Warren Witherspoon Traditional Bowhunter Award

Warren Witherspoon was a long time Alberta Bowhunter and Alberta Bowhunter Association Member who had taken numerous quality animals in Alberta with a bow. In 1996 Warren Witherspoon received the Alberta Bowhunters Association’s Grandmaster Award for taking 6 different species of Pope & Young animals in Alberta.  Warren had mentioned his dream was to take 6 species of animals in Alberta with Traditional Bowhunting equipment that surpass Pope & Young minimums. He was well on his way at 4 species by 1997.

In April of 1997, the Alberta Bowhunters Association hosted the one and only Pope & Young Convention held outside of the U.S in Edmonton.  Warren played an instrumental role in the set up of that Convention.  Tragically, just a few months after that Convention, Warren Witherspoon died of a heart attack August 18, 1997 while setting up his Caribou camp in the NWT.  He was only 46 years old.  In 1998 The Alberta Bowhunters Association’s Game Awards Program came up with the Warren Witherspoon Traditional Bowhunter Award To recognize Warren Witherspoon’s Traditional Bowhunting dream. There would be Gold, Silver and Bronze winners every year awarded for the highest percentage of points above the Pope & Young minimum score of that species taken with Traditional Bowhunting Equipment.

Warren Witherspoon
September 6, 1950 – August 18, 1997

Lloyd Mutter Grandmaster Bowhunter Award

When bowhunting was really getting going in a big way in the late 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s in Alberta, Lloyd Mutter was considered “the Poster Boy” of what it takes to be an extremely successful bowhunter for the many big game species Alberta has to offer!  The Alberta Bowhunters Association started their ABA Game Awards program with the 1980 hunting season.  It turned out that Lloyd Mutter was the only ABA member to enter a Pope & Young Class animal for any species in that first year, winning the Gold plaque for his 316 5/8 Elk, an impressive feat even for today’s standards.  Lloyd went on to take numerous Pope & Youngs and plaques, for several different species, and by 1986 Lloyd was the very first ABA member and Albertan to take 6 different species of Pope & Young Class animals.

As a result of Lloyds accomplishments, the ABA added to its Awards program the Grandmaster Award for taking 6 species of Pope & Young Animals in Alberta with a bow as an ABA member.  Recipients receive a portrait of themselves surrounded by the 6 different species of Pope & Young animals they took.  It would be 1990 before another ABA members accomplished this same feat!

The ABA Grandmaster Award would eventually be renamed as “The Lloyd Mutter Grandmaster Award” recognizing Lloyd as the first to accomplish the 6 Pope & Young’s level as well as inspiring other ABA members to diversifying the big game they hunt ultimately working toward Lloyd’s accomplishment.

Lloyd Mutter
August 5, 1936 – February 26, 2004

Fred Walker Youth Award

The 70’s, 80’s an early 90’s were a crucial time for the evolution of the Alberta Bowhunter’s Association, and nobody was more important than Fred Walker in driving the ABA in the direction it needed to go in those early years!  Fred was of course and ardent bowhunter, but he was also seriously involved in expansion of ABA shoots of all kinds from target Archery, 3-D and bowhunting Safaris just to name a few.  Fred’s real focus was working for the benefits of youth in bowhunting and competitive archery and was instrumental in the development of many, many, hundreds of young archers throughout the province.    His knowledge of the history of the ABA and the history of Bowhunting in Alberta was unsurpassed.  Nobody cared more about Alberta’s Archery and Bowhunting future at a time in the Alberta Bowhunter’s Association early history than Fred Walker.  For that reason, any of us around in those early years considered Fred Walker the “Father” of the ABA!  In 1998 the ABA Game Awards Program initiated the Fred Walker Youth Awards recognizing the top 3 Big Game Animals taken by ABA Youth Members 16 years old or younger.  Fred would have been so proud of these young bowhunters!

Fred Walker
April 6, 1932   October 21, 2008

Ryk Visscher Master Bowhunter Award

The ABA renamed this award in 2021 to honor Ryk’s contribution to the ABA as their Game Awards Chairman for 40 years (1981-2021).

Ryk Visscher Bio (April 2021)

• I Joined the ABA at the same time I bought my first bow in in April of 1978 from Jack Kempf in Sherwood Park. I was introduced to Jack by my long-time bowhunting friend, Duane Hicks.  Meeting Duane turned out to be a life changer for me, as he started me on my path into the bowhunting world.
• I immediately immersed myself in volunteer work with both the Northern Bowhunters Association in Edmonton and the Alberta Bowhunters Association, filling numerous roles and positions until now.
• I took responsibility of the Alberta Bowhunters Association Game Awards program the spring of 1981. The ABA Game Awards would eventually become my sole responsibility with the Alberta Bowhunter’s Association.
• The first ABA Banquet & Convention that I hosted the Awards Presentation was in Calgary March 27^th, 1982 at Heritage Park. My highlight of that evening was awarding the first Master Bowhunter Buckle ever presented by the ABA to Dave Coupland.  Nobody fought harder than Dave for the Bowhunting Regulations that we enjoy today.  All because of his decades of work as the ABA Regulations Chairman.
• From 1991 thru 1997 Dave Coupland, Archie Nesbitt and myself presented bid proposals, on behalf of the ABA, to the Pope & Young Club to host their Convention. For the first and only time in its 60-year history, the Biennial Pope & Young Convention was held outside of the U.S. In April 1997 in Edmonton; thousands of bowhunters from across Canada, the U.S., and even Europe attended the 5-day event.  Not only was this a chance to highlight bowhunting in Canada and in Alberta; it brought great attention to our ABA Game Awards Program.  Bowhunters from every province and U.S. State gave rave reviews as they wandered through the “ABA Room” featuring all that our ABA Awards Program had to offer.  On display were Buckles, Portraits, and many of the biggest and best Big Game animals ever taken In Alberta!
• Since that first banquet in 1982 I have handed out over 1000 plaques, 196 buckles, and 54 Grandmaster Portraits.
• In that time, I have had the privilege of presenting the ABA Awards to recipients the last 40 years. Sadly, with Covid restrictions in 2020 & 2021 we were forced to find alternate ways to get Certificates, Plaques, Buckles & Portraits to the recipients.
• Missing out on presenting the awards in person these last 2 years was extremely disappointing for me. 95% of the work of being the ABA Game Awards Chairman is behind the scenes; processing hundreds of entries, ranking results, ordering the various awards, collecting photos for the presentation, contacting recipients, producing the PowerPoint and on and on.  Speaking of the PowerPoint; so much credit goes to Kelly Semple who in 2003 started working with me creating the Awards PowerPoints year after year.  Her efforts really raised the quality of this annual event!
• When that pre-banquet ABA Awards work was over; the real fun and reward for me came down to the actual night of the Annual ABA Game Awards Presentation. The highlight year after year for me, is sharing stories, “roasting” likely targets in the crowd, and calling bowhunters up to share their achievement with all of us in attendance.  I really missed all of that these last 2 years!
• Thinking back to the presentations over these past 40 years, I have watched literally generations of bowhunters walk up to the podium or seated out in the crowd. I have seen children and twenty somethings of the 80’s and 90’s becoming parents and even grandparent in more recent years.  Special times and great memories never to be forgotten!
• Hard to believe I was 27 at the first banquet in Calgary where I passed Dave that first buckle and as I write this now; my 67^th Birthday is only months away…