Hi all – I am recently appointed Secretary of the Gateway Area Chapter of SCI and wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and share a little of my background. I grew up in the Philadelphia area but have lived in St Louis nearly 30 years now. I quickly found that Missouri is a great conservation state loaded with great fishing and hunting opportunities.

I am relatively new to hunting, still learning, but enjoying every moment of it. Been on a couple of deer hunts and shot my first deer in 2018. I also do some bird hunting and look forward to getting more involved in hunting with the Chapter. I am also an avid fisherman, and I help run a local bass club here in St. Louis.

My love of fishing goes back to when I was a young boy. My Dad would take me and my cousin trout fishing at the Wissahickon creek in Pennsylvania. I remember getting up super early in the morning to get a good spot for opening day. That was always a thrill. The night before we would go to a local park and hunt nightcrawlers and put them in an old coffee can to take with us the next day.

Of course, we used other baits too like corn and Velveeta cheese. We always came home with a big stringer full of trout for dinner tired and all. That was only the beginning, we typically fished for trout every Saturday after that for the rest of the spring.

Eventually we switched to using lures and fished many lakes and ponds in the South Jersey area over the years, always trying to catch those elusive trout. When we moved to Missouri, I discovered a whole new world of bass fishing, and I was hooked! I enjoy all aspects of bass fishing, the tournaments, and helping run the club I am part of.

That is a little about me and my interests in fishing, hunting, and conservation. I am looking forward to the adventures lying ahead being with Gateway SCI and interacting with our members. Part of my responsibilities will be putting out the newsletter monthly and engaging with the members and friends. Looking forward to getting your feedback and continuing to make SCI a great organization!