Hunter Ed, Bowhunter Ed instructors receive awards

Andrew McKean

Print

Hunter Ed and Bowhunter Ed instructors receive awards

They may not have classrooms or retirement plans, but a group of northeast and north-central Montana educators have accumulated a combined 325 years of teaching experience.



They’re local Hunter and Bowhunter Education instructors, and what makes their service even more remarkable is that every hour of teaching has been voluntary. Together, they have taught thousands of northeastern Montana youth about gun safety, the subtleties and challenges of bowhunting, and about hunter ethics and behavior. Some of the classrooms have been church basements and community halls. Others have been public schools and the regional headquarters for FWP.



Instead of a diploma, graduates of FWP’s hunter education program have something better: a passport to a lifetime of hunting in Montana. The course is required before youths can buy a Montana hunting license. In Region 6, nearly 400 students pass the Hunter or Bowhunter Education programs each year.



Montana’s Hunter Education program has been in existence since the 1950s, and some of the instructors in Region 6 have been certified instructors for more than half that time. Others have joined the program more recently. Special recognition goes to Donald Swenson of Chinook for his 20 years as a Hunter Ed instructor and Fritz Prellwitz of Malta for 25 years of service to the program. A trio of Froid-area instructors, Rick Davidson, Gary Hanson and Patrick Waters, have been Bowhunter Ed instructors for 15 years. Another trio of Bowhunter Ed instructors, from Phillips County, also have volunteered 15 years apiece to the program. They are Pete Forbes, Bruce Hill and Howard Pippin.



Veteran instructors receive service awards at 5-year intervals. Here are the instructors who will be recognized for their service at the Region 6 Hunter and Bowhunter Instructor Workshop on February 19, 2005 in Glasgow:

5 YEAR BOWHUNTER – PLAQUE

Cole Lowder                           Hill County

5 YEAR HUNTER – PLAQUE

Warren Barger                       Hill County

Monty Brockie                      Blaine County

Larry Girard                            Daniels County

Darlene Holt                           Valley County

Kenneth Holt                         Valley County

Brett Jacobson                      Valley County

Denae Kauffman                   Valley County

Michael Ley                           Hill County

Victor Maldonado                 Daniels County

Joseph Yeoman                     Valley County

10 YEAR HUNTER – PLAQUE & KNIFE

Bill Dasinger                          Roosevelt County

Ervin Hamblock                     Hill County

Richard Johnson                   McCone County

Randy White                         Roosevelt County

10 YEAR BOWHUNTER – PLAQUE & KNIFE

Richard Johnson                   McCone County

Harold Robinson                   Sheridan County

15 YEAR HUNTER – PLAQUE

Larry Cornelia                        McCone County

Michael Rabenberg               Sheridan County

15 YEAR BOWHUNTER – PLAQUE

Rick Davidson                       Roosevelt County

Jon “Pete” Forbes     Phillips County

Gary Hanson                          Roosevelt County

Bruce Hill                                Phillips County

Robert Kane                           Sheridan County

Tom Lidahl                             Sheridan County

Howard Pippin                       Phillips County

Patrick Waters                       Roosevelt County

Dennis Wethern                    Valley County

20 YEAR HUNTER – PLAQUE & BELT BUCKLE

Donald Swenson                   Blaine County

25 YEAR HUNTER – PLAQUE

Dwain “Fritz” Prellwitz Phillips County