Places To Go, People To See, Things To Do
By W. Laird Hamberlin, SCI, SCIF CEO
Originally published in the May/June 2025 issue of Safari Magazine.
What do a Board of Directors meeting, a new credit card and streaming TV have in common? Safari Club International, of course, because we’re busy doing things, going places and meeting people around the world.
During the recent May Board of Directors meeting week, SCI elected officers for the coming year and members migrated to Capitol Hill to visit their elected representatives and senators as part of Lobby Day.
I enjoyed meeting everyone at the Board meeting and Lobby Day, as well as the many gatherings held at SCI’s world headquarters, the Armand and Mary Brachman Advocacy Center, which has also been dubbed the Hunters’ Embassy because it sits on the edge of Capitol Hill.
And there is a lot more going on around SCI, like the partnership with First South Financial that offers the SCI Rewards Visa — First for Hunters credit card. With every purchase, the SCI Rewards credit card gives back. SCI receives a contribution for every card issued and every transaction.
I urge all members to sign up and use this credit card because it is a great and convenient way for each member to help SCI save hunting for future generations.
As was reported in the April issue of Safari Times, SCI leaders, along with the European hunting and conservation community, celebrated Cinegética, the most important hunting convention in Spain.
SCI entered into a trans-Atlantic partnership with Cinegética in 2024 to expand both partners’ ability to promote and defend hunting, sustainable use conservation and the hunting culture under the motto “United for Conservation.”
During Cinegética, SCI partnered with Wildlife Networks (WLN) to launch an exclusive SCI-branded streaming entertainment service dedicated to hunters, outdoorsmen and conservationists across the globe.
We’re talking about global access, which means the ability to stream from anywhere in the world on any device.
The SCI streaming service will launch in October 2025 with a full content slate and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to SCI’s biggest initiatives, including the annual SCI Convention, international hunts and conservation fieldwork.
SCI has become the most dynamic organization of hunters the world has ever known, and we’ve just begun. In addition to all of the exciting developments listed above, there are many other initiatives in the hopper that I’ll be able to announce in the coming months.
This momentum continues to mount because success breeds success. SCI is on a roll, and our best days are still to come. This is proper because the future of hunting depends on what we do right now.
As I remind everyone all the time, the future of both SCI and hunting rests on six pillars: Advocacy, Convention (Event Services), Hunting, Chapters, Membership and Conservation.
I thank all members for your support of SCI and for your dedication to hunting and conservation around the world. Together, we all can and will accomplish great things.