Rick Parsons
AH member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2018
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 66
- Member of
- Safari Club International, NRA
Hi folks,
I joined this site a couple of days ago, commenting on a thread dealing with SCI's recent decision on captive-bred lion hunting. I am the CEO of SCI (Safari Club International - for those who may not know us).
I was excited about the reaction to my post and the kind of discussion that goes on here -- even the negative comments.
I tried to post another comment and got stopped cold by a message that said that I was violating some kind of forum rules with my comment. I'm a lawyer by trade so I know about rules, and I was flummoxed. So if it continues I'll get with the forum owner or moderator to figure out what I'm doing wrong. If anyone can help out on that , please jump in.
I have been with SCI since 1985. I was a contractor who served as their governmental affairs counsel. In 1997, I came on board as an employee and ran SCI's governmental affairs office in Washington, DC. I tried to retire in 2008 but that didn't work. I was hired back as a contractor and then at the end of 2016 I was hired as the CEO.
I have a degree in International Law and I worked for the US Government for about 15 years after law school. I helped to write the CITES treaty and then ran the US Government office in the Fish and Wildlife Service that implemented CITES for the US. Essentially I was the chief permit-issuer. I left government in 1983 and started with SCI in 1985. I hold the distinction of being the only person still involved in CITES that has attended every CITES meeting since the original negotiating conference in Washington. Of course that only means that I wasn't dumb enough to step in front of a bus all that time.
Over the years, I've had the pleasure to work with the people who came up with the concepts of sustainable use conservation. I helped them get it adopted as a policy of IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) in 1990. I've worked with some of the brightest and best people in Africa, both white and black, who have been the doers in the communities and the government agencies. I've worked with a lot of African professional hunters trying to solve all the knotty problems that arise on that continent.
All in all, it's been a real kick. I've seen the best in the hunting world and in wildlife conservation, especially from Africa.
I hope to tell all of you more about SCI and what we are doing today. I manage a staff of about 65 people. They all care about SCI's mission to protect the freedom to hunt. They take it seriously. We have close to 50,000 volunteer members, and the one thing they all have in common is that they love to hunt and they are willing to give their time and their money to preserve that opportunity.
Rick Parsons, CEO
Safari Club International
I joined this site a couple of days ago, commenting on a thread dealing with SCI's recent decision on captive-bred lion hunting. I am the CEO of SCI (Safari Club International - for those who may not know us).
I was excited about the reaction to my post and the kind of discussion that goes on here -- even the negative comments.
I tried to post another comment and got stopped cold by a message that said that I was violating some kind of forum rules with my comment. I'm a lawyer by trade so I know about rules, and I was flummoxed. So if it continues I'll get with the forum owner or moderator to figure out what I'm doing wrong. If anyone can help out on that , please jump in.
I have been with SCI since 1985. I was a contractor who served as their governmental affairs counsel. In 1997, I came on board as an employee and ran SCI's governmental affairs office in Washington, DC. I tried to retire in 2008 but that didn't work. I was hired back as a contractor and then at the end of 2016 I was hired as the CEO.
I have a degree in International Law and I worked for the US Government for about 15 years after law school. I helped to write the CITES treaty and then ran the US Government office in the Fish and Wildlife Service that implemented CITES for the US. Essentially I was the chief permit-issuer. I left government in 1983 and started with SCI in 1985. I hold the distinction of being the only person still involved in CITES that has attended every CITES meeting since the original negotiating conference in Washington. Of course that only means that I wasn't dumb enough to step in front of a bus all that time.
Over the years, I've had the pleasure to work with the people who came up with the concepts of sustainable use conservation. I helped them get it adopted as a policy of IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) in 1990. I've worked with some of the brightest and best people in Africa, both white and black, who have been the doers in the communities and the government agencies. I've worked with a lot of African professional hunters trying to solve all the knotty problems that arise on that continent.
All in all, it's been a real kick. I've seen the best in the hunting world and in wildlife conservation, especially from Africa.
I hope to tell all of you more about SCI and what we are doing today. I manage a staff of about 65 people. They all care about SCI's mission to protect the freedom to hunt. They take it seriously. We have close to 50,000 volunteer members, and the one thing they all have in common is that they love to hunt and they are willing to give their time and their money to preserve that opportunity.
Rick Parsons, CEO
Safari Club International
