DSC The Latest

[Philip Glass]

The saga continues:

DSC Leadership Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dallas Safari Club Announces Russell Stacy as Interim Executive Director

DALLAS, Texas (October 22, 2025) — Dallas Safari Club (DSC), a worldwide leader in hunter-funded conservation, is pleased to announce that Russell Stacy, former DSC Board Director and DSC Foundation President, has been appointed to serve as Interim Executive Director, effective immediately.

Stacy, a longtime supporter and leader within the DSC community, steps into this role as the organization initiates a succession plan for its top executive position following the departure of Rob McCanna, who had served as CEO since January 2025.

“Russell brings a wealth of experience, strong leadership, and a deep understanding of DSC’s mission and vision,” said Ray Mulholland, DSC President. “He is exceptionally qualified to guide our organization through this interim period, ensuring stability and continued progress as we move forward to celebrate DSC’s Convention, taking place this coming February in Atlanta.”

A familiar face to many within DSC and the broader international hunting community, Stacy has co-chaired the DSC Convention for the past four years alongside his wife, Mary Edith. He has served in numerous other volunteer and leadership roles over the years and has long been recognized for his commitment to advancing DSC’s mission of Conservation, Education, and Advocacy. His proven leadership and passion for conservation make him ideally suited to lead DSC during this period.

“I am honored to step into this role and continue working alongside our dedicated board members, staff, volunteers, members, and exhibitors,” Stacy said. “Together, we have accomplished great things, and I look forward to building on that momentum. The future holds exciting opportunities for DSC, and I am committed to advancing our key organizational priorities and to ensuring the future of our hunting heritage.”

Mulholland expressed the Board’s appreciation for McCanna, stating “The DSC Board values the significant contributions Rob has made as CEO. His efforts have been pivotal in guiding this great organization through numerous recent challenges and milestones.”

The DSC Board anticipates a seamless transition and remains confident in the strength of DSC’s management team and dedicated staff. “The entire Board of Directors has full faith and confidence in Russell and our outstanding team to continue advancing DSC’s mission fulfillment objectives,” Mulholland added.

As DSC looks ahead to its 2026 Convention, the organization remains steadfast in its commitment to serve members, volunteers, partners, and the entire global hunting and conservation community with integrity and excellence.

 

[jpr9954]

I met Rob at the DSC Convention in Atlanta and later at the NRA Annual Meeting in April. I liked him and thought he was very open to listening and learning.

 

[mdwest]

Once again, the timing of a CEO departure couldnt be worse.. ATL year two is already looking rather unpromising from what I can tell.. and the likelihood of DSC finding a replacement between now and January I would think is very slim.. and even if they do, the new guy, like the last guy, isnt going to be in the drivers seat long enough to really be of any positive impact by the time the convention doors open..

I'll continue to wish/hope/pray that DSC can find its way out of the mess it has created for itself.. but, if Im truthful.. Ive lost a good bit of faith on that at this point.. The organization cant seem to stop tripping over itself or making poor decisions...

Whether McCanna was a great guy, capable of doing wonderful things or not, etc.. becomes irrelevant and inconsequential at this point for example... the organization hired a guy into the most senior executive position it has that stayed for less than 10 months.. whether he saw things in the organization that made him want to leave, the organization saw things in him that forced them to push him out, or someone else came along and made him a better offer, doesnt really matter.. at the end of the day, DSC made a hiring decision that is of the utmost importance, at a time that is absolutely critical to its future existance.. and that decision didnt work out, thereby it was a poor one...

I also question their choice for Interim Executive Director.. I admittedly DO NOT know him personally... I do know however that his name came up several times earlier this year in threads about DSC, the direction its taken, decisions that have been made, etc.. and that the name was not placed in a positive light..

If I knew I had a PR problem and that a substantial number of my members werent particularly happy with the organization at the moment.. the last thing I would do is put a controversial person into the highest seat in the organization.... If he's the right guy for the interim, cool... let him lead from behind the curtain.. and put a more palatable person in the limelight..

 

[mdwest]

I met Rob at the DSC Convention in Atlanta and later at the NRA Annual Meeting in April. I liked him and thought he was very open to listening and learning.

I never had the chance to sit with Rob or get to know him (thats on me.. I never made the effort).. but based on the little bit I learned about him, I had hope that he would be the right guy to pull the organization back together and put it on the right path..

He walked into a hornets nest in January.. and was a little slow to deliver on some promises early in his tenure.. but he at least appeared to be sincere in wanting to get things ironed out and willing to listen and learn about whats going on and how the organization got to where it is, etc..

 

[wesheltonj]

Agreed, not a good time to change CEO with convention around the corner.

And wasn’t this guy Mr. Stacy’s hand picked CEO?

 

[pilar]

DSC there EGOS are not their Amigos , alienating your members just doesn’t make for a stable environment, it’s happened in just about every organization I have been a committee member , Houston Rodeo, oyster creek ducks unlimited, HSCF, San Antonio DU ,TTHA ,WSF , the queen bee’s are always pretty much uncommunicative with the members and worker bee, sponsors ( them not as much because they are the straw men on the $$$ and are allowed in the loop)
I support the conservation and anti poaching, hunting lobby, but I think I’m done with conventions , and attendance of the circus’s the listed above organizations have created!

This floor plans for Jan 2026 TTHA is proof to me that DSC we full of crap about KBH being the reason why Atlanta is the best place

 

[Surgeon1]

Well after years on being a big supporter of DSC and years of meeting attendance, I cancelled my airline tickets and my hotel this am. I'll go instead to TTHA in Dallas and SCI this year.
I can't face another year of chaos and even if the weather was perfect, I don't care.
Clearly in Jan the weather was a factor for the weekend, but the first two days weather was not a factor
and it was obvious from the start that when we arrived at the convention to pick up our credentials at 8am and there were no lines that it was going to be an issue.
Outfitters and safari operations that I've known for years spent large sums of money to attend and many didn't book a single hunter. This announcement today just put the nail in the coffin for me!

 

[Surgeon1]

At a time when we are being challenged from every direction, for the sport we love and the anti-poaching, conservation and education we support, we don't need this. The recent push started in the Biden administration would have further crippled us but thanks to the current administration with the input of son Don Jr most of it was killed. Last minute they amended the temporary gun export to a limit of 3 guns which the limit from Biden was to be ONE. When the overturn of the rule was to include
no limit, a staffer got 3 gun limit in the new rule.

 

[mdwest]

Well after years on being a big supporter of DSC and years of meeting attendance, I cancelled my airline tickets and my hotel this am. I'll go instead to TTHA in Dallas and SCI this year.

Make sure to set aside some time on Saturday after the show to swing by our house for our annual convention party.. We did one a couple of times during DSC prior to them leaving Dallas, and did one last year for TTHA... we're planning on another event this year during TTHA as well..

We typically have between 40-60 people show up (last year we had 35 despite the weather being horrible, ice all over the streets, etc).. and almost all are AH members.. its a great opportunity to meet board members face to face, etc.. and we always have more food and drink than twice as many people could consume...

We also always have a big stash of door prizes to give away.. last year I think the total value of prizes given away tipped just over $10K..

 

[deewayne2003]

Yeah, I got the email this morning and was unsurprised; I've already got a room reserved for SCI Nashville.

I will not be attending the DSC show until they return to Dallas; I'm a life member and will continue to support the good work they do, I just wish they would get the petty drama behind them and move forward.

 

[mdwest]

Yeah, I got the email this morning and was unsurprised; I've already got a room reserved for SCI Nashville.

I will not be attending the DSC show until they return to Dallas; I'm a life member and will continue to support the good work they do, I just wish they would get the petty drama behind them and move forward.

Im afraid theres a good chance youre never attending again then lol...

SCI owns opening season dates at Kay Bailey (through TTHA) until 2030.. And Im going to bet that they are given first right of refusal to renew their contract in 2030 before those dates are offered up to anyone else.. Assuming TTHA continues to grow and continues to be successful (no reason to believe they wont).. SCI is going to own the Dallas market for the foreseeable future..

The best shot DSC has at returning to TX I think is probably some sort of long term partnership or other arrangement with HSC.. and moving to Houston.. Although Im not sure that really works either..

Assume TTHA continues to grow and continues to be successful, and continues to have their show in the first half of January in Dallas..

How many people are going to travel to Dallas in January.. then hit Nashville in February (SCI).. and then come back to TX at some point in between the two?

I dont see many non Texans hitting two shows in Texas..

And then... how many DFW people are going to travel to Houston for a show, when there has already been an international hunting show in Dallas a few weeks prior?

Or for that matter, how many people in Austin, San Antonio, etc.. going to travel to Houston for a show when they were already at an international hunting show in Dallas a few weeks prior?

Houston certainly has a pretty strong population of international hunters.. plenty to support the annual HSC show..

But Im not sure Houston can carry the load that DSC used to.. not under the current conditions.. The out of staters are going to continue to choose Nashville and/or SCI over DSC for the foreseeable future.. the out of staters willing to Travel to TX for a show are going to have TTHA sitting in the 1st show of the season slot for the foreseeable future and will likely choose it over a joint DSC/HSC show.. and the in staters are going to choose convenience (the dallas folk will stay in Dallas.. and everyone in the cities closer to Dallas will choose Dallas.. while Houston MIGHT attract people from the cities closer to Houston and will retain a good number of their own population..

No matter which way you cut it.. things dont look good for DSC.. theyre going to have to come up with a creative plan and are going to have to execute it flawlessly if they ever hope to return to past glory..

For me (and I admit, I dont have all the information or all the answers).. Id just resign myself to the fact that now that Ive left Texas, returning probably doesnt make a lot of sense.. in an absolute best case scenario I have to go head to head with my largest competitor, SCI, in that state who has more money and more outreach and figure out a way to out market them in a time period when much of my membership is distrusting...

I'd be looking for greener pastures.. somewhere that I could attract a large volume of new members and hopefully attract a large number of people to travel to, to attend my show...

Clearly Atlanta was a bad call... But maybe there is an option in the South East somewhere.. or maybe you put the show on the road for a 5-10 year period and try to market to new audiences all over the country for a while... go to Orlando one year, Oklahoma City the next, Charlotte the year after that, etc..etc..

I dont know what the right answer is... but.. they certainly have themselves in a pickle right now.. moving into another show season without leadership in place.. hosting another show in a less than desirable location.. with a membership that is largely disgruntled that was promised a lot more communication and a lot more open kimono, but hasnt received it.. and from what I can tell, outside of a couple of social media blitzes, really hasnt done much to promote the next show.. which we know they depend on for a huge chunk of their annual revenue requirements..

I certainly wouldnt want to be the CEO that inherits that mess... He/she is going to have to be a rock star.. and the board is going to have to get out of their way.. or its going to be a miserable ride.. and the CEO will be set up for failure..

 

[Doug3006]

I’m certain that the exhibitors will not tolerate another busted show in Atlanta. If they can’t monetize the convention, they’ll cancel their booths. Without the outfitters and other exhibitors, there is no show.

 

[Philip Glass]

I met Rob at the DSC Convention in Atlanta and later at the NRA Annual Meeting in April. I liked him and thought he was very open to listening and learning.

I heard several of his interviews and he did seem to be an excellent guy.

 

[Philip Glass]

Once again, the timing of a CEO departure couldnt be worse.. ATL year two is already looking rather unpromising from what I can tell.. and the likelihood of DSC finding a replacement between now and January I would think is very slim.. and even if they do, the new guy, like the last guy, isnt going to be in the drivers seat long enough to really be of any positive impact by the time the convention doors open..

I'll continue to wish/hope/pray that DSC can find its way out of the mess it has created for itself.. but, if Im truthful.. Ive lost a good bit of faith on that at this point.. The organization cant seem to stop tripping over itself or making poor decisions...

Whether McCanna was a great guy, capable of doing wonderful things or not, etc.. becomes irrelevant and inconsequential at this point for example... the organization hired a guy into the most senior executive position it has that stayed for less than 10 months.. whether he saw things in the organization that made him want to leave, the organization saw things in him that forced them to push him out, or someone else came along and made him a better offer, doesnt really matter.. at the end of the day, DSC made a hiring decision that is of the utmost importance, at a time that is absolutely critical to its future existance.. and that decision didnt work out, thereby it was a poor one...

I also question their choice for Interim Executive Director.. I admittedly DO NOT know him personally... I do know however that his name came up several times earlier this year in threads about DSC, the direction its taken, decisions that have been made, etc.. and that the name was not placed in a positive light..

If I knew I had a PR problem and that a substantial number of my members werent particularly happy with the organization at the moment.. the last thing I would do is put a controversial person into the highest seat in the organization.... If he's the right guy for the interim, cool... let him lead from behind the curtain.. and put a more palatable person in the limelight..

I agree with all of this. More questions than answers it seems at this time.

 

[Philip Glass]

DSC there EGOS are not their Amigos , alienating your members just doesn’t make for a stable environment, it’s happened in just about every organization I have been a committee member , Houston Rodeo, oyster creek ducks unlimited, HSCF, San Antonio DU ,TTHA ,WSF , the queen bee’s are always pretty much uncommunicative with the members and worker bee, sponsors ( them not as much because they are the straw men on the $$$ and are allowed in the loop)
I support the conservation and anti poaching, hunting lobby, but I think I’m done with conventions , and attendance of the circus’s the listed above organizations have created!

This floor plans for Jan 2026 TTHA is proof to me that DSC we full of crap about KBH being the reason why Atlanta is the best place View attachment 721694

This shows over 1800 booth spaces! The KBH is perfectly useable. Thanks!

 

[NDWoods]

Sad times.

Just no telling really what is going on and I have no expectation that Atlanta will ever be a real success.

 

[Philip Glass]

Im afraid theres a good chance youre never attending again then lol...

SCI owns opening season dates at Kay Bailey (through TTHA) until 2030.. And Im going to bet that they are given first right of refusal to renew their contract in 2030 before those dates are offered up to anyone else.. Assuming TTHA continues to grow and continues to be successful (no reason to believe they wont).. SCI is going to own the Dallas market for the foreseeable future..

The best shot DSC has at returning to TX I think is probably some sort of long term partnership or other arrangement with HSC.. and moving to Houston.. Although Im not sure that really works either..

Assume TTHA continues to grow and continues to be successful, and continues to have their show in the first half of January in Dallas..

How many people are going to travel to Dallas in January.. then hit Nashville in February (SCI).. and then come back to TX at some point in between the two?

I dont see many non Texans hitting two shows in Texas..

And then... how many DFW people are going to travel to Houston for a show, when there has already been an international hunting show in Dallas a few weeks prior?

Or for that matter, how many people in Austin, San Antonio, etc.. going to travel to Houston for a show when they were already at an international hunting show in Dallas a few weeks prior?

Houston certainly has a pretty strong population of international hunters.. plenty to support the annual HSC show..

But Im not sure Houston can carry the load that DSC used to.. not under the current conditions.. The out of staters are going to continue to choose Nashville and/or SCI over DSC for the foreseeable future.. the out of staters willing to Travel to TX for a show are going to have TTHA sitting in the 1st show of the season slot for the foreseeable future and will likely choose it over a joint DSC/HSC show.. and the in staters are going to choose convenience (the dallas folk will stay in Dallas.. and everyone in the cities closer to Dallas will choose Dallas.. while Houston MIGHT attract people from the cities closer to Houston and will retain a good number of their own population..

No matter which way you cut it.. things dont look good for DSC.. theyre going to have to come up with a creative plan and are going to have to execute it flawlessly if they ever hope to return to past glory..

For me (and I admit, I dont have all the information or all the answers).. Id just resign myself to the fact that now that Ive left Texas, returning probably doesnt make a lot of sense.. in an absolute best case scenario I have to go head to head with my largest competitor, SCI, in that state who has more money and more outreach and figure out a way to out market them in a time period when much of my membership is distrusting...

I'd be looking for greener pastures.. somewhere that I could attract a large volume of new members and hopefully attract a large number of people to travel to, to attend my show...

Clearly Atlanta was a bad call... But maybe there is an option in the South East somewhere.. or maybe you put the show on the road for a 5-10 year period and try to market to new audiences all over the country for a while... go to Orlando one year, Oklahoma City the next, Charlotte the year after that, etc..etc..

I dont know what the right answer is... but.. they certainly have themselves in a pickle right now.. moving into another show season without leadership in place.. hosting another show in a less than desirable location.. with a membership that is largely disgruntled that was promised a lot more communication and a lot more open kimono, but hasnt received it.. and from what I can tell, outside of a couple of social media blitzes, really hasnt done much to promote the next show.. which we know they depend on for a huge chunk of their annual revenue requirements..

I certainly wouldnt want to be the CEO that inherits that mess... He/she is going to have to be a rock star.. and the board is going to have to get out of their way.. or its going to be a miserable ride.. and the CEO will be set up for failure..

DSC decided a long time ago to try to be the largest show and forgot about everything else. They moved to Atlanta to have space to have the largest show possible. Now we know they could have downsized a bit and kept the show in Dallas. They don't try to get new members since they just let anyone in the door for $20. This burned them with the Atlanta debacle because weather or no weather they didn't have a system to tell them who all was coming ie pre-registering. Changing advertising agencies and CEO's several times is going to compound the pain. What a mess!

 

[dogcat1]

The new guy also just his properties in La. foreclosed upon.
He seems to be broke and seems to have nudged the other guy out.
The mess is getting messier.

 

[deewayne2003]

Im afraid theres a good chance youre never attending again then lol...

SCI owns opening season dates at Kay Bailey (through TTHA) until 2030.. And Im going to bet that they are given first right of refusal to renew their contract in 2030 before those dates are offered up to anyone else.. Assuming TTHA continues to grow and continues to be successful (no reason to believe they wont).. SCI is going to own the Dallas market for the foreseeable future..

The best shot DSC has at returning to TX I think is probably some sort of long term partnership or other arrangement with HSC.. and moving to Houston.. Although Im not sure that really works either..

Assume TTHA continues to grow and continues to be successful, and continues to have their show in the first half of January in Dallas..

How many people are going to travel to Dallas in January.. then hit Nashville in February (SCI).. and then come back to TX at some point in between the two?

I dont see many non Texans hitting two shows in Texas..

And then... how many DFW people are going to travel to Houston for a show, when there has already been an international hunting show in Dallas a few weeks prior?

Or for that matter, how many people in Austin, San Antonio, etc.. going to travel to Houston for a show when they were already at an international hunting show in Dallas a few weeks prior?

Houston certainly has a pretty strong population of international hunters.. plenty to support the annual HSC show..

But Im not sure Houston can carry the load that DSC used to.. not under the current conditions.. The out of staters are going to continue to choose Nashville and/or SCI over DSC for the foreseeable future.. the out of staters willing to Travel to TX for a show are going to have TTHA sitting in the 1st show of the season slot for the foreseeable future and will likely choose it over a joint DSC/HSC show.. and the in staters are going to choose convenience (the dallas folk will stay in Dallas.. and everyone in the cities closer to Dallas will choose Dallas.. while Houston MIGHT attract people from the cities closer to Houston and will retain a good number of their own population..

No matter which way you cut it.. things dont look good for DSC.. theyre going to have to come up with a creative plan and are going to have to execute it flawlessly if they ever hope to return to past glory..

For me (and I admit, I dont have all the information or all the answers).. Id just resign myself to the fact that now that Ive left Texas, returning probably doesnt make a lot of sense.. in an absolute best case scenario I have to go head to head with my largest competitor, SCI, in that state who has more money and more outreach and figure out a way to out market them in a time period when much of my membership is distrusting...

I'd be looking for greener pastures.. somewhere that I could attract a large volume of new members and hopefully attract a large number of people to travel to, to attend my show...

Clearly Atlanta was a bad call... But maybe there is an option in the South East somewhere.. or maybe you put the show on the road for a 5-10 year period and try to market to new audiences all over the country for a while... go to Orlando one year, Oklahoma City the next, Charlotte the year after that, etc..etc..

I dont know what the right answer is... but.. they certainly have themselves in a pickle right now.. moving into another show season without leadership in place.. hosting another show in a less than desirable location.. with a membership that is largely disgruntled that was promised a lot more communication and a lot more open kimono, but hasnt received it.. and from what I can tell, outside of a couple of social media blitzes, really hasnt done much to promote the next show.. which we know they depend on for a huge chunk of their annual revenue requirements..

I certainly wouldnt want to be the CEO that inherits that mess... He/she is going to have to be a rock star.. and the board is going to have to get out of their way.. or its going to be a miserable ride.. and the CEO will be set up for failure..

I believe you are correct about my attendance and agree with what you said in its entirety.

I’ve already got a room for Nashville and plan on attending the TTH show as well.

 

[mdwest]

I believe you are correct about my attendance and agree with what you said in its entirety.

I’ve already got a room for Nashville and plan on attending the TTH show as well.

If you’re in town for TTHA, please make plans to be at my place Saturday night… it should be a nice shindig this year…

I’ll probably post something up late November or early December with specifics..