Alan Noack honored

Al Noack was recently honored as Hunter & Bowhunter Education Program Instructor of the Year by Fish, Wildlife & Parks.  Noack began teaching Bowhunters’ Education in 1991 and Hunters’ Education in 1992 and was certified in 1995.
 

“I saw a need for a bow hunter instructor in Ennis. We had a wonderful hunters’ education instructor, but not a bow hunter one. My oldest son wanted to bow hunt with me, so I took him to Bozeman, five nights in a row during the school year, to get certified. 

I was there with him, so I signed up and took the class. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot. By this time, Montana law was, anyone who wanted to hunt with a bow, had to take a bow class.”

Noack went on, “Ennis being a hunting town, I figured it needed a bow class. As I had a bit of coaching experience under my belt, baseball, and wrestling, and my love of hunting, I decided to give it a try. I sent in an application. Here is where I got very lucky. That year Mark Petroni moved to Ennis and he had five years experience already. He  led the class,  became my mentor; he helped me in all the right ways. A year later, Ron Weiser, hunter instructor, asked me to come help him. I did, and over the next three years, he kept asking me to do more. By the third year , he had me in the leadership role.  Before the next year, he passed. He had set in motion that the hunter ed would continue. I wasn't even certified to teach hunters ed, so I sent in the application.”

When asked to ponder about favorite memories, Noack pondered, “Two stories stand out. 

On field day, we allow students to try building a small fire with things they have in their packs. I supply the kindling. I told the class to bring fire starting materials, if they wanted to try. ‘One student asked, how can we trust kids to play with fire?’ It gave his dad and the rest of the class a good chuckle.  

He was serious. It took a bit of explaining on my part. If he passed the class he was going to be trusted to carry a firearm while hunting, so we also were trusting that he would be responsible with fire. “

Noack went on, “In  another class, we had a tiny little girl who had spent a lot of time in the field with her family. A serious outdoor, hunting family. We knew she would do well on the test. After testing, we hand back their answer sheets and go over the questions so they know what they got wrong. I count, and if someone gets that number wrong, they call out. We read it and give the right answer, so they know what they did wrong. She called out on the one she got wrong. 

As I started to read it, I had to stop and ask, ‘You really got that wrong?’ Her dad was sitting with her, so I told him , ‘I need to give her information to the game warden in Dillon, so he can keep an eye on her. Got to keep her from breaking the law.’

I read her the question, it was, ‘Is it illegal for you to use someone else's license?’ Her answer was no. Her dad looked at her and said, “You got that wrong, I think both the warden and I need to keep an eye on you.’ 

She was so sure that she got it right, and we were just giving her a bad time. It took a third time reading to her, that the word was "illegal",  before it became clear that she read it wrong. It was hard to describe the look on her face, except priceless. She started laughing with relief at her mistake.   

In every class we teach, students say some very interesting things, and we all get a good laugh.  It keeps the class fun and not stressful.”

When asked about teaching future hunters, it is easy to see that Noack is still passionate about teaching.  He loves  “To see them willing to get away from their digital devices, and do something most people will never get to do. To watch them handle firearms or bows safely. The expectation they have on their faces when they earn their certification, and they know, from class, that was the easy part. Now the work begins, and they want to do it. To see a second or third  generation continue a tradition us instructors love and still do ourselves today.  Maybe some of them will decide to become  instructors.”

“I want to say thank you to the more than 20 instructors that have helped through the years with these classes. A special thank you to Arch Livezey, for 12 years, and Larry Ball, who this spring will be his 17th year.  To the students and parents, who entrusted us with this important step in their lives,” said Noack.

Thank you to Al from the generations of students you have taught and those you will continue to teach. And a heartfelt congratulations to you!

“If anyone out there would like to become a hunter, bow hunter instructor, let me know, we would like to have you,” Noack closed.