It is with great pleasure that The Conklin Foundation announces the 2010 Recipient of the Conklin Award: Mr. Larry B. Higgins of Gaylord, Michigan. In North America, Larry has harvested all of the big game species available except for the polar bear and walruses.  He has taken a Grand Slam of North American Wild Sheep, an additional California bighorn, many black bears, whitetail, mule deer, and several elk.

In Africa he has taken the Big Five, several Cape buffalo, and amazingly Larry has taken the nine spiral horned antelope of Africa and lacks only the western and Abyssinian greater kudu and Sesse Island sitatunga to have every spiral horned subspecies. He has hunted Africa on more than fifteen different safaris to eight countries.

In the area of mountain hunting Larry’s accomplishments are truly superb. Larry has taken more than thirty different species of wild sheep and twenty different capra species. This feat has only been accomplished by ten other hunters. In total, he has more than thirty-seven wild sheep specimens of thirty-two different species and twenty-five wild capra specimens of twenty-three different species. Of particular interest is that Larry has collected every huntable chamois and ibex subspecies as well as every subspecies of blue sheep. His mountain hunting resume is extremely impressive for its longevity and diversity. 

He has likewise been a steward for sport hunting and a generous donor of his time, finances, and talents. Larry holds membership in numerous hunting-conservation organizations and has led many in leadership roles. He is currently a director-at-large for Safari Club International and a past SCI Mid Michigan Chapter president.

Due to his outstanding collection of the most difficult to obtain big game animals of the world, his dedication and commitment to wildlife conservation, and his adherence to fair chase hunting, The Conklin Foundation feels that Larry B. Higgins is a most appropriate and deserving Conklin Award recipient.

The 9th Annual Conklin Award will be presented in Dallas, Texas at the Dallas Safari Club “First Light” convention on Thursday, January 7th, 2010. To attend this event please contact Jaimey Bills at (972) 980-9800.

The Conklin Award is the “Tough Guy” award. It recognizes the world’s greatest active hunter who pursues game in the most difficult terrain and conditions, exhibits the highest degree of ethics, and is a strong participant in wildlife conservation.

James E. Conklin, M. D. was a true sportsman. If it demanded vertical steps, a lot of sweat, danger, and miserable conditions, Dr. Jim hunted it. That was the way he was, and that is the essence of this award.

The Conklin Award judges represent a cross section of some of the most active hunters in the world today. The Conklin Award is also unique in that past recipients of the award are automatically invited to become award judges. This was done for a reason. The different species and sub species are assigned a point value that was arrived at by the judges rating the animals on a scale of difficulty. The difficulty rating of the animals that a Conklin Award candidate has taken is a major component of the award criterion.

Dr. Jim exhibited the highest degree of ethics in his extensive hunting career. He was a true sportsman who hunted strictly within the rules of fair chase.

A goal of The Conklin Award and Foundation is to strengthen and foster support for ethical, fair chase hunting throughout the hunting community. Like Dr. Conklin, the judges feel it is of the utmost importance for each hunter to conduct themselves in the field with integrity and dignity.

James E. Conklin, M. D. was an ardent supporter of wildlife conservation. He was a true visionary with a real passion for getting our younger generation involved in the outdoors. The Conklin Award applicant is likewise expected to show participation in wildlife conservation projects and organizations. This participation can include any combination of significant monetary donations to established conservation causes or organizations, voluntary leadership or assistance to the same, significant volunteerism for youth outdoor education, or political volunteerism for pro hunting and conservation causes.

These three broad award components - difficulty, ethics, and conservation - constitute the basis of the Conklin Award, which is awarded annually to the most deserving hunter-conservationist.