2010 Youth Hunters of the Year
The 2010 Male and Female Youth Hunters of the Year were recognized at the 2011 Louisiana Outdoor Writers Conference on August 6th in Houma. The Youth Hunter of the Year Program is part of the Louisiana Youth Hunter Registry Program that is sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association.
The Louisiana Youth Hunter Registry recognizes youth hunters, 15 years or younger, and their hunting activities across the state. The program is for all hunting activities, small game, waterfowl, deer, turkey, hogs, etc. Participating youths receive a certificate recognizing their hunting achievements and for keeping the hunting tradition alive in Louisiana.
Participants can compete for the Youth Hunter of the Year Award by submitting a short story of their hunt along with photographs of the hunt. This award is not about recognizing what or how much game was killed, but about enjoying the true hunting experience with family and friends.
This program is also sponsored by the Bayou State Bowhunters Association, the South Louisiana Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association, Bowie Outfitters in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Baton Rouge Chapter of Delta Waterfowl, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and Andrew Harrison, Harrison Law, LLC in Baton Rouge.
This year a 13-year-old Provencal girl’s essay about her first whitetail deer kill with a muzzle-loading earned Megan Boles the 2010 YHA Female Award.
Ben Broussard of Sulphur, the 2010 YHA Male Award recipient, is the first duck hunter chosen as a Youth Hunter of the Year. He got a green wing teal with his first shot at the Thanksgiving holiday hunt. Ben later bagged a widgeon drake as it hovered over the spinning decoy.
Both awardees wrote about gun safety. Megan wrote that the tips and rules she learned from her father made her very comfortable with both her usual .243 and the “smoke pole” she used to bag an 8-point buck at 80 yards.
In addition to plaques, both children received gift certificates from Bowie Outfitters in Baton Rouge.