Outdoor Mentors has marked the retirement of founder Mike Christensen, who started the group in 2002 to give Kansas young people hunting, fishing and other conservation outings with adult guides. He directed the nonprofit until 2022, then moved into operations and development, and during his tenure the work spread into nine other states and reached thousands of youths.

Board chair Eric Dinger and chief executive Scott Petrie credited him with linking repeated outdoor time to skills, confidence and lasting recreation, and with advancing hunting advocacy plus conservation teaching. Christensen will remain as an emeritus adviser, and staff and directors are creating a lifetime achievement award in his name, with further details later.

Staff, the board, volunteers, partners and families the group serves thanked him for more than twenty years of that effort.