Newburyport, MA -(Ammoland.com)- USA Shooting National Junior Team member Hank Garvey has been chosen as one of six representatives for the 2015 Brownells/National Rifle Association (NRA) Youth Shooting Sport Ambassador Program.
The program gives NRA’s Co-op Youth group partners including Boy Scouts of America, National High School Rodeo Association, Royal Rangers, Venturing (BSA) and USA Shooting — the opportunity to select the outstanding youth from their organization to represent them. Garvey’s interest as an avid sportsman and as a rising prospect for the USA Shooting Team, helped the 16-year-old Garvey standout among the many junior athletes that applied according to USA Shooting’s Youth Programs and Coach Academy Director Mike Theimer.
“Our interests are well-represented by the influence this young man can have as a NRA Youth Ambassador,” Theimer said. “He’s well-rounded and as focused an individual as you can find at that age. He has a bright future in our sport and I’ll be interested to see how he uses his experiences in shooting to help engage others to get involved and participate.”
A sophomore at St. Johns Prep, Garvey’s stock rose significantly throughout the 2014 shooting season and is now considered one of the elite double trap shotgun competitors within USA Shooting. He’s hoping to make continued headway in a discipline filled with talent including current World Champion Josh Richmond, Olympic gold medalist Glenn Eller and Olympian Jeff Holguin.
Competing in his first shotgun match when he was eight, Garvey, has been on the fast-track ever since His success in part has been formed through the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) culminating with his first National Title last summer which led to his appointment to USA Shooting’s National Junior Team. A strong junior competitor, Garvey distinguished himself in 2014 with several “open” accomplishments including a top-eight finish at the Championship of the Americas in Guadalajara, Mexico, a top-five finish at Nationals and a top-four finish at the recent Fall Selection Match. His performance in Guadalajara also helped earn him the Minimum Qualifying Score (MQS) athletes need to be eligible to compete at the Olympic Games.
A self-described true sportsman, Garvey enjoys all sorts of hunting including ducks, big game, turkey, bird and small game. Living near the ocean, he’s also developed a fondness for fishing and enjoys boating, catching eels, clams and lobsters. He also spends his off-time carving decoys, tying flies and trick shooting while also volunteering for the local Ducks Unlimited Chapter and banding ducks at the local National Wildlife Refuge.
“I feel honored to be selected as a youth role model for my sport and the shooting community,” Garvey said. “I understand this position comes with both tremendous responsibility and opportunity. I look forward to sharing the sport with others while helping to create a greater understanding and awareness for all of the shooting sports. I will uphold the high standard for which our sport should be measured.”
Next week during the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s annual SHOT Show, Garvey will attend along with the other ambassadors and will be introduced to industry leaders, interact with sponsors and engage with the key industry stakeholders as part of the week-long event. He’ll also attend the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meetings in April in a similar capacity.
Visit Hank Garvey’s personal website at www.hankgarveyoutdoors.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/GarveyHank.
Previous NRA Ambassadors include:
- McKenna Dahl, 2016 Paralympic hopeful
- Tyler Lirio, Current National Jr. Team Member
- Brandy Drozd, 2014 World Champion
- Courtney Anthony, Current National Team Member
- Collin Wietfeldt, Current National Team Member
- Garrett Walters, Former National Team Member
- Rachael Heiden, Former National Team Member
About USA Shooting
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.