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Recognizing more than three decades of volunteer leadership in the name of wildlife habitat conservation, Louie Kamrowski of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and member of the Otter Tail County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, is the recipient of Pheasants Forever’s 2015 Bill Sandy-Making a Difference Award. The award is presented annually to a Pheasants Forever volunteer member in Minnesota who demonstrates uncommon achievements in the name of the organization’s mission. 

 

Kamrowski’s Pheasants Forever volunteer roots date back to 1983, when he was a charter member of the Otter Tail County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the 10th Pheasants Forever chapter to form in the nation. In the 32 years since, Kamrowski has served on the chapter’s board of directors for more than 25 years, served six terms as president, three terms as vice president and worked on the group’s banquet, habitat and youth committees, respectively. With Kamrowski as a catalyst, the chapter has completed 971 wildlife habitat projects on 8,137 acres in that span, projects that have had positive effects for local pheasant, prairie chicken, waterfowl, turkey and deer populations. The projects include 17 land acquisition – now state Wildlife Management Areas or federal Waterfowl Production Areas - which have permanently conserved 4,000 acres and simultaneously opened them to public access, including hunting.

 

The late Bill Sandy embodied the Pheasants Forever volunteer spirit, serving 22 years on the Mille Lacs/Benton Chapter of Pheasants Forever. Sandy and every recipient of the award bearing his name share one thing in common – extraordinary effort.

 

“Louie is a Pheasants Forever pioneer,” says Joe Duggan, Pheasants Forever’s vice president of corporate relations, “He recognized the potential of the unique Pheasants Forever model all those years ago, embraced it and has been an integral factor in the success of the chapter.”