Roger Kirby

Roger H.W. Kirby was introduced to waterfowl hunting in his 20s by his neighbor, Robert W. Daniel, who owned Brandon Plantation in Prince George County, Va. Daniel invited Kirby on a goose hunt and the rest, as they say, is history. Kirby's relationship with Delta Waterfowl is similar. A trusted family lawyer introduced him to the conservation and duck hunting organization in the early 1990s. He quickly found a connection.

"I was drawn to Delta by its professionalism and purposeful mission," Kirby said. "In those days, Delta had initiated the Adopt-A-Pothole campaign, and it seemed a tangible way to make a difference in supporting duck habitat." Kirby, 48, is the president of the Guilford Company, a single-family office with the primary responsibility of providing investment services to a private family. His family foundation began supporting Delta annually in 2011, directing funds toward the Alternative Land Use Services pilot initiative in Canada. Kirby supports ALUS because he knows many of the ducks that hover over Virginia decoys in the fall are hatched in Canada each spring.

"With ALUS, Delta makes a compelling case for private landowners to set aside land to foster breeding habitat," Kirby said. "Fortunately, Delta's efforts have been well received, and ALUS has been recognized as a model partnership between government and private landowners."

With his wife and two children in Richmond, Va., Kirby not only lives the waterfowling lifestyle-a favorite hunt was the first time he shot wood ducks over his Lab, Brandy-but he's passionate about ensuring the duck hunting tradition is passed down to the next generation.

"The greatest advocates of waterfowl are hunters," Kirby said. "Delta Waterfowl continues to help the hunter and connect areas of policy and conservation that have the greatest impact in helping ducks and geese thrive into the future."-Tyler Shoberg

Winter 2014