Northwest Ohio Safari Club
Established- 1999

The Northwest Ohio Safari Club chapter was founded in August 1999 with the purpose of having a local club in the Lima area. The group had previously been members of the Southwest Ohio Chapter, meeting in the Dayton area.

Since it’s beginning, the club has been active in promoting conservation, education and helping to preserve our right to hunt for future generations. We have taken an active roll in legislative affairs for issues pertaining to hunting and conservation. The club has funded several teachers to the American Wilderness Leadership School (AWLS) and has financially supported the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on several projects.

The annual conservation projects have focused on the Ohio DNR and we have donated over $20,000 to that effort. The projects we have been involved in include wet lands restoration at Kildeer Plains public hunting area, purchasing portable hunting blinds for physically challenged hunters and supplying the game protectors with digital photographic equipment. We have helped to fund a black bear study in northern Alberta, Canada.

We have been active in legislative affairs in Ohio and across the country. We helped with funds for the dove issue in Ohio and have forwarded our monetary support to areas that have had legislative challenges to our right to hunt. We are also members of and donate to the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance in Columbus, Ohio.

Our humanitarian efforts have focused on helping feed those less fortunate. The benefactors have been the Salvation Army and the Lima Rescue Home. We have provided these organizations with over 2,000 pounds of meat.

In 2003 we held our first handicap deer hunt. We were able to provide a quality deer hunting opportunity to four people. The ultimate outcome was one of the four hunters was able to harvest of buck. We will be holding our second hunt during the Ohio deer gun hunt in 2004.

The club has sent several area teachers to the AWLS school.

2000- Melissa Schwarzman
Dana Henry
Mathew Ludwig

2001- Peggy Glick
Tina Meade

2002- Kandace Taylor
Tim Staley
Scott Gephart
Amy Hoersten

2003- John Guttadore
Michael Klause
Julie Spitnale
Dana Henry

2004- Darrel Bryan
Michael Reams
James Wyant

To fund our club we hold an annual fundraising event. In 2004 we held our fifth such event. We had 431 in attendance and 30 donor booths of hunting destinations. Our attendees are from several parts of the world.