Lou Rupp

Lou Rupp is WSF’s longest serving board member and former board chair, who for 11 years oversaw some of the critical changes that have led the foundation to its modern position as the leading conservation organization of its kind. His commitment to wild sheep took root in the early 1980s on his first wild sheep hunt, and since then he has pursued these majestic creatures all over the globe. With 18 sheep of the world to his credit, Lou has hunted in “all the Stans” (Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, etc), China, Spain, New Zealand and in Russia twice. After joining WSF, then known as FNAWS, in the mid-1990s, he knew there was more he was called to do, so when a friend asked him to run for the board, he jumped at the chance.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for sheep and alpine hunting,” Lou says. “At the time, I felt I had earned the right to serve the foundation at a higher level.”

As board chair, his vision focused on taking the organization to the next level by hiring the very best, most passionate professionals to advance wild sheep conservation like never before. The success of Lou’s strategic plan is embodied by the three outstanding leaders the foundation brought on board: CEO and president Gray Thornton, Conservation Director Kevin Hurley (revered by his peers as “the godfather of wild sheep conservation”) and Executive VP for Development Buddy DuVall.

“Now we have the A Team in place,” Lou says. “All of these changes were major steps forward.”

In addition to bringing in top talent during Lou’s board tenure, WSF continued to build on its success by providing permanent support for the Rocky Crate Endowed Chair for Wild Sheep Disease Research at Washington State University. The foundation increased its on-the-ground projects at the state and provincial level to reestablish wild sheep herds and safeguard their longterm survival. Thanks to the friendship Lou enjoyed with Larry and Brenda Potterfield, their company MidwayUSA became WSF’s official sponsor, generously giving $50,000 for three years and creating a lasting partnership that endures today.

“WSF now is one of the very best organizations utilizing dollars for the right causes,” Lou says. “With such respect for the foundation and a lasting interest in wild sheep, my wife Pauline and I felt we deserved to pay something back for something I’ve enjoyed so much.”

With this in mind, Lou and Pauline Rupp established a Legacy gift for WSF in their will. The husband and wife estate bequest demonstrates that you can be firmly dedicated to the future of wild sheep whether or not you regularly see them on the mountain. While she is not a hunter, Pauline has watched Lou pursuing tahr and chamois on New Zealand peaks, but she really got hooked on WSF after attending her first Sheep Show™ convention. Because of the friendships she has cultivated with other WSF members, Lou confides that if he were ever to break his leg before The Sheep Show™ and couldn’t go, Pauline wouldn’t miss it.

The husband and wife team’s joint support for WSF over the years has been widely celebrated. At the 2015 Sheep Show, Lou received the Chairman’s Award, and directly afterward Pauline was called to receive the President’s Award. It was an unprecedented moment to have WSF honor a couple for their service with back-to-back awards on the same night.