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