The International Hunter Education Association (IHEA)-USA, world leader in developing safe, responsible hunters since 1949, is expanding their outreach programs to let more people know that “Safe Hunting Starts with Hunter Education” and is pleased to announce the Second Annual IHEA-USA Photo Contest. This year’s theme is “Hunter Education in Action!” The contest runs October 1-31, 2015.

To more effectively communicate and demonstrate IHEA-USA’s mission of “Continuing the heritage of hunting worldwide by developing safe, responsible, knowledgeable and involved hunters” an expanded library of quality, contemporary photographs is needed for use on IHEA’s Website (www.ihea-usa.org), in news releases, publications, displays and other outreach/communications/marketing vehicles.

Contest administrator and IHEA-USA Marketing and Communications Consultant, Chris Chaffin (an IHEA-USA Life Member) said, “We received great entries last year from both amateur and professional photographers and those images have enriched our outreach efforts and products significantly.” The images have been used in national magazine ads, the IHEA-USA booth at SHOT SHOW, a new fund-raising brochure and PowerPoint presentation, a media kit, on Facebook and Twitter, as well as on the organization’s Website and in nationwide news releases.

Under the theme of “Hunter Education in Action!” the contest focuses on photos that show any and all aspects of hunter education in action, including:

 

• Safety—all aspects
• Classrooms
• Field tests for certification
• Instructional materials being used
• Students
• Instructors
• Students & instructors together
• Equipment
• Hunting scenes
• Shooting and Range scenes
• Online instruction & material
• Testing
• Class graduation scenes
• Families safely shooting or hunting
• Students/families shopping for hunting/shooting equipment/gear
• And More…

Contest Details

• Contest dates: October 1-October 31, 2015. Firm cutoff date for submission is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 31, 2015. All entries must be time-stamped via email delivery at destination by the cutoff time.
• First, second and third place winners will receive Bass Pro Shops Gift cards, compliments of Bass Pro Shops (www.basspro.com) and their continuing support of hunter education. First place will receive $300.00; 2^nd place will get $ 200.00 and 3rd place will be given $150.00; honorable mentions may also be awarded
• All entries must be submitted electronically, in digital, high resolution, jpg format to: ihea@ChaffinCommunications.com with “IHEA-USA Photo Contest Submission” in the subject line.
• Each submission must be clearly labeled with photographers name, email address and phone number.
• Watermarks on images will be cause for elimination from the contest
• Entry of any and all photos gives owner’s permission to IHEA-USA to use the image(s) in IHEA-USA communications and marketing programs. The rights to use submitted photos will not be given to any third parties, but will remain strictly with IHEA-USA.
• Submission of any/all images attests that person or organization submitting the image(s) has the legal right(s) to use the image(s)—including model release forms where applicable.
• Photographers will be given photo credit when photos are used by IHEA-USA

• Photos will be judged by John McKay, IHEA-USA Interim Executive Director, IHEA-USA Marketing/Communications Consultant, Chaffin Communications, Inc., and a panel of professional outdoor photographers. Judges decisions are final.
• Winners will be announced on or about November 30, 2015.
• Winning photos will be used in IHEA-USA news release(s) announcing winners, with brief bios of photographers, and posted on IHEA Website. Non-winning photos may also be used in IHEA-USA outreach programs, under the same guidelines as the winning images and with appropriate credit to photographers.
• All submissions depicting hunting or shooting or images with any firearms must clearly demonstrate all basic safety rules and practices, as embraced by IHEA-USA—including: hunter orange, eye and hearing protection, muzzle control, tree stand safety gear, safe gun handling techniques, etc. Failure to correctly show/demonstrate these qualities will be reason for image(s) to be eliminated from the contest
• IHEA-USA reserves the right to award no prizes if insufficient quantity or quality of desired photographs are received, and/or to extend the end date of the contest.

For more information, contact:

Chris Chaffin
IHEA-USA Marketing/Communications Consultant
c/o Chaffin Communications, Inc.
ihea@chaffincommunications.com
Office: 321.729.0280;  Mobile 321.506.5500

About IHEA-USA

The International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) – USA (www.ihea-usa.org) is the professional hunter education association affiliated with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the 50 state fish and hunter education programs. The programs employ 55,000 instructors, many of whom are volunteers, which teach hunting and shooting safety and responsibilities throughout the United States.

Hunter Education courses train and certify more than 700,000 students annually. Since 1949, almost 40 million students have completed hunter education courses that cover firearm safety, bow hunting, wildlife management, field care of game, responsible hunting, landowner relations, wildlife identification, and much more.

About Bass Pro Shops®

Bass Pro Shops®, which specializes in outdoor fun, operates 94 stores and Tracker Marine Centers across America and Canada that are visited by more than 120 million people every year. Bass Pro Shops stores, many of which feature restaurants, offer hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor gear while their catalogs and website serve shoppers throughout the world. The company’s Tracker Marine Group® (http://www.trackermarine.com), a leading brand of fishing boats for more than 37 years, manufactures and sells a variety of boats for fishing and cruising. Family fun is on tap at Bass Pro Shops resort Big Cedar Lodge® (http://www.bigcedar.com), voted by Travel + Leisure as one of the top 50 Best Hotels for Families in the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com.  To request a free catalog, call 1-800-BASS PRO.  Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bassproshops.