Time To Register For Convention

Members who bid at auctions directly support SCI’s mission programs

By Sven K. Lindquist, SCI President

The main focus during the holidays is on family, friends and community. I hope all of our members had the happiest of holidays.

This also is countdown time for the 2023 SCI Convention, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, Feb. 22-25. For members who may have been on extended hunts and have not decided yet to attend SCI’s biggest party of the year, I unashamedly will hype the upcoming Convention here because I don’t want anyone to miss what promises to be the biggest and best event SCI has ever had.

In its 50-year history, SCI never has held its main Convention east of the Mississippi River. All have been held in Nevada — either Reno or Las Vegas. This was because SCI was founded in Southern California, and its headquarters was in Tucson, Arizona, for decades.

Several years ago, SCI moved its world headquarters to Washington, D.C., because advocacy is a major effort for us, and D.C. is the seat of federal government in the U.S. Since the heaviest concentration of hunters is in the Eastern U.S., it was logical for SCI to hold its annual Convention in that part of the country.

For example, there are millions of hunters who live within a day’s drive of Nashville. That means those hunters don’t have to navigate airline schedules, delays and cancellations to get to and from the SCI Convention.

We are scheduled to hold our Convention in Nashville this coming year and the two following years, for what will be a three-year run. Because of its size and complexity, it is necessary to make initial arrangements for the SCI Convention years ahead of time. Typically, we try to set dates and locations at least five years out when possible.

But that is all detail stuff — kind of like insider-baseball talk. The important thing is that the SCI Convention accomplishes its two major goals. First, and most importantly for the organization, the Convention is SCI’s major source of revenue to finance our critical mission programs.
When members buy hunts, guns, art and accessories at the Convention’s many auctions, they are directly supporting SCI’s mission programs. Therefore, I encourage all members to bid high and bid often at the Convention. In doing so, you are helping to save hunting for future generations.

Second, the Convention is as a member service that serves as a place for hunters, outfitters and companies in the shooting sports to get together and enjoy the kind of camaraderie that only hunters know. It’s a place to line up hunting expeditions and everything it takes to have successful hunts anywhere in the world for any huntable species. That’s why it has become known as the Ultimate Sportsmen’s Market.

With all of that in mind, I encourage any member who has not already registered for the 2023 SCI Convention at the Music City Center in Nashville to do so today.

Hotel accommodations for the Convention were filling up fast, but don’t worry because there are plenty of hotel rooms within easy distance of the Convention, so there will be places to stay for the full run of the Convention.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Convention. Meanwhile, have happy holidays and a prosperous New Year. Thank you for your membership in SCI. Together we will save hunting for future generations.

Register at showsci.org.