OFAH Welcomes New President and Honors Director At the 83rd OFAH Annual General Meeting and Fish & Wildlife Conference
At the recent OFAH 83rd Annual General Meeting and Fish & Wildlife Conference, two OFAH Board members were given the ultimate compliment by their peers; one was elected President, and the other was selected to receive the Board’s highest honor.
Bill Blackwell of Port Elgin was elected President of the OFAH Board of Directors. Blackwell has been an OFAH member since 1975, and has served on the Board for many years, the past two as First Vice President. Blackwell is well known locally as a hunter education and firearms instructor and is involved in the Ontario Hunter Education Program at the provincial level.
“The OFAH has played, and continues to play, a significant role in safeguarding and enhancing the natural resources of our province, and the never-ending task of promoting and protecting our hunting and fishing heritage,” said OFAH President Bill Blackwell before a packed room at the Conservation Awards banquet on Saturday evening. “I am humbled and honored to have been elected as President of this great organization. I give you my pledge, that together, we will keep the Federation, one of the strongest and most respected conservation organizations in Canada, moving forward.”
Tony Jackson of St. Paul’s Station near Stratford was selected by his peers to receive the Jack O’Dette Conservation Leadership Award, which is given to the director who has made an outstanding contribution to the Federation over the past year. Directors noted his active participation at the Board level, representation on advisory committees and extensive involvement within his zone as reasons to honor Jackson. Jackson first became involved with OFAH Zone J in 2005, and is currently the chair of the zone. The award is named after the former OFAH Director who was an avid angler, hunter and conservationist, and Order of Canada recipient.
“I have the opportunity to work with such great people through the OFAH Board, and to think that they would select me for this award is truly humbling,” said Jackson as he accepted the award. “The mentoring and support that I have received is what motivates me to work on behalf of the Federation, and for anglers and hunters across the province.”
The annual conference attracted over 500 delegates from across the province. On Friday, speaker sessions were livestreamed via the Internet and may be viewed online at www.ofah.org/conference/
With over 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 670 member clubs, the OFAH is the largest nonprofit fishing, hunting and conservation-based organization in Ontario, and the voice of anglers and hunters. For more information, visit www.ofah.org.
-30-
Contact
Click here to download the PDF version of this release
|