(03/15/22)

By Lance Cherry, Council to Advance Hunting & the Shooting Sports

Lance Cherry, ACI President

As many of you have already heard, I recently joined the team at the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports. What this means for those of you at ACI is you can expect me to talk about recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) more frequently, and you can expect me to carry the flag, promoting the contributions hunters and shooters make towards wildlife conservation.

For those of you who attended the ACI conference last summer, you’re probably not at all surprised. It’s no secret I am a fanatic about all things R3, and for the past 21 years I have been in the fight to reverse the decline in hunting and fishing participation and to educate the public about wildlife conservation. So, my title changed but I have not. I want you to know I am the same leader you elected as your president and the things that were important to me then are still important to me.

As members you can count on me to continue to push the envelope in communications and marketing and to encourage creative, innovative thought in the delivery of conservation education. You can count on me to continue to serve in my duties to ACI and you can count on me to support you and help you as you navigate your own paths to success.

You can also count on me to push your involvement in the R3 Community and your contributions to the R3 Clearinghouse. Both channels are hosted and supported by the Council and are in place for your benefit. If you haven’t heard of either of these, I’d encourage you to visit the R3 Community at https://nationalr3plan.mn.co and R3 Clearinghouse at https://find.nationalr3community.org, sign up and get involved. And if you happen to get lost, you got a friendly, familiar voice to call and help you out.

It’s important for all of us to not let up on our R3 efforts. Nationally we’ve turned a corner and are on our way to restoring the base that has funded conservation for the past century. Each of you have played a vital role in this historic moment in time, and each of you should be proud of what you have accomplished thus far. Still, there is more to do, and together we can continue to move mountains.

If I can be of service, please don’t hesitate to reach out and know I am here, fighting the good fight for the future generations that are depending on us. And I am here to help you in your own journeys.