Richard Atkinson, of Dowagiac, is a retired lumber inspector and a longtime member of the Dowagiac Conservation Club. Atkinson organizes many of the club’s annual fundraisers and helps with the youth hunting safety courses.

How long have you been a
member of the conservation club?
Close to 25 years now.

Why did you join?
I have always been interested in hunting, fishing, conservation and all of that. I was asked if I was interested in being a hunter safety instructor employee, and that was led me into membership.

What are some of the
things you do with the club?
I am a hunter safety instructor. I started the Hunter’s Rendezvous as a fundraiser for the youth education fund. Besides the Rendezvous, I am deeply involved in the Wild Game Dinner [and Squirrel Hunt]. Besides those three times, I am also the budget chairman.
The events fund the youth education fund, which helps fund the hunter safety program. We also send kids to camp. We have programs at the schools, at Marcellus, Dowagiac and Cassopolis, called “wildlife encounters,” where we bring wild animals to the schools and give presentations to students. That is done by Howell Nature Center, up toward Ann Arbor. We also fund Tracks magazine, a natural science magazine, which is a teacher’s aid.

How do the hunter safety courses work?
We are under the auspices of the Department of Natural Resources. It is a three-day class — three hours on Thursday, three hours on Friday and five to six hours on Saturday. It is a pretty structured program. We obviously go through gun handling and safety as part of the program, but we also cover archery, muzzleloaders, crossbows and all those kind of things. We also cover wildlife conservation, why we hunt, what are our responsibilities as hunters and outdoor people. We also do wildlife identification.

What is it you enjoy most about
volunteering to help with the classes?
I was born and raised in Iowa. I lived on a farm, and my granddad, my dad, my great-granddad and as far back on the family tree as I can find were all hunters and fishermen. It was an inherited thing. I learned how to hunt and fish from my dad and my granddad. And these days, a lot of kids don’t have a dad to mentor them on how to hunt and fish. I enjoy trying to fill that gap.

Is that what motivates you to volunteer?
I think everybody, when they get to a stage in life where they are retired like I am, has a responsibility as a citizen to give back. It is not, in my case, for recognition or some sort of benefit, other than self-satisfaction. I think everybody needs to volunteer for something.