The chapter that works for the people who hunt.
We’re the East Ohio / Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of Safari Club International: an all-volunteer group of hunters, conservationists and families from both sides of the state line. This page covers our chapter only. For Safari Club International as a whole, see About SCI International.
Who we are
The chapter was started by a handful of local hunters who knew hunting’s future wouldn’t defend itself. Today our members come from across East Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania. Some hunt close to home, some hunt the West and some travel overseas, but all of them believe the privilege of hunting comes with an obligation to protect wildlife and the places it lives.
A volunteer board runs the chapter, with no paid staff. Meet them on the Chapter Leadership page, and read what we stand for in our Mission & Hunter’s Code of Ethics.
We raise most of our money at one event, the Annual Night of the Hunter dinner in Youngstown. Nearly everything raised goes back into the field through the five chapter programs below.
Where we work
We serve hunters in Columbiana, Mahoning, Trumbull, Stark, Carroll, Jefferson and surrounding counties in Ohio, and in Mercer, Lawrence, Crawford, Venango, Erie and nearby counties in Northwest Pennsylvania. Most of our work happens close to home:
- Conservation projects with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Ohio Division of Wildlife, stretched further by SCI’s Matching Grants.
- Youth education, including the Millcreek Marksmen 4-H Club, American Wilderness Leadership School scholarships and school habitat projects in Venango County.
- Helping others: VA hospital fishing outings, Soldiers and Sailors missions and Safari Blue Bags.
- Sensory Safari visits that let visually impaired kids and adults touch real mounts and hides.
When you buy a dinner ticket or donate, you can usually see where the money went: a young shooter on the line, a new habitat plot or a veteran out on the water.
Our five chapter programs
Education
We fund the American Wilderness Leadership School (AWLS) and the Millcreek Marksmen 4-H Club. We also fund teacher training that brings hunting and conservation back into classrooms. After all, tomorrow’s hunters and tomorrow’s voters are the same people, so we make sure both understand what’s at stake.
Conservation
Through SCI’s Matching Grants program, every dollar our chapter donates is doubled. We’ve contributed to state game agencies, school habitat projects, pheasant pen builds and species recovery work across our region.
Sensory Safari
We bring hands-on big game mounts and skins to schools, libraries and community events. That way, visually impaired participants can experience the scale, texture and story of animals they’d never otherwise encounter.
Helping Others
Safari Blue Bag drives, VA fishing outings, Soldiers and Sailors missions and youth event days. In short, it’s practical support, delivered by hunters, for the people in our community who need it most.
Certified Scorers
Also, local SCI-certified measurers are available to score your big game trophies for the SCI Record Book.
$95,000+
Donated to conservation and community projects
40+
Years serving East Ohio and Northwest PA
5
Chapter programs, from youth education to trophy scoring
100%
Volunteer board, with no paid staff
Three ways to get involved
Become a Member
Join Safari Club International, then tell us you’re local. Chapter membership is free and keeps you in the loop on meetings, youth days and the dinner.
Attend the Annual Dinner
One night a year, hundreds of supporters. The Night of the Hunter dinner funds nearly everything the chapter does.
Donate or Volunteer
Can’t make the dinner? Give online or by mail, or lend a hand at a youth day or a Sensory Safari visit.
Everything about the chapter
Members and supporters
"We're not here to be a trophy on someone's wall. We're here to make sure there's still wild ground worth hunting fifty years from now."