My journalistic journey reached another milestone April 12 in Baton Rouge.

I was honored by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation as the Conservation Communicator of the Year. As I said that night at Boudreaux’s Catering on Government Street, I am a lucky, lucky man because I shared those moments leading up to and after receiving the handsome statuette of a cougar with my family, friends and other good, like-minded people in the huge hall who love the outdoors.

My wife, June Boutte Shoopman, and our sons, Joshua Shoopman of New York and Jacob Shoopman of Lafayette, were at my table along with Stephanie Gary, Jacob’s significant other and mother of our only grandbaby, 13-month-old Miller.

That’s not all. My two brothers and two sisters rode together from their respective homes in Kansas and Missouri, my home state, for the big occasion. Bill Shoopman, Keith Shoopman, Patti Rendina, Barbara Henry and Barbara’s husband, Bob, have a history of making special “road trips,” as Barbara calls them, to the Sportsman’s Paradise. They surprised me in January 2019 by showing up at my emotional retirement reception as senior news editor at The Daily Iberian and again in January 2023 for my 70th birthday.

Other LWF award winners at the LWF’s 58th Conservation Achievement Awards Banquet were Alexander Kolker, Conservationist of the Year; Corey Miller, Professional Conservationist of the Year; Jim Kolinsky, Volunteer Conservationist of the Year; Amanda Clark and Pam Pearce, Conservation Educators of the Year; State Rep. Joseph Orgeron, Elected Official Conservationist of the Year; A.J. & Nona Trigg Hodges Foundation, Conservation Organization of the Year, and Martin “Marty” Floyd, 2023 Lifetime Achievement.

Those men and women definitely deserve those statuettes.

My cherished award is a tribute to all the men, women and youngsters who have been written about on these and other pages over the past 48 years. Their respective adventures, accomplishments or tales, typically accompanied by related photos, were there for all to see on the Outdoors and Sports pages of The Daily Iberian.

That’s the best part about this job, this long run. As I looked around the spacious banquet hall that night during the awards presentation, I realized everyone there has hunting and fishing stories to tell.

Writing stories like those has been so rewarding starting nearly five decades ago locally and statewide with so many outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, then years later about their son or daughter, then many more years later about their grandchildren. I’ve just recently started to work my way to a few of their great-grandchildren who hunt and fish.

Imagine that. Now that’s a blessing.

My career includes writing as a columnist and feature writer for the Louisiana Sportsman since the mid-1980s as well as for the California-based Bass Angler Magazine (BAM) since 2021. I also have written for Bassmaster Magazine, Louisiana Game & Fish and Acadiana Profile before narrowing the work to two magazines and, of course, The Daily Iberian.

Ah, The Daily Iberian. I’ve always had the support for writing about the outdoors from management and co-workers, starting with the late Don Olson, the publisher when I arrived here in January 1976. Will Chapman of New Iberia succeeded him and continued to encourage reporting on the outdoors, and I’m eternally grateful.

Glenn Quebedeaux of Crowley, who I consider my “Louisiana brother,” and I worked together as the best two-man sports staff in Louisiana from the 1980s into the early 1990s at The Daily Iberian. Quebedeaux, a retired insurance agent who still writes about sports and outdoors for various publications, remains my biggest supporter. I learned more about good writing and even more about a hard work ethic from him.

The great experience in Baton Rouge was made possible with persistence from passionate outdoorsmen led by Henry Mouton of Lafayette. In Mouton’s own words, he “conspired” to submit my name as a nominee with the full complicity of Armond Schwing of New Iberia, CEO and chairman of Schwing Insurance and former local and state Ducks Unlimited official, and Jeff Angers of Baton Rouge, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy who hails from the heart of the Teche Area.

Mouton, a former Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission member, was among my honored guests that night, as was Clay Peltier of New Iberia, who also had a hand in the “conspiracy” and attended with his wife, Peggy Peltier, and Henry Bernard of New Iberia, a lifelong outdoorsman and dear friend who’s still scuba diving into his mid-80s. He was there with his wife, Jackie Bernard, his constant companion on worldwide trips for scuba dives and relaxation.

Bernard introduced me four decades ago to the mission and values of the LWF. It is a coalition of hunters, anglers, birders, boaters, hikers, kayakers, etc., dedicated to conserving the state’s great natural resources, educating the public and backing sound game and fish management plans.

Speaking of game and fish management plans, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great game, waterfowl and inland fisheries/finfish biologists who took their time to share knowledge and expertise in their respective field for stories. Several Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists who stand out are Gary Tilyou, Larry Reynolds, Mike Carloss, Pete Juneau, Tony Vidrine, Wendell Smith, Mike Walker, C.R. Newland and Jason Olszak. Those men made my stories on issues and happenings so much better for many years. I cannot thank them enough for their time and effort.

Ditto for Dusty Rhodes, Keith Delahoussaye and Scott Dupre, three dedicated LDWF Enforcement Division agents who worked or work in the Teche Area. I enjoyed a great working relationship with them.

My heartfelt thanks go out to Rebecca Triche, LWF executive director; Angela Hirstius, LWF office manager, and Jimmy Frederick, LWF communication director, for their role in this award. It was a pleasure to meet them in person on a memorable night in Baton Rouge.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.