Speaker 1: 0:15

Hey Derek, how you doing today. Man, thanks for joining me on the podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:19

Absolutely I am. I am honored to be here sir.

Speaker 1: 0:23

Oh man. Well, I'm excited we got a lot of great things to talk about the Houston Safari Club, the convention coming up You're the chairman there, man. But I want to really kind of give my listeners a little bit of background into, kind of maybe you know, some of your joys and experiences with the outdoors and maybe we'll talk a little about your music career working there in the the industry and then kind of coming back and how you got involved with houston safari club foundation. So if you can kind of give a little bit of background and then we'll kind of spend it from there, man sure sure, so going way back.

Speaker 2: 0:51

so I was actually born in lubbock, texas.

Speaker 2: 0:53

So the panhandle I'm a panhandle guy, um, and actually I met a guy not too long ago that's got a uh, he's got an outfit out there. So I I'm going to go hunting out there next year. I can't wait. There's mule deer up in the panhandle, believe it or not. Uh-huh, but born in the panhandle but raised in Houston. My father was born and raised on the LX Cattle Ranch which is, I think it's still 80,000 acres, so big ranch guy. So I've got it in my blood right, but raised in Houston. Austin, blood right, but raised in Houston. Austin went to college writing degrees, english and film.

Speaker 2: 1:36

Ran off to Los Angeles to try, you know, to gain my fame and fortune. Fell into the music industry for a while, for almost 10 years. Had fun doing that A blast. Met a lot of good people doing that a blast. Um. Met a lot of good people, met a lot of crazy people. Um, that's la for you. Uh. Moved back to houston um.

Speaker 2: 1:52

Fell into commercial construction, uh, for a period of years and then decided, uh, on a trip to alaska, that I was tired of either yelling at people or getting yelled at. So I decided to change my career to selling ranch property. So I called one of the bigger brokerages in the country, said this is what I want to do. Within a week I had an interview. They said you're perfect. You have zero real estate experience, but you know the outdoors and we think you'll be good at it. So fast forward. Now I'm working with with Rupal ranch and land. Couldn't be happier Great group of guys. I had originally met Garrett Rupal at lunch at the Houston Safari Club convention. We sat down at the oyster bar together and just started talking and by the time we finished talking he said look, man, I'm, I'm calling right now. I'm getting cards printed for you. He said whenever you're ready to come over and work, we're ready for you. So that's actually one of my first connections with Houston Safari Club too was just going as an individual and sitting down and talking to Garrett Ruppel, and they were exhibitors at the time. Individual and sitting down and talking to garrett um rupal, and they were exhibitors at the time. So, um, so that's where I'm at right now.

Speaker 2: 3:08

As far as houston's party club's concerned, I've been a life member, I'd say, I think at least eight years, um, and I really just made the decision one day that I wanted to be involved with this group because it is it's Houston based. I'm in Houston, and I didn't know a whole lot of people, but I called the executive director, joe Bitar. I said let's have lunch. I said I want to get involved. I thought he would say sure, you can volunteer to do this or do that. Instead, he said why don't you be our clay shooting chairman this year?

Speaker 2: 3:44

Oh crap, so careful, what I wish for, did that a couple of years, got to know so many great, great people, and just couldn't be happier. I'm on the board now, the board of directors, and I'm the convention chair, so I'm super busy, but it's really satisfying, but it's really satisfying. The thing that hooked me, though, was the youth, and that's where my focus is is really with the youth. It has been since I joined. When I did the clay shooting tournament, I told Joe, I said I'll do it if all the proceeds go to just the youth programs. He said done. So we're retooling that right now, our whole youth program and the hunting program, and, um, I just think it's. It's just vitally important, and and and I think most of our members would put that at the top of the list as well.

Speaker 1: 4:34

Well, let's dive into that for a second. When you're talking about retooling and you know, for those who may not have listened to the previous episode with Joe uh, where we kind of talked about this there's a lot of fundraising and grants. A lot goes back to youth and people who are kind of getting in the outdoor industry that you guys help. But let's kind of dive into what is it that you know really pulled at your strings of your heart and your soul of really wanting to help out the youth, and what are those programs looking like right now that just kind of give people an idea of that?

Speaker 2: 5:00

Sure, sure. Well, I've been involved with other charities as well Sky High for St Jude, or Sky High Kids, I think we're calling it now, and they raise money for kids with pediatric cancer through clay shooting events. And we take kids on hunting trips as well, and I found that, you know, it's much more satisfying to me to be able to take someone and teach them and see them shoot for the first time and and and experience that, than it is to pull the trigger myself. It really is. I mean, you know, I think I grew up like a lot of kids, you know, maybe a little selfish. I consider myself selfish now in a way that I really want to see more and more of that right, that's, that's, that's what I want to see.

Speaker 2: 5:45

I think it's, it's just, it's so important in our in this day and age and I know I sound like an old person saying that, but I am an old person Get the kids up the electronics, get them, get them out there, you know, get them to see what you know. Could we spend our days in what we made right? You get outdoors. That's what God made right, and not to get, not to go down that road too far, but it. To me, it is a religious experience, regardless of what you believe, when you're in the outdoors. That is nature and that's what we're truly a part of, and it can really, it can heal, it can transform and it's just yeah, it's what makes me go.

Speaker 1: 6:30

Yeah, Well then, what are some of those things that specifically that you guys are doing with the Houston Safari Club Foundation right now for the youth? Obviously there's some fundraising things. What do those monies go and what are some of those efforts you guys are putting in play?

Speaker 2: 6:46

So we have uh, specifically, we have youth programs, our hunting programs, where we, we, uh, we're, like I said, we're retooling that um, uh, we, we vet kids that uh, that either otherwise would not get a chance to go hunting, would not get a chance to go hunting, and we have uh ranches that we, that we vet and that we take the kids um hunting, we get them that experience. Um, my goal is is to is to not make it a one and done right, Cause I think a lot of groups will take kids and it's, you know, it's one and that's great, it's fantastic. And on to the next, the next one. Um, I really like to see kids be involved with more than one hunt. Maybe there's something it's, maybe it's a hog hunt and a doe hunt or something like that. Um, that's that's what I'd like to do.

Speaker 2: 7:35

Um our scholarship program, which is something that I could be wrong, but I don't believe that any other organization like ours has this kind of a program. But we've given out literally millions of dollars worth of scholarship money for college kids that are focused on conservation. Veterinary stay outdoors in general, veterinary stay outdoors in general, and those kids go through one heck of a process of questions and you know we really put them through the paces to be able to qualify for those. But what we get back from that, when the kids graduate and we see what they've done and what they're doing with their lives and what they're doing to change, you know, whatever it is that they've been studying whether it's, you know, veterinary medicine for exotic animals and things like that it's hugely satisfying and to me it is the soul of this organization. I mean, we're many things, we're a resource for hunters, we're conservation, we're many things. But to me the soul of this organization is our youth programs and our scholarship program.

Speaker 1: 8:46

I would say Well, and it's we hunt, we give right, we're giving back to the community, we're putting things back into the youth and trying to. I mean, there's so many different things that you guys are doing and I think that I want to take a minute too, because I think it's a little bit of a misnomer, in a sense. Whenever I think people think safari and they hear that word, they think Africa, they think these exotic animals in this locale, but really, what? All the? A lot of the impact that I'm seeing here is very much Texas U S based, and I think that that's something that I just want to have you kind of speak to a little bit too, because I don't want to make make you know people hear safari that we're excluding everyone, because really I think it's more of an inclusionary aspect of what you guys are doing and I really think that it's important to maybe drive that home a little bit.

Speaker 2: 9:33

No, absolutely so. So most of the clients that I have selling ranch property, they, if I mentioned Houston Safari Club, they pick out the word safari and they say, oh, I don't go, I don't, I don't hunt in Africa. I'm like, well, that's fine, but you don't have to. You know it's not what we do exclusively. You know we, we definitely do. You know much bigger on the North American side Now do people go hunting in Africa, absolutely 100%. And then the club aspect might make it sound a little exclusive, but we are an organization of I'm going to say the word wrong.

Speaker 2: 10:12

We're an inclusive club, right? We want everybody from all walks of life to be able to come and us to be able to share our knowledge on what we've done and be able to. If they've got questions, we want to be able to give them the answers. The membership has grown in the past few years, but there are more women involved now than there ever have been, and that's something that we really want to focus on and we have focused on. We've had some events that are really based for women to be more involved. I think it's important and I couldn't be more proud or happier to get more women involved as well. So, going forward, I think you're going to see a lot more of that going on with the club events and things and speakers. I'm trying to think of the last two that we've had, but we've had some really good events just for women that I think have gone really well.

Speaker 1: 11:13

You guys have so many different things going on. There's monthly events, it seems to where this club aspect. There's always something going on somewhere around here that you can get involved meetups and different things there too. And I kind of wanted to jump into the idea of the convention, because you know, when we talk about the convention a lot of people are like oh, it's a three-day thing, you know, january 23rd, 24th, 25th, but there's so much that's leading up to that and there's so much around events in this club aspect that I really kind of want to talk about that.

Speaker 1: 11:43

If you would mind, maybe kind of bring this to that, that you know what is the first step of that convention opening up and what does that look like, and then we may talk about the schedule of events, if you will.

Speaker 2: 11:52

Well, sure, Uh, the first step to the convention is the day after the last one the next one starts right, I'll be honest with you.

Speaker 2: 12:00

It's you know I was. I was asked to do it. I got the short straw. No, I was asked to do it and happy to do it, proud to do it, want to want to put my, my, my imprint on it as well.

Speaker 2: 12:16

So let's change a few things here and there, but nothing dramatic, right? But it is a hugely important position because it's our biggest moneymaker of the year. That's where we make the most money and where we have the biggest impact. So it's not just a few days, it's, it's the days that are leading up to it that are so important. It's just like.

Speaker 2: 12:37

It's like to use a sports metaphor, right, you win the game in practice and we're in practice right now. That's what we're doing. You know we're making sure that everything is going to go off without a hitch. You know now, you know we're, we're towards the end of August or getting that way, and and and I'm nervous because it's coming and it's coming real fast. But you know we're, we're already sold out. We've been sold out as far as exhibitors go, and that's an amazing thing. You know, last year we had to expand up into the second floor of the Marriott because we just had too many people that wanted to be a part of it. And I think you know the exhibitors are so important to us, not just because they're there and they have their booth, but the group that we have that we tend to have every year and then we bring in a few new people every year are such a tight group in that and they enjoy the load in process. The load out process can be horrific in any convention. Sure, we take a lot of pride on being able to make sure that these guys and gals they get in and they get in and out as quick as possible and we talk about that all the time. Carl Cram is the guy that last year was the coordinator logistics guy and he's just an amazing guy and couldn't have more passion for what he does and appreciate him so much.

Speaker 2: 14:13

But the actual convention itself okay, that the doors open on Friday, but it's Wednesday night is when it actually starts as far as I'm concerned, cause Wednesday night we have an exhibitor appreciation dinner and that is a great time for us to be able to just sit down with our exhibitors, talk to them, make sure they don't need anything, make sure they're set up, okay, and it's nice. It's nice to be able to break bread with them and talk to them. You know, talking to people from Alaska, from Montana, from all our Texas guys, all over the country and actually all over the world. So that's Wednesday night. Thursday night we have our annual awards banquet, which is hunting awards and photo awards and that's an amazing show in and of itself, just to just to see what people have done and over the years and over the year as far as trophies and things like that. Friday night is, the focus is on, it's on youth and our scholarship program. Talk about inspiring. We bring a lot of the of the scholarship recipients back. They speak. We had just a, I mean, last year was just amazing. And then, well, actually I skipped a beat because the doors actually open at 11 o'clock on Friday, I believe it's 11 to 5, yep, and then the exhibit hall, and then saturday it's nine to five.

Speaker 2: 15:50

Um, saturday night is our is our big gala, which is, it's more formal, um, but, uh, you know we'll have dinner, we'll have entertainment, um, kelly willis is going to be the musical guest that night. We kind of in between dinner and the auction, and it's a favorite of mine, and then we'll have the auction that night. The raffle goes on through the entire convention, with the exception of some speed raffles that we do. That are fun, where we literally pick up a gun, walk around, we say, hey, there's a hundred tickets and once we sell these a hundred tickets we're going to pull it, pull the auction. So people love those, cause it's like it's done like right there. So those are really fun. Um, and then we close out Saturday uh, at. Uh, we do the um, the the uh raffle pulls at 2 o'clock and then everything closes up at 3. And then after 3 o'clock we start planning for the next convention.

Speaker 1: 16:50

Right on, and that's Sunday. You were saying yeah. And then there's also a Gazelles event too. Is it a brunch that you all got?

Speaker 2: 16:56

kicking. Good Lord, oh my gosh, if I didn't mention that I would be in so much trouble. Thank you, george. Yes, so mention that I would be in so much trouble, thank you. Thank you, george, yes, so the gazelles event, it's, it's a, it's a brunch type thing and, um, it's one of the most popular events of the whole weekend. Um, they have fun. I mean, it is a an instancy in and of itself, um, and it is. It is always entertaining, it's always fun. They have an auction, they have entertainment, they have a silent auction as well, um, but no, it's, it's a blast, it's a lot of fun. So, yeah, and it always sells out. So that's one of those things. You got to get your tickets for it.

Speaker 1: 17:34

Yeah, yeah, well, that's that's the thing too. Right now, I mean, tickets are on sale. People can go over there too and get them on the website. I highly encourage you to you know just give folks to you know full information there. It's the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, just north of Houston, not far from Intercontinental. If you're going ahead and flying in, it's the January 23rd, 24th, 25th, as you mentioned. There. There's some you know events too on the 21st, 22nd there as well, and if you end up going and getting a ticket, you get a free digital membership to the Houston Safari Club Foundation, and there's different levels of membership too. Do you want to go ahead and maybe speak to that real quick? Just kind of give people an idea of that.

Speaker 2: 18:17

Yeah, buying the ticket, you get your digital membership, which means you get the Hunter's Horn magazine. You get that digitally. It's an award-winning magazine, but you can upgrade to a regular membership, which would get you the magazine, and you could well. It was actually something that I forgot to mention, george, we have our life membership breakfast on Sunday morning oh nice, and we had it last year, I think for either the first time or the first time in a very long time, and it was great to be able to have all those life members in that room have a breakfast, talk about, you know, what they've done the past year and things like that. So that's another thing that people can do. They could upgrade to a life membership as well.

Speaker 1: 19:07

Derek, there's something I wanted to talk to you about and that's the idea of sponsorships, not only just for the convention but for some of these monthly events, because there's a lot of ways that people can get involved with whether it's their, you know, company companies. They work with organizations. They can kind of get in there and be a team player with the Houston Safari Club Foundation. Can you walk us through some of maybe those opportunities, in case there's someone listening and wants to get involved in that way?

Speaker 2: 19:29

Sure, I'm glad you asked that. You know, for example, we've got our clay shooting event coming up in the next few days Shoot and Sizzle, which I think is a perfect name considering it's our clay shooters in August. But there are different levels of sponsorship and different ways that you can get involved there. A lot of the sponsorships you buy a sponsorship, whether it's for hearing protection or a title sponsor or whatever. You get a team, you automatically get a team. So, um, and it's, it's great exposure, it's great networking. Um, our monthly events same thing. If you want to get involved with that, if you want to sponsor a portion of that, we're happy to talk to you about it. Um, you'll get in front of our members and and you know it's, it's a great group to get in front of.

Speaker 2: 20:10

Obviously, convention has multi-layers of sponsorships available. From a little more expensive, you get more exposure. You get in the magazine, you get in the auction catalog and stuff like that, and then there's some incredibly affordable stuff too, though that I think is very important. It's, it's a great way to get your company out there, your name out there. You know you're getting in front of hundreds, actually thousands, of people. So, um, I would encourage people to look at that when, when, when you go to we hunt we giveorg, check out that, that sponsorship page and and look at what's what's still available, if there's still available things for the convention, um especially, but there's a lot of opportunities there for sponsorships.

Speaker 1: 20:56

Good deal, man. Well, thanks for sharing that. I think that's important, that people you know want to get involved. Great exposure, great community, great club. So I think that's a it's it's, it's a win-win for anyone who wants to get involved in that way.

Speaker 2: 21:08

Absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 21:25

I just think it's important for us to let people know that there's different Absolutely. Absolutely is very important. It's not like you're going to have to write a big old week month check to be able to get involved. Man. It is something easy to get into and kind of get out there, and it's actually very affordable to get into the convention as well.

Speaker 2: 21:41

Sure, and that, and that's well, and that's exactly how I got. I mean, that's, that's my part in it. My role in all this is is is being involved on a boots, on the ground level, so to speak. You know, um, well, I'm not a corporate sponsor, but I put in the time and I put in, you know, uh, the effort to to make sure that things could things happen, and and um, and, and I enjoy being, uh, you know, as involved as I am.

Speaker 2: 22:08

Um, you know one thing that that, that about our group group, if, if there's something that you want to do, or some place that you want to go, or a hunt that you want to do, if you even whisper it, you're going to get. You know, I don't know how many people are going to give you recommendations, because everybody wants to share. It's all about sharing. You know who you've been with what, what outfit are you been with? Because everyone has had a, probably, probably everyone has had a bad experience at one point or another where they they just didn't know who they were going with. Well, if you're part of our group, you're you're going to know. If we say they're good, they're good. That's it. You know, for whatever reason.

Speaker 2: 22:51

Whatever you're looking for, like this, this hunt, I'm going to go on and panhandle next year. There's no, there are no blinds, none of that going on. You know it's it's whitetail and mule deer, but it's spot and stalk and it's rattling. He rattles them in most of the time, you know. So that's different.

Speaker 2: 23:07

It's different for some people and some people. Some people love that kind of stuff, some people they don't like that kind of stuff to each their own. But to me it was exciting, just the whole adventure side of it and being just being out in that, in that part of the country with me, a guide, and rattling for deer, you know, trying to it's. It's those kinds of things that I think were. I think that's that's. That's where there's a ton of value that is not written on a piece of paper Like when you, when you sign up to be a member. It doesn't. It doesn't say hey, we're, you know, ask us to where you want to go hunt or if you want to hunt something, but that, that, that social aspect of it, I think is really important for people to know and understand.

Speaker 1: 23:54

Well, it is, man.

Speaker 1: 23:55

I think that you get the community around and there's a lot of information that people have from their experiences that they can share.

Speaker 1: 24:00

That will benefit everyone, especially those people who are coming into it at first timers, because it can be very intimidating for people who have not really been indoctrinated in the outdoors, have that as a part of their upbringing or that they don't have many, you know, years on their belts of that experience.

Speaker 1: 24:17

It can be. And when you have a group that really welcomes you, that shares that information, that is very transparent about it, that can be a huge determining factor on them coming back again and again and really then instilling this and carrying that onto their future generations in that way of life that you know you and I kind of grew up in a little bit right, you know your father, my grandparents, like being in and around ranches, it's just, it's so, it's kind of our lifeblood of what we experience. And then it's sometimes hard to get outside of that and realize oh yeah, there's other people who have zero level and that's where you can bring in the youth at a young age, teach them about gun safety, teach them about wildlife, habitat management, things that are important to kind of instill in them to be able to give them that success as they move through and enjoying this great, you know lifestyle that we have Right, right, no, and that's what we're trying to.

Speaker 2: 25:10

We're trying to, you know, protect that lifestyle. We're trying to, you know, get other people involved in it. That may be on the fence, you know as well, but you know, I can't think of anybody in our organization that if you walked up to them and you asked them about hunting, they're not going to just they're probably going to talk until you say thank you, I've had enough.

Speaker 1: 25:29

My ears hurt, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 25:31

Yeah, I really need to go eat something now because we've been talking for three hours. But you know, if you ask me about Alaska, forget about it. I mean, I'm going to be talking to you for forever.

Speaker 1: 25:43

Well, that was one of the questions I was going to queue up. You, sir, I believe right now still hold the Pope and Young number 11 record book for the moose that you got out there in Alaska.

Speaker 2: 25:58

And I've been dying to hear that story. Man, Can you give us a little five minute cap of that? I can give you a quick one. Um so so, and it was where the recurve bow as well, so that's what I'm proudest about, Wow, yeah. So I went to Alaska and, uh, it was originally just a caribou, but there was a two week a two week um bow only moose uh season in this unit, and so I thought I'll take my bow. I took a couple of lessons before I left, brush up on it with Linda Lecomte from Extend Archery she's amazing and got there and had a caribou in the ground within 24 hours and then spotted the moose after literally we were taking a break from that.

Speaker 2: 26:35

Spotted a moose 500 yards away, saw the palms, took off after it and I lost sight of it. I didn't know where it was, had to cross a big stream to get to it. I knew I was pretty close, had one knocked ready to go, come around these trees and there he is laying down looking at me. He's probably 40 yards away. I start walking towards him, not moving. Get closer. He's not moving. He's looking at me like are you serious? I'll crush you. And finally he stands up. He stands up, he shakes his head, he hits his foot on the ground. A couple of times I'm like, well, he's coming, he's coming at me, and all I had behind me was that river that I crossed and that's the only way I got close to him, honestly, was because it was so damn loud. The river was loud Right, so I let one go, Hits him, he takes off and I think he's going to go down.

Speaker 2: 27:37

But I lost track of him and I went looking for him going down. So a big bear bed said, Nope, tall grass, Nope, Not walking through this by myself, started going up and, following a trail, found the blood, got up to him and he was all but expired. Um, I talked him down. I said it's, it's, it's time to lay down and, yeah, he went down and for the next three days it was meat runs for. So we were three miles from there, I think, our camp, back and forth all day long, and I wouldn't trade anything for it. Amazing experience, it's all up here. But I just bought a camera with a mount that I could have had on my shoulder the whole time and I left it back at camp.

Speaker 1: 28:21

These things happen. You know I can't tell you how many times there's a the story that comes out because there's no video or pictures to show, but I think that, uh, living up there is is a great spot and you know, you've got that experience to be able to tell and talk about. And wow, I mean number 11 and pope and young, that's an impressed one.

Speaker 2: 28:42

For those you don't know he had so much mass on the base, the base of, of his uh, of his antlers, that that I had to put two tags together to get it around it.

Speaker 1: 28:53

It was that that thick, so yeah, well there are some pictures that you can send right and that we can share with everybody, so we'll drop those in there too. Yeah, um, thank you for sharing that. Uh, as far as how people can, you know, follow some of the things you got going so obviously with ruble? You know ranch and land, um, you know, I'd love for you to give the website there, uh, if there's anybody who's interested, and you know, buying a ranch, selling a ranch, uh, and also, maybe you can go ahead and plug the, uh, you know Houston sorry club and a website, and you know where people can go to learn more about the convention. Uh, before we we're jet, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:28

So um Rupel, uh's rupelpropertiescom. R-u-p-l-e. R-u-p-l-e properties. I have to say this real quick. So when I first did an interview and it was doing subtitles, instead of saying Rupel it said RuPaul properties.

Speaker 1: 29:50

Now that's a whole different type of property.

Speaker 2: 29:52

That's a whole different property. I know, turn to the left different property.

Speaker 1: 29:55

I know, I don't even know all of them.

Speaker 2: 29:58

Yeah, so, um, they got that fixed, thank God. But it's RuPaul, not RuPaul. Properties RuPaul and uh, uh, we hunt, we giveorg you can, or um, hscforg you can, get to our, our website and get to our convention um any of the information you need there. We got a new, brand new website. That's that's gone up the last few months that, uh, joe and and the the staff have worked tirelessly on. Um, so, yeah, check it out yeah, it's a great website.

Speaker 1: 30:31

now there's another thing, too, that people can check out, and that is the marvelous and soothing voice of you and Joe on the podcast. There's been many episodes, you guys have hosted. Why don't we talk a little bit about that Tell? Us about the podcast.

Speaker 2: 30:45

Joe, it's Joe, it's all Joe. So it's. It's not me. You know, I've done a few here and there, but it's Joe, and he is the voice, he is the authority, he is all about our mission, all about our mission, and that's all you can ask for.

Speaker 1: 31:11

He's one of the most incredibly organized and intelligent people that I know, and I'm happy to call him friend. Well, he's a great guy. I enjoyed my conversation with him a couple of podcasts ago. I'll throw the links down below too, so if anybody wants to check that out, I've enjoyed my conversation with you thoroughly.

Speaker 1: 31:22

Um, and as I kind of mentioned with Joe before, I will be doing some work with the Houston Safari Club Foundation. I'll be out there, uh, you know kind of well, as we said to, this is a five month countdown, uh, and four, as we said to, this is a five month countdown and four, three, two, one. We'll be doing a different podcast with some of the people who are involved, some of your sponsors, and then we'll be doing some boots on the ground stuff. There. I'll be interviewing some people while we're at the convention.

Speaker 1: 31:42

My family and I'll be running around just kind of giving everyone a taste in the flavor and making sure that they are showing up and getting to be a part of, you know, houston Safari Club and future conventions and events. Because, again, there's so many different things, something for everyone here, every single level of involvement you want to be in. There is something for you and I highly suggest everybody go check out WeHuntWeGiveorg and get involved, because this is a phenomenal organization Great chair, great directors, man what a great group all around. So I'm honored to be a part of, in a small part, with you guys this year well, we're really happy to have you.

Speaker 2: 32:20

Um, I think you're like a missing piece, that that we we needed, and I think it's going to be fantastic for everyone. So, um, yeah, appreciate you coming on and helping out cheers, derrick.

Speaker 1: 32:30

Well, thank you so much for joining me and uh everyone again, go check out all the links below and uh get involved. We'll see you at the convention January 23rd, 24th, 25th, 2026 at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, just north of Houston. We'll see you guys there. Thank you, cheers, cheers.