ATHENS, GA  – Fred Pape of Kentucky, founder of Pape’s Archery, was named the 2018 recipient of the Joe Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award at QDMA’s National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“Each year, I get the privilege of presenting the award in my name which honors someone who has made a significant impact on QDM, hunting and wildlife conservation during their lifetime,” said QDMA Founder Joe Hamilton. “Fred Pape likely has impacted archery and bowhunting more than any other since Fred Bear, who he actually hunted with for more than a decade.”

Pape began bowhunting in 1969 and purchased his father’s small hardware and sporting goods business in 1978. He eventually turned it into one of the world’s largest archery wholesale distributing businesses, Pape’s Archery, before selling the company to Kinsey’s Archery in 2017.

Perhaps Pape’s greatest contribution to bowhunting, however, is his instrumental role in the formation and growth of both National Archery in the Schools (NASP) and Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA). Pape was active in the development of NASP, and he served as treasurer for the Kentucky NASP Foundation from the time of its inception in 2006. He is currently the President of the Board of S3DA. These two programs have introduced millions of youth to archery and bowhunting and have contributed greatly to the future of hunting.

Pape has also been a strong proponent of the Quality Deer Management philosophy and the QDMA for nearly 20 years, having served on the QDMA National Board of Directors from 2008 to 2016. He continues to actively support the QDMA by donating hunts annually on his farm in Kentucky to use for youth hunts and to auction at the NationalConvention. 

Clearly, Fred Pape has contributed greatly to hunting, conservation, and the betterment of the QDMA. He joins a distinguished group of former winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award that includes Jimmy Bullock, Johnny Morris, Gary Alt, Judge Holdford, Robert Manning, Karl Miller, Grant Woods, David Guynn, Dave Samuel, Lewis Rogers, Charlie DeYoung, Harry Jacobson, Marion Burnside, Arthur Bentley, and Larry and Betty Marchinton.

About QDMA
QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with more than 60,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. To learn more about QDMA, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com. QDMA can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheQDMA and Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheQDMA.