SCI recently hosted its 51st and record-breaking Convention in Nashville, Tennessee – the Volunteer State. As the leader in defending our freedom to hunt worldwide, advocacy is our top priority, and our annual Convention makes this mission happen. We extend a huge thank you to our members and advocates worldwide who support us every day in this critical work. We also want to extend a sincere thank you to elected officials at the state, federal, and international level who are champions for hunting freedoms.
From Tennessee, we were joined by Governor Bill Lee for our opening ceremonies and ribbon cutting as well as Lt. Governor Randy McNally and Speaker of the State House Cameron Sexton. We were also thrilled to welcome Tennessee Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as Representatives Mark Green, John Rose, and Scott Desjarlais. Finally, we were also joined by several Tennessee State elected officials, including Senator Paul Rose and Representatives Chris Todd, Pat Marsh, Ryan Williams, Jesse Chism, Bob Freeman, and Rusty Grills.
Our other champions in Congress in attendance included Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), SCI Federal Legislator of the Year and Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ). At the state level, we welcomed Governor Mike Dunleavy (AK), who received our Governor’s Award and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, an SCI life member, who led the invocation at Friday night dinner as well as several state wildlife directors from across the country.
Internationally, we were honored to host Deputado Eduardo Bolsonaro of Brazil, our International Legislator of the Year, and his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. We welcomed many honorable dignitaries from southern Africa, including the Honorable Minister of Zambia’s Ministry of Tourism and Her Excellency Elsie Sia Kanza, the Tanzanian Ambassador to the United States.
Once again, we thank all of our champions across the country and world for attending and supporting the mission of SCI. Our fight in defending the freedom to hunt would not be possible without YOU, our volunteers, members, and advocates. As we conclude our 51st celebration and look forward to the next few years, there could be no better place to celebrate than the Volunteer State!
