State Hunter Education Instructor of Year named
May 15—SOCIAL CIRCLE — Cpl. Daniel Stiles of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Law Enforcement Division has been selected as the Hunter Education Instructor of the Year, according to the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division.
This award is presented annually in recognition of an instructor who displays outstanding efforts in educating sportsmen and women on wildlife conservation, and the importance of safety while hunting.
"Teaching students to be safe, responsible, ethical hunters is the goal for all instructors" Hunter Development Program Manager Jennifer Pittman said. "Cpl. Stiles seeks to add a variety of interest to the hunter education courses he teaches, and makes every effort to enthusiastically promote the subject to encourage students to appreciate the importance of their own safety, the safety of others and the continuation of the hunting tradition."
Some of the highlights of Stiles' education efforts include developing and leading his work section with a new way to schedule hunter education classes. He always looks for ways to hold all scheduled classes, even when the minimum number of registered students don't attend, so that a potential new hunter is not left without an educational opportunity. Stiles ensures that new game wardens, or those teaching their first hunter education class, have the information they need, and he often assists the new instructor.
In the classroom, Stiles created a portable fence as a way to demonstrate how to safely navigate obstacles. Outside the classroom, he has done hunter education public service announcements at local radio stations and consistently patrols at state shooting ranges to promote safety. He shared wildlife conservation and outdoor topics with youths as a former Boy Scouts of America leader and also previously coached the Dodge County 4-H BB Gun Team, during which he helped teach firearm safety, marksmanship, discipline and sportsmanship.
For more information about hunter education, call the WRD Hunter Development Program Office at (706) 557-3355 or visit https://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/huntereducation.
