Oregon Hunters Association tabs Pioneer Chapter for multiple awards

The Oregon Hunters Association has acknowledged its Pioneer Chapter, which covers Canby and Molalla, for their involvement and dedication to the OHA mission with the Chapter of the Year Award.

Additionally, Pioneer Chapter members Scott Jones and Kolin Theil collected Wildlife and Organizational Member of the Year honors, respectively.

OHA State Wildlife Member of the Year Scott Jones

Jones occupies several roles for his chapter. He manages Pioneer water guzzler projects, overseeing 15 guzzlers that provide water for wildlife. He maintains relationships with landowners to assure access to the guzzlers, creates monthly ODFW reports during maintenance season, and coordinates the annual Pioneer family campout, where most guzzler maintenance takes place.

He also volunteers at community outreach events, including fairs and rodeos, collects donations for the chapter’s annual fund-raising banquet, and participates in several other chapter wildlife projects.

OHA State Organizational Member of the Year Kolin Theil

Theil has been an OHA Family Life Member since 2019, and in that time has become a leader in his chapter.

He has worked in several capacities, including raffle ticket sales, as well as hunting and wildlife management education. He organizes chapter events such as the sports show, fair, rodeo and sight-in days, and manages outreach and member retention.

The Pioneer Chapter mentors young hunters through its annual youth day event, where kids are taught hunter safety, participate in trap shooting, .22 range, and archery, interact with hands-on wildlife displays, and enjoy lunch with other young aspiring hunters.

In the past year, 46 youth participated and left with an OHA Junior Membership. The chapter awarded two college scholarships to students who are pursuing a field of study that is aligned with OHA’s mission. In addition, Pioneer increased its donations to local high school trap shooting clubs, supporting all four high schools within its district that have trap teams.

The local chapter’s membership swelled from 675 to over 800 in the past year.

“In my 31 years with OHA, I don’t remember a year when a single chapter swept our top three statewide awards,” said OHS State Coordinator Duane Dungannon, “so this is quite an accomplishment by the Pioneer Chapter.”