May 10, 2010 – Ever had a faux pas moment? I seem to have them more often than I should. Just recently, on two different occasions I used “Achilles heel” in the wrong context. No, it was not to describe the shape of my wife’s foot, or anything like that, but rather, in our last ENews I used “Achilles heel” to describe our Office Manager, Alice Ayers, contributions to the company over the last several years. I then turned right around and used this term in the wrong context when communicating a point to some folks I work with on some volunteer stuff. Then, just this morning, while reading the newspaper, I saw the proper use of “Achilles heel,” and it hit me like a sledgehammer that this term refers to a weakness and not a strength. Duh! I feel like such an idiot. So, Alice, please accept my apologies for this blonde moment. Good thing is I have only used this term twice in recent years, so maybe there’s not too much damage control I need to worry with over this one.

With that behind me, I am anxious to share some exciting news with you. With Alice leaving us in the near future, we have taken this transitioning opportunity to create a hybrid position for WSI that we are referring to as our Office Manager/Development Coordinator, and we think we have the right person hired for this new position.

Justin Bryan, beginning on May 17, will take the reins of this new position. I am excited about the potential possibilities of having someone of Justin’s varied talents assuming this role.

Justin’s form and function for the company, along with some of his background and credentials, are listed in detail in a different section of this ENews, but I will take this opportunity to say that I am optimistic that he will provide us with an ability to strengthen certain services we are already providing, as well as look at the possibility of offering additional wildlife services to current and new customers. I also envision that his involvement will free up some of my time so that I can focus on areas that best demand my time.

As many of you know, anytime you have employee changes like this, you sometimes have a period of time where there are certain inefficiencies, perhaps things that are overlooked, and what have you. So, please be patient with us while Justin is becoming familiar with our office procedures, and while he is also becoming familiar with our clients.

Justin and his wife, Marcy, are both from San Angelo, and both have family members living here in San Angelo and nearby areas. They have three young kids who keep them on their toes.

I have been blessed with lots of talented and dedicated folks who have contributed at different levels for WSI over the years. The successes of this organization are a direct reflection of these people’s efforts, and I am certain the addition of Justin Bryan to our team will add to our strengths. I am confident he will not be our Achilles heel!

Cheers,

Greg Simons

WSI Fills New Job Position

We are excited to announce the hiring of Justin Bryan as our new Office Manager/Development Coordinator. His responsibilities under this newly created position are diverse, to say the least. As Office Manager, Justin will assume a myriad of clerical related activities, as well as other things such as preparing hunt packets, prep packets, assistance with updating our website, and various other things. The Development Coordinator aspect of his role will fall more within our wildlife service related aspect of our business with some of these services being those that we already have in place with existing clients, as well as additional services for existing and new clients. We will likely place more emphasis on development of wildlife management plans, assistance to landowners who are enrolled under certain government related programs, as well as other wildlife enterprise related needs that landowners and ranchers may have.

Justin holds a B.S. in Wildlife Management from Texas Tech University and a M. S. in Wildlife Management from Texas A & M – Kingsville. During an extensive undergraduate education, he successfully completed numerous internship programs with various entities including the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ada, Oklahoma, and a 3-year internship program with Bob Zaiglin in South Texas. Additionally, he assisted with various projects throughout the country, including work on the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation located in Sinton, Texas, and with the Student Conservation Association near Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Upon completion of an M. S. degree, Justin has continued to diversify his experience by working for the USDA-NRCS, The Nature Conservancy, and various private landowners. His travels have taken him from work locations in the sky-island ecosystem located in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, to the High Plains, Rolling Plains, South Texas, and even into the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska. From 2002-2007, Justin directly managed, consulted for, or assisted management on nearing 200,000 acres of rangeland, improved pastures, farmland, and scientific deer breeding facilities throughout Texas.

Most recently, and very impressive, was his work over a 3 year period with well known biologist Bob Zaiglin, at Southwest Texas Junior College. Together they created and built the largest Junior College wildlife management program in the U. S. Justin constructed the syllabus and taught several courses at WSTJC including Intro to Wildlife Management, Wildlife Management Techniques, Agronomy, Farm and Ranch Management, Farm Economics, Ecology, Intro to GIS, Intro to Remote Sensing, and Intro to Animal Science. According to Zaiglin, “I cannot say enough good things about Justin. He was an integral part of starting and growing our wildlife program, and he will do you a great job.”

Justin will likely spend about 75% of his time in our WSI office, and will work most Fridays remotely from Abilene, where his wife is getting ready to begin her 16 month residency to become a nurse anesthetist. During the first several months of his employment, he will likely be spending about 30 hours a week in the office, and consequently, will often be the voice of the company. We ask that you help us welcome Justin to our WSI team.

Whitetail Openings

Okay, for any of you Texas deer aficionados, you know the importance of rainfall during the right time of the year and what it means to antler development. Well, after two years of poor winter and early spring conditions, we finally are catching up on lost time. Range conditions over much of the state are good right now, and have been for awhile. We have the makings of having an excellent antler growing year. Additionally, for any of you who may be contemplating a whitetail hunt for this year, we still have some openings on some prime dates on prime, big deer properties. Give us a call if you would like to explore some options, and we’ll be happy to hook you up on a great whitetail hunt.

Trip Cancellation Insurance

Please be aware that our payment and cancellation policies are rigid, especially regarding cancellations. Bottom line is once your booking is confirmed through a deposit, if you do happen to cancel for any reason, monies will only be refunded if we replace your spot at full price, less a 10% administrative and cancellation fee.

To protect your financial investment, you may want to consider purchasing travel or trip cancellation insurance. One such company that offers coverage is Sportsman’s Travel Insurance through Travel Guard, which can be accessed by going to our website and clicking on their link at the bottom of our home page. Advantages are offered by purchasing insurance within two weeks after deposit is paid, so you may want to plan ahead. Additionally, there are other ancillary benefits associated with this coverage such as medivac, lost luggage, and more, so check it out.

With that, we’ll call it a wrap. Don’t hesitate to give us a shout if we can be of any assistance.

Gracias,

Your friends at WSI