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