Root 276636 1280
Robin Conrads featured

Nominating Process

Requirements for Nominating an Individual for Induction in the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame, Inc.

The nominating person must be a past or current elected Board member of a recognized archery organization (Pope and Young Club (P&Y), PBS, CTB, or a local, state, national, or international bowhunting organization).

The goal is to acknowledge and honor a nominee who has demonstrated long-term dedication and success in the field using traditional bowhunting equipment, established themselves as a person of outstanding character, and made significant contributions to the sport over their lifetime. The nominator should provide a letter of recommendation, as noted above, and a detailed resume written in the format supplied by the TBHOF. The TBHOF Secretary/Treasurer must receive nominations by June 1st. Send the complete nomination package to: Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame, Inc., 75 S. Pronghorn Rd., Boise, ID 83716.

The required outline for the nominee’s resume is provided in the questionnaire below. Because the nominee’s background may be unknown to the pool of electors, the questions should be answered fully, and failure to use the provided outline might delay a nomination. The nominator should include complete contact information for the nominee or, if the nominee is deceased, the nominee’s family or representative.

Voting for Acceptance and Passage by Board to Independent Pool of Electors

Upon receipt, the TBHOF Secretary/Treasurer shall forward nominee packets to all board members for review. Board members may request more information from the nominator or nominee, if needed. After review, all board members, except the President (who will vote only to break a tie), shall vote to accept or reject the nomination. Accepted nominations will then be eligible for a full vote by the independent pool of electors for induction into the TBHOF.

In some cases, the Board may reject the nominee, who would therefore be ineligible for renomination. Qualified candidates who are not inducted after three times on the ballot will be placed on a standby list. The board may induct a nominee from that list any time they deem it appropriate.

Voting for Induction by Independent Pool of Electors

TBHOF electors consist of the individuals below:

  • All current TBHOF board members.
  • All living TBHOF past inductees.
  • All TBHOF historians.
  • All current elected Board members of CTB and Council members of PBS.

The TBHOF Secretary/Treasurer will send out ballots to the Electors on August 1st of each calendar year, and the electors will have twenty (20) days to review each nominee’s portfolio and submit their votes. The Secretary/Treasurer will send out a ten (10) day reminder email to all electors who still need to submit their votes electronically or by US mail. Any ballot received after the twenty (20) day voting period will be considered a non-vote. Ballots will be received and tabulated by the TBHOF Secretary/Treasurer. One other Board member or elector, appointed by the TBHOF President, will verify the results. The Board will determine the qualified nominees presented to the Electors, and the number of nominees moving forward for induction. In some cases, Electors will be asked to only vote for a subset of the list (i.e. vote for 4 of the 8 candidates). The final list of inductees will be based on the highest rankings of Elector votes. Inductees will be announced on October 1st.

From time to time, there may be circumstances when Electors are unable to fulfill their appointed privilege to vote. (i.e.health, travel, etc.). It should be noted that Electors serve at the discretion of the TBHOF Board, and therefore the Board reserves the right to appoint or remove Electors.

Requirements for Nomination

Other than exceptional circumstances, the nominee should have at least thirty (30) years of experience bowhunting with a selfbow, longbow, or recurve bow. Nominators must provide nominee information in the format of the questionnaire below. There is a subjective component, so the more information, pictures, and letters of support for the nominee, the better. Please do not use yes/no answers and assume the Board and Pool of Electors are familiar with the nominee’s accomplishments. This nomination is for the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame—an effort should be made to submit a detailed, complete application.

Completion of the Nomination Form

The section below gives you an idea of the requirements we are looking for. It isn’t meant to be filled out online. Please download the document to prepare the nomination using a Word file. If a question does not apply to your nominee, please say that, so we know you didn’t just miss a question. If you have any questions, please email Robin at tbhalloffame@gmail.com

Download this document

Nomination Outline

Nominee Name:

Bowhunting Experience

Has the nominee hunted for a minimum of thirty (30) years with a selfbow, longbow, or recurve bow? If not, please explain.

Please list each big game species hunted with a traditional bow under fair-chase conditions. (Turkeys and hogs included.)

Please list and name the number of big game animals (turkeys and hogs included) the nominee has taken with a traditional bow. 

Please list and name the number of states and countries the nominee has hunted with a traditional bow.

Feel free to expound on the nominee’s hunting experience:

Bowhunting Education

Has the nominee ever been an NBEF Instructor or served as a bowhunting instructor in another capacity? How often? Please elaborate.

Has the nominee given seminars or demonstrations at sports shows, tournaments, or other events? How often?

Has the nominee mentored youth in a formal or non-formal setting? How often? Please be as specific as possible.

Has the nominee set up or worked a traditional bowhunting historical display at an event or sports show? How often?

Has the nominee ever donated or sponsored a hunt designed to mentor traditional bowhunters? How often?

Has the nominee instructed youth, new bowhunters, and other bowhunters on the extreme importance of hunting with the highest ethical standards that go above game laws? How often? Tell us the story.

Service

Please list each office the nominee has held in a local, state, national, or international bowhunting organization. Include unelected but formal positions such as editor or tournament director. How many?

Please list any committee work the nominee has done for a local, state, national, or international bowhunting organization. How often?

Please list any service awards the nominee has received from a local, state, national, or international bowhunting organization. (i.e. PBS Glenn St. Charles, state Bowhunter Hall of Fame award, etc.). How many? List them for us. We want to get to know the nominee.

Has the nominee been involved in forming any local, state, national, or international bowhunting organization? How many? Please list them.

Has the nominee testified before any legislative body or State regulatory body on behalf of bowhunting? Please detail.

Has the nominee worked recruiting members for any local, state, national, or international bowhunting group at a general or bowhunting-oriented event? How often?

Traditional Bowhunting Craftsmanship

Has the nominee crafted his/her bows, selfbows, wood arrows, or other traditional-oriented equipment for sale or donation? How often?

Has the nominee taught individuals or courses on craftsmanship – such as selfbow making, flintknapping, etc. How often?

Has the nominee regularly made items for donation in support of traditional bowhunting. Please provide details. How often?

Media

Has the nominee written articles for a published bowhunting magazine, and if so, is it more than five? More than 20? 

Has the nominee published a book related to bowhunting? If so, how many?

Has the nominee participated in any traditional bowhunting-related television or radio show or podcast? Provide details. How often?

Has the nominee ever been interviewed or been featured in newspaper articles, magazine articles, or books, regarding his/her bowhunting career? If so, how many? Please expound.

Has the nominee formally published any videos or “Reels” that have promoted traditional bowhunting? How often? Please provide details.

Sportsmanship 

Please provide brief details of any effort, including published writing, video, podcast, testimony, or other opportunities in which the nominee promoted or provided an example or supported ethical behavior in the field through word or deed.

To that end, has the nominee ever been charged with any hunting/game law violations? Please provide all relevant details and an explanation of events.

Achievements and Influence 

What else should the TBHOF Board know about this nominee’s influence on the traditional bowhunting lifestyle? What are the intangibles that make this nominee qualified for induction into the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame? Please note here any achievements and influences that were not covered in the previous sections. Be thorough.

Any person up for nomination to the TBHOF should be of sound moral character and be an excellent example of the best of traditional bowhunting. We therefore must ask, has the nominee ever behaved in public or online in a way that would discourage or disparage potential traditional bowhunters?

Please provide complete contact information for the nominee, their family, or their representative:

Name

Address

Phone

Email

To walk 2985198
TBHOF Admin featured

How It All Started

T.J. Conrads had been thinking of a hall of fame for traditional bowhunters for many, many years. As the Editor/Founder of Traditional Bowhunter® Magazine, he has met hundreds bowhunters who have dedicated their lives to the pastime that has become our lives. Those men and women have served on numerous boards and spent countless hours mentoring others in the love and heritage of traditional bowhunting. But it didn’t come to fruition until he and his long-time friend Jim Akenson spent an evening at Jim’s cabin during a spring turkey hunt in May 2024. After much thought that evening, T.J. mentioned the idea of such an organization to honor these men and women to Jim as they sat around the wood stove late into the night.

Tj Jim Shaw Creek
Jim Akenson and T.J. Conrads at Shaw Creek Ranch working on the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame presentations for Kalamazoo Expo and the Compton Traditional Bowhunters’ Big Game Classic to be held in Golden, Colorado March 2025.

To say Jim took the idea and ran with it would be an understatement. Not sleeping the first night after they talked about this idea, Jim had several pages of ideas to discuss with T.J. the following morning over coffee. Both men agreed that there were several other men who could help make this idea a reality. The two men ideated how a Board composed of well-established traditional bowhunters from across the entire United States could be put together. The wheels were rolling….

The first two gentlemen to be contacted that morning were Kevin Bahr of Illinois and Russell Lantier of Louisiana, both of whom have spent much of their lives involved with traditional bowhunting at the local, state, and national levels. They both jumped at the opportunity to see TBHOF take flight. These four Founding Members then looked to assemble a Board that represented all corners of the country, as well as a deep depth of bowhunting leadership and experience. After much discussion, they contacted Jim Eeckhout of Michigan, Matt Schuster of Georgia, and Tom Weaver of New York, all of whom jumped at the idea and agreed it was well past time for such an organization. Robin Conrads was asked to help with some of the administrative work. By the end of that day, the first Board of the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame, Inc. had been assembled.

This volunteer board worked for months to develop bylaws to govern the organization now and into the future. The business was organized as a non-profit corporation, then applied and received tax-exempt 501(c)3 status so that donations would be tax-deductible. Many hours of work went into developing the criteria for induction that would recognize those who have excelled in promoting traditional bowhunting. 

TBHOF partnered with Traditional Bowhunter® Magazine (TBM), the Professional Bowhunters Society (PBS) and Compton Traditional Bowhunters (CTB) to promote, support, and host annual Induction Ceremonies at CTB’s Big Game Classics and the PBS Gatherings, respectively, beginning March, 2025 at the Compton Big Game Classic in Golden, Colorado. 

Once all these details were in place, TBHOF was announced to the public in October 2024. 

This is just the beginning of great things for the Traditional Bowhunters Hall of Fame. Watch for upcoming announcements for the future of the organization.