Iowa >> James Haring has been a member of the League’s Clinton County Chapter for 57 years. William “Bill” Ogan has been a Clinton County Chapter member for 55 years. These milestones alone would be remarkable.

But both men reached an even rarer benchmark this year: 50 years teaching Iowa’s youth how to hunt safely and responsibly. Both men were honored by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for their outstanding work as volunteer hunter education instructors.

Volunteers with the DNR’s Hunter Education Program promote hunter safety and ethics. They also teach new hunters about fair chase, survival and first aid skills, the basics of wildlife management, hunting laws, wildlife identification, and landowner relations.

“It is unbelievable what our volunteer instructors put into our program. Time and money are very valuable, and our instructors donate both on a continuing basis,” says Terry Nims, DNR recreational safety officer for southeast Iowa. “Since the inception of a mandatory hunter education program in Iowa, our instructors have worked tirelessly to improve the safety and ethical responsibilities that go along with becoming an outdoors person.”

Nims presented Haring and Ogan each with a Henry® Lever Action .22 Rifle in recognition of each man’s half century of volunteer work as a hunter education instructor. “The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is proud to have these role models teaching our next generation of hunters,” says Nims.