Iowa > John Sears, a member of the League’s Ottumwa Chapter, was recognized this year with the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA)—USA Volunteer Hall of Fame Award for his long- standing volunteer service and dedication. Sears has been a volunteer hunter education instructor since 1983 and is part of the teaching team at the Ottumwa Chapter, where he leads a team of 10 instructors for the traditional and field day courses. He also volunteers for the IOWA Youth Hunter Education Challenge and helped design the shotgun event. For the past four years, he has also volunteered for the international Youth Hunter Education Challenge.

Sears is a founding member of the Iowa Hunter Education Instructor Association and served three years as the organization’s president. In 2012, he was appointed to the IHEA-USA Instructor Advisory Committee and was elected committee chairman, in which capacity he also serves on the IHEA- USA Board of Directors.