President's Message
Since we last gathered together in January to present the Weatherby Hunting and Conservation Award to Bela Hidvegi there have been a lot of very exciting developments for the Foundation. After a long process in which many people worked tirelessly to obtain the best available option for our award venue we announced a nine year agreement with Safari Club International for us to hold the presentation of the highest award in the hunting world in Nashville, Tennessee, during their convention week with our next Gala scheduled for January 22, 2025! This is really exciting! We are indebted to so many people who worked tirelessly to achieve this result for the Weatherby cause and we are moving forward on all fronts to make our first Gala in Nashville the most successful and entertaining one ever. That would really be saying something after the wonderful result we had in Dallas in January, but with everyone pulling strongly on their oar we can make this ship move in an unstoppable manner towards that goal! While a whole host of people contributed wisdom, advice, and energy towards the achievement of our agreement with SCI and without whom this change could not have happened I would in particular like to cite and thank Chris Hudson, Laird Hamberlin, and Cass Olmstead for their strong efforts in bringing this project to where it is today. Of course there is never a finish line which denotes a point where we can just stop and admire our success. To achieve the continued flourishing of the Weatherby mission requires the great efforts of all of us!
As a result of our good fund raising efforts from our last Gala we were able to have our grants committee support a number of worthy causes that align with our mission statement “to educate youth and the non-hunting public on the beneficial role of ethical sport hunting and its contribution to wildlife conservation, and to protect our constitutional right to do so”. We need not only to recruit new hunters but also retain and enlarge the footprint of existing hunters and conservationists. We have a big task as we compete for attention in a world filled with digital distractions and propaganda counter to our worldview. Please continue to join with us in our exciting progress and we would love to have you attend, spend, and participate in our first Music City Gala to bring us over the top of even our most lofty expectations. We are looking forward to seeing you there and showing you a really good time! May God bless you as we all work together!
Peter A. Larsen, M.D.
