Hunting & Heritage  |  09/27/2022

Pheasants Forever CEO receives Unity and Inclusion Award


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Award honors industry leaders who are driving culture change

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever CEO Howard Vincent was honored last month with a Unity and Inclusion Award from the non-profit Minority Outdoor Alliance.
 
Co-Founders of The Minority Outdoor Alliance, Durrell and Ashley Smith started their organization in order to "Cultivate Inclusivity for a Healthier Outside." They created the Inclusion and Unity Awards to recognize and honor leaders who are bold in making culture change a personal and organizational priority.
 
“As he prepares for retirement in 2023, The Minority Outdoor Alliance is proud to present Howard Vincent with an Inclusion and Unity Award and we are so grateful for his commitment to Inclusivity and Conservation,” Ashley Smith said. “As a society, we’re navigating uncharted waters as we create a more diverse, more equitable and more inclusive world, and this massive culture change will only work if it’s modeled and implemented by emotionally intelligent leaders who champion the cause as not only a moral imperative but also as an essential skill set to solve the challenges of our times. It’s fantastic there’s so much conversation regarding culture change, but we must begin to steer the ship from vision to action, and the leaders that we honored with these awards take up the responsibility to drive change through action and encourage their organizations to do the same.”

In the annual one-of-a-kind celebration, the Minority Outdoor Alliance welcomed all sportsmen and women to expose the joys of the sporting life to those unfamiliar with its activities. With over 3,200 acres of rolling hills, oak forests and native grasses, ORVIS® Pursell Farms served as an incomparable venue for the weekend-long August event. Activities included a sporting clays competition, archery lessons presented by the Alabama Department of Natural Resources, wild game cooking demonstrations, fly fishing and casting clinics presented by Orvis instructors, law enforcement presentations by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource, a scholarship presentation of $10,000 in partnership with the S. Kent Rockwell Foundation and much more.

The Minority Outdoor Alliance’s goal is to expand the narrative of the outdoors through education, engagement, and media. The organization also strives to form a multicultural community of lifelong outdoor enthusiasts, professionals, and conservationists. By engaging in policy work, facilitating signature DEI workshops across the nation, telling stories with authentic voices, and creating pipelines for minority advancement, the Minority Outdoor Alliance intends to expand representation in the outdoors.