Award honours hard work and dedication to the OFAH
PETERBOROUGH – OFAH 1st Vice President Debbie Rivard was named the 2015 recipient of the OFAH/Jack O”Dette Conservation Leadership Award at the 88th OFAH Annual General Meeting & Fish and Wildlife Conference.
The award is presented to an OFAH director, selected by his or her peers, who serves on the OFAH Board of Directors, and it recognizes the hard work, dedication, and motivation this individual has provided to the Federation over the past year.
Rivard, a resident of Thunder Bay, has been a member of the OFAH Board of Directors for 15 years and has provided knowledge, experience and dedication through a number of different positions, including member of the zone executive, chair of the zone, a member of the executive committee, as well as chair of the OFAH Fisheries Advisory Committee.
She is also a representative on Fisheries Management Zone 6 and 9 Councils, a member of the Fish & Wildlife Heritage Commission, a participant on the Black Sturgeon River Dam Structured Decision-Making Process, has attended trade shows, trappers conventions, and other fishing and hunting events, spreading the message of the OFAH and the importance of having a membership within the organization.
Additionally, Rivard is a National Archery in the Schools Program instructor and has been instrumental in training dozen of school teachers across Northern Ontario to deliver this initiative, which will introduce hundreds of children to the shooting sports.
“Debbie is committed to providing people, in particular youth, with first-hand experiences in hunting, fishing and trapping, always eager to show them what it truly means to be a hunter and angler, and why these traditional activities are so important,” says OFAH Executive Director Angelo Lombardo. “She is tireless, always ready to give a hand at events, or attend local meetings, and does an excellent job in representing the OFAH.”
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is Ontario’s largest, non-profit, fish and wildlife conservation-based organization, representing 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters and 725 member clubs. To learn more, visit www.ofah.org and follow us on Facebook (ofah.org/facebook) and Twitter (@ofah).
Media contacts:
Shawn Cayley
Manager of Communications
705-748-6324 ext. 270
shawn_cayley@ofah.org