Connections Make the Job Easier

As editor in chief of the largest-circulation pure-hunting magazine in the free world, I enjoy the ability to connect with many people from many walks of life, like Melissa Simpson.

Several weeks ago, I was preparing “The Lion Rules Headlines” for our March print edition. The story is about a petition filed by a coalition of anti-hunting environmental groups that led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study whether the African lion should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the ensuing battle that has pitted preservationists vs. conservationists. I’d collected a lot of information, but needed some more—and I needed some eyes on my work to make sure I was barking up the right tree.

Enter Simpson, director of science-based conservation for the Safari Club International Foundation (SCI). I never would have found her were it not for my connections.

See, I read her name in a news story I’d collected about the African lion, so I knew where she worked. But I’d never met her, and I didn’t know where in the U.S. she might be. But I knew I could find her because I know the fellow who does public relations for Safari Club International, and I know an SCI man in Washington. Both sources led me to Simpson, and I met my March print deadline.

It’s a prime example of the connections we foster that enable us to inform NRA members and the world.

It’s a plum story, by the way. And the battle isn’t over; check back here periodically to see an update.