EDGEFIELD, SC — Gerald and Terri Lively of Illinois received national recognition from the NWTF as recipients of the Roger M. Latham Sportsman Wild Turkey Service Award for their dedication to the mission of the NWTF.
“Terri and I are honored to have been shortlisted for the Roger Latham Award,” said Gerald Lively. “The NWTF has given us the opportunity to pursue our passion of introducing new people, especially youth, to hunting and the outdoors. We love to witness the excitement and appreciation they achieve on that first hunt. We also feel that these kinds of experiences are the best way to further the goals and mission of the NWTF. After all, how can you convince someone to support your position when they don’t understand what you’re arguing for?
The NWTF presents the Roger M. Latham Sportsman Wild Turkey Service Awards to members who are not employed as professional wildlife managers but who have made significant contributions to wild turkey conservation.
Over the decades, the couple’s combined efforts have helped carry out the mission of the NWTF in Illinois in many ways, including serving as state chapter treasurer, as well as current state chapter president. They also administered the state calendar raffle and served on the State of Illinois Super Fund Committee, for which they were instrumental in helping to create more detailed criteria for ranking Super Fund projects. They manage one of the state’s two JAKES Take Aim trailers and help run the 501 auction program at the state awards event and their local event. They have remained committed to the Illinois Outdoor Resources Federation and are willing to intervene in the policy arena when necessary. They also serve on the committee to select the Illinois Officer of the Year Award.
In addition to contributing at the state level, they also stay engaged at a high level in their local chapter. Their JAKES events are always successful, both in the number of youth participating and the activities they help provide.
They have donated their time and merchandise from their taxidermy business to a multitude of fundraisers and auctions are always positive representatives of the hunting and conservation community. For example, two Land of Lincoln scholarship recipients were awarded for conducting postgraduate research on the effect of buffalo mosquitoes on the wild turkey population. Gerald and Terri Lively hosted them and helped with the research simply out of altruistic passion.
“Gerald and Terri are a dynamic conservation duo,” said NWTF Co-Executive Director Jason Burckhalter. “For their decades of fulfilling the mission of the NWTF, in all its facets, we are pleased to honor them with a Roger Latham Award.”
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested more than half a billion dollars in wildlife conservation and has conserved or improved more than 22 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The organization continues to advance wildlife conservation, forest resiliency, and robust recreational opportunities across the US by working beyond borders at the landscape scale.
2023 is the 50th of the NWTF he anniversary and an opportunity to push the organization’s mission into the future while honoring its rich history. for his 50 he anniversary, the NWTF has set six ambitious goals: positively impact 1 million acres of wildlife habitat; raise $500,000 for wild turkey research; increase membership to 250,000 members; dedicate $1 million to education and outreach programs; raise $5 million to invest in technology and the people of NWTF; and raise $5 million to build a $50 million endowment for the future. Find out how you can help us achieve these lofty goals.