The Dallas Safari Club (DSC) is best known as a conservation organization created by hunters for hunters, so it’s only natural that their focus on the next generation of hunters would lead them to young Kaylee Ann Stacy. Eighth-grade Kaylee so impressed the DSC Colin Caruthers Young Hunter Award Committee that she was the top choice for this prestigious honor, which commemorates another outstanding young hunter from long ago.
“We are delighted to encourage young hunters with this honor,” said Committee chair Amy Callendar of the Colin Caruthers Young Hunter Award. “Kaylee is the type of hunter whose enthusiasm and commitment are infectious, and she gives us hope for the future of conservation and our hunting heritage.”
Kaylee’s biography would be deeply impressive for a woman three times her age. A DSC Life Member, Kaylee’s also a proud member of the NRA, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), Houston Safari Club (HSC), Safari Club International (SCI), Trophy Game Records (TGR), Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF ) and a member of Ducks Unlimited (DU).
Just as enviable is Kaylee’s record as an exceptional hunter. Born into a hunting family, the middle schooler has already experienced the ways hunting helps the environment in such diverse locations as Australia, Namibia, Zimbabwe…and, of course, right here in America.
“I love to hunt with my mom and dad,” enthuses Kaylee. “Furthering my skills in hunting are valuable life skills. Hunting and wildlife conservation continues to treat me respect, patience, safety and self-discipline.”
Kaylee is clearly an outstanding young hunter. So too was Colin Caruthers, the young man for whom Kaylee’s award was named. Colin, the scion of a DSC Life Member family himself, was so devoted to hunting and conservation that his legacy lives on in the yearly achievements of junior hunters and conservationists like himself.
Winning the DSC Colin Caruthers Young Hunter Award is no simple feat. According to DSC, each nominee must be nominated by two DSC members; they must have significant hunting achievements (which are determined on a points basis); and they must have a strong civic-participation record. That said, young Kaylee was more than up to the task. Despite her tender age and the rigors of school, she’s a violinist, a member of her school’s spirit/cheer team, an active member of 4-H and a list of citizenship and community volunteer projects that would put most adults to shame.
The Dallas Safari Club Colin Caruthers Young Hunter Award recipient is chosen yearly, and the award presented at the annual DSC Convention & Sporting Expo. If you know an outstanding young hunter whom you think might be a contender, click here for award criteria and more information!
