A decade of service celebrated
WDFW’s Steve Dazey is named National Hunter Education Coordinator of the Year
Most months Steve Dazey puts over a thousand miles on his truck, sometimes up to two thousand. Much of his work week is spent in his vehicle; a lot of it during weekends and evenings when hunter education classes take place. Dazey’s truck isn’t just a source of transportation, it serves as a mobile office, closet, gear safe, and delivery vehicle. If someone needs something hunter ed-related in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Eastern Region, Dazey is your man.
The International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA) agrees. They named Dazey Hunter Education Coordinator of the Year during the IHEA-USA annual conference in June 2024.
“I didn’t know that anyone had nominated me, and I was totally surprised when Dave (Whipple) went on stage to present the award. That was the first inkling I had,” said Dazey.
Dave Whipple, WDFW’s hunter education section manager, said this about Dazey, “Steve truly deserves this award. His work and leadership in hunter education and other firearm safety arenas over the past year have been outstanding.”
Around 10,000 students are certified by more than 1,000 volunteer certified hunter ed instructors in Washington annually; learning firearm and hunting safety, wildlife conservation and management, field game care, responsible and ethical hunting, landowner relations, wildlife identification, and more.
As a hunter education coordinator, Dazey is responsible for coordinating classes, assisting volunteer hunter ed instructors; inventorying firearms and other hunter education equipment; recruiting, training, and certifying new hunter ed instructors; and hosting or coordinating outreach and education events such as hunting clinics and mentored hunts.
In addition, this position acts as an agency ambassador and builds and maintains strong relationships and partnerships with conservation partners, volunteers, and tribes to benefit hunter education and the mission of the agency.
Dazey has been doing all this and more for over a decade. He started in WDFW’s North Puget Sound region in 2014 then moved to WDFW’s Eastern Region in 2021.
“He did an incredible job shaping and implementing the hunter education program as Region 1’s first dedicated full-time coordinator,” Whipple said.
Because the Eastern Region covers ten large counties, Dazey’s job literally keeps him running. He travels extensively between the regional office in Spokane and communities situated near the Canadian border all the way down to the Oregon border to meet with hunter ed instructors, deliver supplies, and make sure volunteer instructor needs are being met.
Dazey is also WDFW’s lead for staff firearm safety training programs and Range Safety Officer training for volunteer hunter ed instructors; one of his favorite aspects of the job.
“I enjoy my continued opportunities to train adults in firearm safety so that they can provide shooting sports programs at several youth summer camps,” he said. “In addition to doing it as part of my job, I volunteer to teach and train scout leaders in firearm safety and volunteer to assist training adults who work at summer camps as shooting sports directors or assistants.”
Dazey also volunteers to manage several Boy Scouts camps, was a volunteer Scoutmaster for many years, has served as the presiding Washington state officer for three different masonic affiliated groups, and is a voting member of the Colorado Corporation Shriners Hospital for Children, the governing body for the Shriner Hospital system. He is also a member of the Board of Governors for the Spokane Shriners Children’s Hospital.
“I am especially appreciative of my opportunity to serve on the Board of Governors at the Spokane hospital since I get to meet and see many of the children who we can make such a difference in their lives,” Dazey said. “They are to me heroes as they navigate their many challenges with such a positive attitude.”
Dazey’s supervisor, Whipple, says whether it’s for volunteer work or the work he does for WDFW, Dazey’s professional service, integrity, and willingness to go above and beyond exemplify what this award is all about.
“He has demonstrated these outstanding qualities not only over the past year, but also since he came to WDFW ten years ago. Steve takes an immense amount of pride in all aspects of his job and the agency’s mission,” Whipple said.
Dazey says he would have been happy just having been nominated, even if he didn’t win the award.
“Honestly, I am most honored by the fact that someone took the time to nominate me and felt that I was deserving. That recognition means a lot to me.”
