Georgia Mentor Competition: David Kidd

Mentor Background: David Kidd: “I am a Lifetime member of QDMA and a Level 2 Deer Steward through their certification program. I began hunting in my late 20s and enjoy taking others hunting especially first time hunters.

Mentee Background: Edwin Louis: “I have been interested in deer hunting for a long time and did not know how and when to start until I met Charles Evans and Hank Forester (current members of QDMA). As a first time hunter, I received some valuable information that bolters my interest about hunting. Fortunately, Field-to-Fork helped me pair up with an outstanding mentor (David Kidd) for my first deer hunting season. I hope to venture this game as a hobby during my time here at UGA while pursueing my PhD.”

By David Kidd

Edwin and I met and participated at the Field-To-Fork program sponsored under the QDMA Hunting Heritage Program. We learned about using crossbow, ethical hunting and the biology of whitetail deer. We enjoyed the wild-game meal during the three days of training.

One evening during this program, we were hunting, and Edwin had a clear 16-yard shot at a doe, which he did not take because he noticed that the doe was a mother of two fawns.

We occasionally went hunting after the training period at my private land in Oglethorpe County. Fortunately, after five weeks, Edwin, alone in his stand, got his first deer in a 47-yard shot with his crossbow. We are still hunting together in different stands on the same property occasionally, and I hope to continue to do that in the future.

Why Is Mentoring Important To You?

As a lifetime hunter, I enjoyed seeing other people get to experience nature in the outdoors. I think it is important to give people who have little knowledge about the meaning and importance of hunting and exposing them to training programs and resources. I also think this will help in guiding them not only to become independent hunters themselves but future mentors of other novice hunters. That way, I hope this will continue to increase the number of hunters/wildlife conservationists.