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WILDWOOD, Mo. — Christine Hibler of Wildwood has been awarded the distinction of 2017 MDC Staff Hunter Education Instructor of the Year for the St. Louis Region.
The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Hunter Education Program (HED) helps make Missouri a safer place to hunt. The success of the program is in large part due to the dedication and efforts of the HED instructors, like Hibler. HED is taught throughout Missouri by more than 1,400 instructors. Each year, local MDC staff recognizes instructors whose efforts have exceeded their regular teaching duties during the previous year.
Hibler was named 2017 HED MDC Staff Instructor of the Year for the St. Louis Region in February. She serves as a resource assistant at the new August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center in Defiance.
A HED instructor for the past four years, Hibler worked 54 hours teaching nine HED skills sessions in 2017. In the process, she certified a total of 294 students in the program. These included students in both St. Charles and Lincoln County classes.
In addition, Hibler has helped out in numerous other shooting range programs, ranging from beginning pheasant clinics and hunts, to HED and Archery Summer Day Camps. She also assisted with the State High School Trap Shoot at Linn Creek.
“With a passion for hunter education and firearms safety, Christine Hibler makes every effort to ensure participants in all classes receive a positive customer experience,” said MDC Outdoors Skills Specialist Scott Sarantakis. “Christine has been a dedicated MDC employee and a terrific choice for the 2017 Staff Hunter Education Instructor of the Year Award.”
Hibler is also a certified basic archery instructor with the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), and certified as a National Rifle Association range safety officer.
As regional MDC Staff HED Instructor winner, Hibler will also be considered for the award on the statewide level.
All hunters born on or after January 1, 1967, and who are 16 years of age or older, are required to take and pass a hunter education course or purchase an Apprentice Hunter Authorization before buying a permit. There is an 11-year old age minimum requirement to take the Missouri HED Class.
The HED Program can serve as a refresher for veteran hunters as well. It is also open to anyone who enjoys the outdoors and has an interest in conservation. More information about the program can be found on MDC’s website at https://goo.gl/FO06pn, or by calling (636) 441-4554.
