Potterfields Donate $500,000 to NRA Foundation's Youth Initiative

Youth Hunter Education Challenge by MidwayUSA
Columbia, MO -

Larry and Brenda Potterfield of MidwayUSA are pleased to announce a donation of $500,000 to the NRA Foundation's Youth Hunter Education Challenge.

"The NRA's Youth Hunter Education Challenge has an impact on thousands of young people each year thanks to generous people like the Potterfields," Kayne Robinson, Executive Director of NRA's General Operations, said. "We at the NRA are committed to preserving hunting for generations to come, and YHEC is a tried and true, hands-on approach to doing just that."

Established in 1985, the Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) is NRA's "graduate studies" program in outdoor skills and safety training for young hunters. Though YHEC is a competitive program, the real "challenge" for participants lies with skill development and the advancement of hunter safety and responsibility.

Each year, the program culminates with an international event. Since its inception the YHEC program has reached more than one million young sportsmen and women. YHEC has grown from ten participating states/provinces to over forty.

The immediate benefits of YHEC on the participants are important as well as the long range impact of the program: the positive outreach and education the participants and volunteers bring to their families, neighbors and communities; the importance of promoting hunting as a viable and most efficient method of controlling wildlife; fostering propagation, growth, conservation and wise use of our renewable wildlife resources; developing environmentally aware leaders and encouraging our youth to be active citizens with an interest in preserving the hunting heritage.

Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA remarked, "Brenda and I are excited to be able to assist the NRA Foundation in supporting this type of initiative to focus on developing tomorrow's leaders today. Changing the future requires us to make the commitment in time or money to support these efforts."

For more information about the NRA Foundation and the Youth Hunter Education Challenge, please visit nrafoundation.org.