Ambassadors Comments:

First off I’d like to thank the ABA for recognizing our program. Knowing the accomplishments of Walt Collins and his contributions to our sport it is truly an honor to be chosen to receive this award named in his honor.

While I’m the Ambassador for the Hunt of a Lifetime program here in Arizona and the one up here accepting this honor, none of what we do would be possible without the effort and generosity of many individuals.

There’s not enough time in the program tonight for me to possibly list them all but I’d like to thank my beautiful wife Debi. Without her love and support I wouldn’t be half the man I am today and I’d certainly not be able to give the time and effort it takes to run a program like Hunt of a Lifetime. She and I are a team and I thank God each and every day for bringing us together and sending us down this path.

I’d also like to thank Tina Pattison, the founder of Hunt of a Lifetime. Tina’s son Matt was diagnosed with cancer some years back and was scheduled to go on his Dream hunt for Moose in Canada with the Make a Wish Foundation. When Make a Wish came under fire from Anti Hunting organizations for a Grizzly bear hunt they were coordinating in Alaska, they stopped providing hunts to the wish kids and in the process Matt’s Moose hunt was cancelled. Tina pushed ahead and saw, with the generosity and compassion of many people, that Matt got his dream hunt. Matt succumbed to cancer some months after completing his dream hunt but Tina kept his dream alive by starting Hunt Of A Lifetime and today with chapters in many states we have provided hunts to over 200 children. 20 of them here in Arizona and 15 of those here in the last two years utilizing the tag transfer provision in the regulations that allows hunters who have drawn a tag to donate it to a non profit organization like Hunt Of A Lifetime.

These donated tags and the volunteers who donate their time and skill are the foundation our Arizona Program is built on. If you visit our website at www.hoalarizona.org you will see many of their names and read stories by the youngsters and those who have helped make their dreams become a reality.

It is truly an honor God has bestowed upon those of us involved with this program to be able to bring a smile to the faces of youngsters who have been through so much, and have so little to smile about.

I’d like to Thank You all again for this award and your recognition of our program.

Terry Petko
Arizona Ambassador
Arizona Chapter - Hunt of a Lifetime Foundation

Ambassadors Comments:

This award wasn’t achieved without the help of many people and I’d like to give thanks and credit to all who made this prestigious recognition of our program possible. Starting with my Dad who took me hunting as a young boy in Montana and taught me the respect for the animals we hunted and the country they lived in. Without that foundation my path in life may have been much different.

Without the love and support of my beautiful wife Debi none of this would have been possible. We work as a team and she is truly the best thing in my life and I thank God every day for bringing us together.

Andy Biggs State Representative of district 22 sponsored the Bill that allowed us to make this program grow and be such a success over the last two years.

I’d also like to thank Tice Supplee who gave me encouragement and support and quietly helped open lines of communication and offered advice during the legislative efforts.

Brian Wakeling and the Arizona Game and Fish Department have been great to work with in dealing with the implementation of the tag transfer provision and ironing out the many wrinkles we’ve encountered over the last two years. Thanks to this cooperation we’ve been able to place every child referred to us by our national office on their hunts.

I’d like to thank our Arizona HOAL Team members;

Stephanie Rainey Videographer and Photographer for capturing the hunts on film.

Don Martin for coordinating the guides and outfitters who are the cornerstone of our hunts.

Terry Herndon our Public Information Officer for getting the word out on our program and setting up our community relation functions.

Dick King our Regulatory Liason for providing a line of communication between our organization, the state sportsmans organizations, the Game and Fish Department and the legislature.

Chris Denham our Field Editor for contributing his writing talents and capturing in words the memories of the hunts.

Carla Denham our Medical Liaison for providing a professional link between our organization and the children’s medical care providers. So they have all their needs accommodated when they go on their hunts.

Debi Petko our Secretary / Treasurer and Web Mistress extraordinaire. What you see on our website is a display of some her many talents and she works hard to keep it updated and looking good. She also makes sure we keep our records up to date and complete.

I’d like to thank each and every person who has donated a tag to our program over the last two years and the guides and outfitters who donate their time and talents to make our children’s’ hunts a success. Without your selfless generosity none of this would have been possible.

And last but not least I’d like to thank the organizations and individuals who support our program. The list is long and growing. You can find all their names listed on our home page.

Terry Petko
Arizona Ambassador
Arizona Chapter - Hunt of a Lifetime Foundation