Aiello is quick to promote hunting of all forms as both an individual supporter and a key team member of Kershaw , a Sportsmen ’ s Alliance Business Partner .
dated . Since then , she ’ s become quite the hunter and can keep up with the men . She ’ s the only person I know , man or woman , to lay chest down in a running creek in winter to crawl into a hollow log and go face to face with a bobcat . She ’ s a trooper !
Tell us about your background , how you came to work at Kershaw and your role with the company .
Around 2011 , I was in my mid-20s and searching for a permanent career path . I saw the rise of social media and knew it was the future of communication . I aimed to obtain a career in digital marketing in the outdoor industry . I knew how far behind the hunting community was in social media compared to environmentalists and animal-rights activists . So that ’ s where I started , volunteering for local hunting organizations and building their social media and email marketing presence . Shortly after , I became the president of the Oregon Outdoor Council ( OOC ). At the time , they were a small and nearly bankrupt organization with no leader . However , with the support of my wife , I built their marketing , communications and fundraising into a powerful local advocacy organization . OOC helped elect pro-sportsman politicians , influenced countless policy decisions , and put the local anti- crowd on their back feet . In 2013 , I was able to leverage my volunteer success into my first full-time digital marketing position . The pinnacle of my goal was reached when I landed a position at Kershaw in 2017 where I ’ m now the marketing manager .
Having worked in the advocacy world , what do you see as the biggest internal and external threats to the sportsman ’ s way of life ?
The threats to our lifestyle are multifaceted . On the one hand , we have the obvious , environmentalists and extremely well-funded animal-rights groups . On the other , we have an evolving and growing society . With the help of organizations like the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance , we fight the anti- crowd fairly well . However , we ’ re not combating a changing and shrinking landscape very well . In 2023 we built 1.45 million new houses , and the demand for new housing is exponentially increasing . The number one reason people quit hunting is because of a real or perceived loss of access to hunting grounds . Even with the hunter population remaining relatively stable , we ’ re becoming a smaller percentage of the population .
You ’ re an individual member of the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance and also brought Kershaw on as a Business Partner . Tell us why you think it ’ s important to support us under both umbrellas .
As you get older you begin to have more money than time , and I ’ m no exception . I don ’ t volunteer as much as I used to , but I can donate more money than I used to . It ’ s a trade-off , at least for me personally . As for Kershaw , our original customer base is traditional outdoor users , hunters , anglers , hikers , campers , etc . We must show our support for their way of life — it ’ s that simple .
SUMMER 2024 41