San Antonio, Texas, Area Chair Liz Weaver came to DU in 2008 at the invitation of her future husband, Levi.

"He wanted to share something with me he was passionate about," Liz said. "Now we're married, and we continue to be engaged with DU because of what the organization stands for and the impact it makes on the land around us."

Liz did not grow up hunting. Levi introduced her to the sport, and she has enjoyed every minute of it since her first hunt.

"Volunteering with DU is important to me because I'm able to give back to something that I enjoy and help ensure our environment is capable of supporting duck hunting for many generations to come," Liz explained. "Through my engagement in fundraising events with my chapter and others, I'm able to help all of our conservation efforts. DU events give people a way to give to a great cause that benefits everyone while having a great time."

An impressively engaged individual, Liz is also active on the School Tours committee for the San Antonio Rodeo, a volunteer with the San Antonio National Association of Women Business Owners, and she and Levi own their own taxidermy business, L2W Taxidermy.

Her time with DU has shown Liz the connection between hunters and conservation. For Liz, Norm Strung epitomized what it is to be a waterfowl hunter in Misty Mornings and Moonless Nights when he wrote, "A symbiotic relationship exists between waterfowl and the waterfowler. The birds provide sport, relaxation and that indefinable something that comes over anyone who's ever watched a flight of canvasback against a gray sky. The hunter, in turn, provides for the well-being and very existence of the birds."

To lay a path that others can follow and grow along is Liz's goal for her DU activities. "I want to help make the San Antonio chapter one of the best in the country, from fundraising success to volunteer recruitment. If we can do that, the people who come after me can do even more to ensure a true legacy of conservation," she said.