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| Representatives of the El Paso Del Norte SCI chapter assisted in presenting awards to campers after the End-of-Camp Match that concluded the El Paso camp. |
Over 70 school-age campers attended the second CMP Junior Rifle Camp of the summer in El Paso, Texas. Many of those participating were able to do so due to the efforts of the local Paso Del Norte chapter of the Safari Club International who provided full scholarships for many campers in attendance.
The project began when Lieutenant Colonel Terry Hoke, Director of Ysleta Independent School District Army JROTC, took the scholarship idea before the El Paso Del Norte chapter of Safari Club International where he serves as education officer. SCI’s mission is to protect and expand the freedom to hunt worldwide. With members in over 100 countries, it is the largest hunting advocacy organization in the world. SCI promotes responsible hunting and wildlife conservation, and stresses the importance of skillful marksmanship. One of the main goals of SCI is to promote shooting sports to youth of all ages in order to make them more aware of the sporting opportunities available, as well as the hunting and fishing opportunities around the world. This made the El Paso CMP summer camp a good opportunity for the SCI to reach a large base of young shooters. Seeing the great worth in this investment, the Paso Del Norte chapter committed to raise nearly $12,000 that was needed to fund the camp. $6000 was raised from private donations, most of that from the chapter’s membership, then the chapter donated $6000 to match the privately raised funds.
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| Dan Jordan, an Assistant Director of the 2004 CMP Junior Rifle Camps, is shown coaching one of the campers at the El Paso camp. |
This years El Paso camp scholarships were provided to local shooters based on interest, because SCI had very little time to set up a selection process. For future camps, the chapter will establish selection guidelines. Up to five scholarships were allowed per school, so many programs were able to bring their entire rifle team. For many of the campers this was a new experience that would not have been possible without the scholarships. Bowie High School Major Joseph Cancellare and four of his shooters attended the camp. “This is the first CMP camp that my students have been able to participate in, and they would not have been able to do so with out the financial assistance provided by the Safari Club International,” said Major Cancellare.
Bowie High School’s team saw great benefits from the camp experience with two of their shooters advancing into the finals match at the end of camp and an overall improvement in team scores. This was the case seen throughout the camp, where some shooters saw improvements of greater than 100 points, and two shooters improved more than 200 points. “If provided with this opportunity again, my team will definitely participate. They were not the only ones to benefit. I did too both directly and indirectly through the counselors reinforcements of what I am trying to get my shooters to do as we move through the competitive year. There is also the longer term of multiple years shooting in a lifetime sport,” said Major Cancellare.
The camp was such a success that Paso Del Norte’s SCI president Farley Daniels is not only considering sponsoring an entire camp next year, but also looking at the possibility of providing additional awards or scholarships to the camps top shooters and most-improved shooters. Mr. Daniels son Tyler, who is the chapter’s hunt coordinator, was also actively involved with fund raising efforts for the El Paso camp. “I plan to encourage the board to work on more sponsorships at the local level for the CMP camp. I believe that other members of the board share our enthusiasm and you will see a much larger involvement from the local SCI chapter. We want these campers to know how important shooting sports are to the SCI,” said Tyler Daniels.
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| Here Jordan works with another camper who is firing in the kneeling position. Jordan will compete in Athens in September as a member of the 2004 USA Paralympic Shooting Team. |
In addition to the CMP camp scholarship program, the Paso Del Norte SCI chapter has pledged to the local Boy Scouts of America Council $10,000 for each of the next five years to construct a new shooting complex. Included in the plans are rifle, pistol, trap, skeet, and archery ranges. Since the Paso Del Norte’s chapter of SCI was organized in September of 2003, they have made a big impact in the lives of many young shooters.
If you are interested in learning more about Safari Club International their web address is www.safariclub.org, or call 520-620-1220. To learn more about the Paso Del Norte chapter of SCI in El Paso, Texas go to www.scipdn.org, or contact Tyler Daniels at tdaniels@dantexconstruction.com. |
