Dale Hendershot of Gladwin is the Michigan Department of Natural Resources 2024 Hunter Education Instructor of the Year, an honor bestowed Thursday at the June meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in Bay City.

“I am very humbled by this,” Hendershot said. “There are many deserving instructors, and I’m honored that my peers felt I was deserving of this.”

Hunter education helps the next generation of hunters and outdoor enthusiasts learn how to enjoy safe, responsible hunting and understand the importance of wildlife management. The DNR-managed program teaches lifelong skills, such as firearm safety, basic first aid and outdoor navigational instruction, to an average of 14,000 students each year.

Since 1991, in his more than 34 years of volunteering as a hunter safety education instructor, Hendershot is estimated to have instructed over 200 classes and more than 6,400 students.

“Passionate volunteers like Dale are the core of Michigan’s recreational safety programs,” said Lt. Tom Wanless, DNR recreational safety, education and enforcement supervisor. “Dale believes in providing safe hunting and trapping experiences for all. His enthusiasm is displayed by his willingness to teach at a variety of schools and clubs in his community and beyond, whether the curriculum focuses on hunter, trapping or bow-hunter education.”

In 2006, Hendershot was a member of a statewide committee that created and implemented Michigan’s trapper education program. That same year, he expanded his credentials to include bow-hunting education and became the lead instructor at his club. He also volunteers to assist other clubs to restructure their hunter education programs.

Hendershot also has served as president of the Red Flannel Rod and Gun Club and the Michigan Trapper and Predator Callers Association.

“Hunter education is a rewarding program for volunteers and students,” Wanless said. “Anyone who enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking or simply being outside will benefit from taking hunter education. The program creates not just ethical hunters, but also stewards of our natural resources, and we owe that success to dedicated volunteers like Dale.”

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer recreational safety education instructor is encouraged to apply. All volunteer instructors are provided with free, continued training and resources.

To register or learn more about the DNR’s recreational safety education programs, including qualifying requirements for volunteer instructors, visit Michigan.gov/RecreationalSafety.