Red Mountain Chapter Chair and 30-year RMEF volunteer, Randy Stalcup, was named the Arizona Game and Fish Commission Volunteer of the Year for 2019. The prestigious honor recognizes Stalcup as an Arizonan who’s made significant contributions to the conservation of wildlife and outdoor heritage in the state. Stalcup is the 28th recipient of the annual award.
“When you step back and look at it, it’s one of those things I could have never accomplished on my own, without all the other volunteers, the RMEF and the relationship with landowner,” Stalcup says. “But Individually, I was honored to not only be nominated, but to actually win, since the game and fish has so many volunteers from so many different organizations throughout the year,”
Along with the 14 other categories of commission award winners, Stalcup was honored at a banquet of roughly 300 attendees on Saturday, January 25, 2020.
“It was just an honor to see a colleague and good friend receive a well-deserved award,” says RMEF Volunteer Regional Chair John Tuter. “To be recognized not only by the Game and Fish Department employees, but also by the commission, carries a lot of weight.”
Stalcup helped start the O’Haco Ranch project, a now 23-year partnership between Arizona rancher Jim O’Haco and RMEF volunteers. The project is part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) Adopt a Ranch program, where volunteers complete land stewardship work on private land. The landowner then opens up their private land to public access and hunting. Stalcup’s award presentation was accompanied by clips from the RMEF Film, The O’Haco Ranch Project, which showcased the partnership. Landowner Jim O’Haco even attended the awards banquet.
Troy Christensen, access program coordinator for AZGFD, works closely with Stalcup and nominated him for the award. “He’s definitely a very dedicated individual,” Christensen says. “He’s very deserving. He’s put these projects together and he’s done a lot of good.”
In addition to his work with RMEF, Stalcup is also on the board of the Arizona Deer Association, where he helps run their youth camp every year. He’s a graphic artist, and he supports volunteer events by designing programs and flyers.
Stalcup also spontaneously puts together projects when he needs to—for example, when one Arizona landowner was having trouble with hunters damaging a private property, Stalcup took a team of volunteers to set up a hunting ethics booth on the land to educate other hunters about treating the property right.
At the Red Mountain Chapter Banquet in 2020, Stalcup was also honored for his 30 years of volunteer service with RMEF. RMEF is proud to count dedicated volunteers like Randy Stalcup among our ranks. Thanks for all the great work Randy!
Watch The O’haco Ranch Project – A RMEF Film Here.