Meet Our Board

President

I have been an SCI board member since 2018, but an avid outdoorsman all of my life. Growing up on the prairies of western South Dakota, I had plenty of hunting mentors like my dad, grandfathers, uncles and friends.   Together we fished and hunted whitetails and mule deer, pronghorns, sharptail grouse, coyotes, and, occasionally, elk.  I learned at an early age about hunting ethics, the need for conservation, the joy of being outdoors, and the camaraderie of hunting.

Since those days I have hunted quite a few other species as well.  I was introduced to MN SCI by my friend and longtime hunting partner Chuck Diehl, a former MN SCI board member, who had also been to Africa a few times.  When I bought a hunting trip to Namibia, Chuck quickly became my 2nd hunter on that trip and we had a great time hunting and touring with our wives. My current favorite hunts are for pheasants, ruffed grouse, and sharptail grouse with my German Shorthaired Pointer.

My other hobbies are target shooting and reloading, riding adventure touring motorcycles, muscle cars, and scuba diving with my wife Cheryl, as well as underwater photography.  We have learned to love diving with sharks and have some interesting photos and videos.

I am an avid hunter who grew up hunting small game, waterfowl and deer in Minnesota. In college I started hunting in the Dakotas for waterfowl and small game. After college I started hunting in Canada and Alaska for big game. After joining MN SCI in 2004 I started hunting in Africa and have completed the Dangerous 7 Game Hunt of Africa.  I have also hunted in South America and Europe for big game and small game. I have been a MN SCI board member since 2008.

I currently live in River Falls, Wis., where I live with my wife on a 20 acre farm. We raise foundation Morgan horses and some beef cattle. We also own an additional 90 acre farm about 6 miles away where we raise hay for the livestock. I used to show horses and compete in rodeos for many years, but have given up most of those activities in recent years.

I am currently active in shooting on local Trap and Sporting Clays Leagues as well competing in local NSCA tournaments.

In Wisconsin, I do spring turkey hunting, fall gun deer hunting, and some archery deer hunting when time permits. I also go pheasant hunting locally and on game farms when I get invited by friends who have dogs. This is something new for me and I am really enjoying it. I also enjoy ice fishing. Too busy in the summer with the farm to fish open water.

Some friends of my brother’s invited me to a SCI banquet about seven years ago and it opened my eyes to going to other states and countries to hunt. Since then, I have hunted with different SCI outfitters that I’ve met at the SCI banquets for mule deer in CO and MT, antelope in MT, red stag and fallow deer in New Zealand, and just booked my first African hunt for a Cape Buffalo in Mozambique for 2023.

I grew up with hunting and fishing as part of my family activities. My dad was very instrumental in starting both brother and me in shooting and hunting at a very early age. I have pictures of us shooting our single shot bolt action 22s at around five-years-old. We started hunting squirrels on my grandparent’s farm not much after that. Had some of the best times spending times in the woods with my dad and brother. When I was old enough, I was introduced to hunting rabbits, grouse, and deer by my dad and his friends.

The primary reason that I reached out to Minnesota SCI organization to be considered for the Board is that I see the need for people to try to help preserve the hunting, fishing, and shooting rights for generations that are coming up. Being involved in different organizations I see that things only happen if people get involved. I believe that I can be a benefit to the organization to help move it forward. I have seen personally the benefits that SCI provides.

I have been in the outdoor industry since 1982.  I started with Burger Bros. Sporting Goods in the Edina store in retail sales for 5 years.  When that store closed in May of 1987, I went up to Alaska and guided for Tikchik Narrows Lodge from 1987 – 1989.  Both as a fishing guide and a duck hunting guide.  I’ve also worked for Orvis and Gander Mountain in sales and buying positions.  I’ve been with North Country Marketing for 10 years as a sales rep.  We rep Browning. Winchester, Vortex Optics, GSM Outdoors, Browning Safes, Umarex and Manzella.  I’ve hunted throughout the US and Canada, as well as two trips to Argentina for ducks and doves and one safari to South Africa in May of 2021.  I am going back to South Africa next year for Cape Buffalo and Sable and a couple of days of bird hunting.

Tom Smith

I am Gordon Jensen, one of the members of the Minnesota Safari Club International Board of Directors.  My main duties are to represent MN SCI at the various outdoor shows around the area.  It is always fun to meet and talk with people to let them know about us here at SCI and what we do.  My day Job is in sales for a building material distributer here in the Twin Cities, however most of my free time is spent in the outdoors, whether it be hunting, fishing, camping or anything else in that realm. 

            I was born, raised and have lived my entire life here in the Twin Cities.  My family has property up in northern Minnesota and with that came my introduction into hunting.  My family has always been a “hunting family,” and over the years we have brought our friends and extended family into the fold.  My dad is a steadfast duck hunter, so growing up that is the majority of the hunting that I participated in.  Hunting with my dad has taken us across the world in pursuit of different wing shooting experiences.  In High school I started to get into deer hunting naturally and from there went on to get several North American species, like elk and pronghorn.  Eventually I plan to hunt in Africa and Europe. 

            I have been involved with SCI in the past, but only on a membership basis.  I joined the board in May of 2022 and have been enjoying my time and work here.  I am proud to work with this group and look forward to all of the things we can accomplish.

After volunteering at the Minnesota SCI Expo for the past two years, I’m excited to now serve as one of its newest board members.

I grew up in Minnesota’s South Metro area, but I spend most fall weekends hunting duck, turkey, deer, and pheasants in Western Minnesota. I’m also an avid bowhunter, often heading to Northwest Wisconsin for that.

Currently, I’m studying Physics at the University of Minnesota and competing on the university’s bass fishing team. We travel across the Midwest to fish in tournaments against other schools. In the summer, you’ll usually find me out on the water, enjoying my free time.

Last spring, I purchased my first South African hunt at the Minnesota SCI Expo with a friend. In the fall of 2025, we’ll head to Limpopo where I plan to hunt an Impala and a Kudu. This will be my first international hunt, and I couldn’t be more excited.

My name is Shane Thome. I am 41 years old and have been hunting and fishing most of my life. I grew up on a large dairy farm in Wisconsin and have a deep understanding of the role we play with nature. My core interests are North American game species, namely elk and deer. I have been an active out-of-state hunter for roughly 25 years. Growing up I was very fortunate to have endless private land hunting opportunities and it wasn’t until I was older that I had to contend with the challenges that public land hunting brings. This is where my interest in SCI comes in. I feel we need to continue to advocate for public game access, game laws that allow interstate transport and harvest limits that rely on science. I’m worried about non-resident access to the western states for both myself and future generations. (See Wyoming’s recent legislation regarding the Big 3). There’s a strong effort afoot to curtail these efforts by small minorities across the country (world). I’m hoping SCI sees it in everyone’s best interest to fight against this.

Personal:

• Four to five trips a year where I can draw tags

• Manage our 1000 acre farm in Wisconsin for deer

• Do not outside of North America, not really interested.

• Have harvested over 35 book animals - bear, deer, elk.

• Married, wife Danielle, daughter Emily (3), son Weston (1), and reside in Plymouth, Minn.

Download a Board Member Application by clicking on the button below and email completed application to mnavarrette@minnesotasci.com.