports 10 mentor-mentee pairs, high satisfaction in inaugural year

Agency staff described the first year of the Agency Mentorship Program (AMP), a mentoring initiative designed to improve employees’ skills and to encourage recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) practices.

Micah Holmes, chief of the communications and education division, and Lane Speed, communications and education supervisor, briefed commissioners on the pilot. The program received 20 applications, which formed 10 mentor–mentee pairs. Organizers said the program allowed participating employees to charge up to 16 hours for planning and activity time — reimbursable to the agency through R3 hunter-education grant funding — and that the department provided no equipment (mentors and mentees supplied gear themselves).

Presenters said trips and range time produced a mix of hunting and instruction outcomes (squirrel, duck and deer harvests were reported in some pairings) and that post-activity surveys showed strong support: an average experience rating of 4.71 out of 5. Fourteen percent of respondents said the program improved their understanding of R3 concepts; the remainder said they already had a good understanding. Presenters said the program emphasized mentorship as a tool to expand outdoor participation and to help staff better answer constituent questions.

The department plans to retain a formal application and a post-activity survey for future rounds; supervisors must approve participation to ensure staff time is available. Program leaders encouraged other employees to sign up as mentors and to bring back field skills to assist public outreach efforts.