About RPQRF

Pete Delkus has been the Chief Meteorologist at WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas since 2005. He has over two and half decades of meteorology experience which includes extensive work in severe weather, hurricane forecasting, wind analysis and winter storm prediction. Pete has won 16 Emmy Awards for weather anchoring and special show hosting. Delkus holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) and is board certified by the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association.

Pete’s love for the outdoors began when he was a very young boy hunting alongside his father in the Midwest. Whether it was waterfowl, big game or upland birds, his fondest memories are of quail hunting, which is why he is so passionate about passing this legacy onto his son and others.

In 2005, Pete and his wife, Jacque, along with their kids, Emily and Peter, moved to Dallas and have loved everything about the great state of Texas.

Pete serves as a Trustee at Dallas Baptist University, is a Director of Park Cities Quail Coalition and a Life Member of Quail Coalition.

Stephen Howard grew up in Midland and graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Business.  He is the Founder, President and CEO of Basin Oil & Gas, a privately-funded oil and gas company with a diversified portfolio of energy assets across the United States.  Stephen currently serves on the Board of Ciera Bank and the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and is a member of the Fort Worth Wildcatters and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Stephen lives in Fort Worth with his wife and 2 children.  A lifelong hunter, Stephen can often be found pursuing quail on his family ranch in West Texas with his 3 best friends, his father and 2 brothers.

He frequently travels for pursuit of upland and waterfowl game and is actively involved in multiple conservation efforts.  Stephen founded and serves on the board of the Permian Basin Quail Coalition Chapter, serves on the banquet committee for the Cross Timbers Quail Coalition chapter and is a life member of both Ducks Unlimited and Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Society.

Evan McMordie grew up in McLean, TX where he was brought up as an avid outdoorsman and shooter. His maternal grandfather took him on his first quail hunt at age 7.  He attended Texas Tech University where he was eventually elected treasurer of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Evan met his wife, Kaleigh in 2011 while a Sophomore at Tech.

They were married in 2015. Evan earned a Master’s of Science degree in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech in 2018. The McMordies live in Canadian with their two daughters, Caroline and Madeleine, where Evan is the President and CCO of Golden Spread Wealth LLC. Additionally, Evan is proud to be part of the fifth generation engaged in the McMordie family’s ranching and oil and gas business.

Evan and his family are proud members of First Presbyterian Church in Canadian, where he and Kaleigh serve on several boards. They are also honored to serve Canadian by being involved with the local meals on wheels lunch time delivery. He is 2015 graduate of Quail masters, a lifetime member of Park Cities Quail Coalition, a long-time private pilot, and recreational breeder of American Brittanys.

Evan credits his pre-occupation with quail hunting to his uncle Charlie and thanks him every chance he gets for keeping him engaged in the “sport of kings.”

P. Raymond Morrow lives in Dallas with his wife, Maggie, and their three boys Brit, Doak and John Parker.  He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University.   Raymond is a Partner at Coronado Resources. Coronado has acquired and manages over 200,000 mineral acres, primarily in Texas and Louisiana.

In 2005, Pete and his wife, Jacque, along with their kids, Emily and Peter, moved to Dallas and have loved everything about the great state of Texas.

Pete serves as a Trustee at Dallas Baptist University, is a Director of Park Cities Quail Coalition and a Life Member of Quail Coalition.

O’Shaughnessy, a native of Zimbabwe, earned a Ph. D. in Wildlife Ecology from Southern Illinois University in 2014 followed by a postdoctoral research faculty appointment with Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University. He has spent the past several years as an Orvis-endorsed quail hunting outfitter in west Texas.

Joe Crafton, President of the Board for the Foundation, remarked “we are very excited to have Dr. O’Shaughnessy on our team to head up our quail research efforts. Ryan has the training, skills and passion for quail hunting to help us expand our efforts in quail conservation in Texas.”

“And he feeds 27 bird dogs” continued Crafton, “so, you know he’s deeply vested in our mission to preserve Texas’ wild quail hunting heritage. That’s an important linkage for us as we rely almost solely upon donations from quail hunters to fuel our efforts.”

O’Shaugnessy also earned a Masters of Business Administration during his time at Sul Ross, expertise that will no doubt prove useful to the Foundation’s goals.

“I feel that this job position was written just for me—I could literally check all the boxes. I am really looking forward to this opportunity and to visiting with our stakeholders” said O’Shaughnessy.

“Being an avid quail hunter and conservationist, I look forward to the opportunity to serve in a role allowing me to provide a greater good to quail hunting and conservation within Texas”.

Dr. Dale Rollins founded RPQRF in 2007 and served as its executive director until 2021. A native of Hollis, Oklahoma, Dr. Rollins earned his BS from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, his MS Degree from Oklahoma State University (studying bobwhite and scaled quail in his home county), and his PhD from Texas Tech University. He also served as Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension in San Angelo from 1987-2013.

Dr. Rollins retired from Texas Agrilife Extension Service in August 2013, but returned as the Program Coordinator for Texas A&M’s “Reversing the Quail Decline” initiative. He also founded the Texas Brigades program in 1992 and has taught a dozen sessions of QuailMasters, an annual 12-day course on quail and quail habitat held at various locations across the state.

Dr. Rollins has received numerous awards including being inducted into the Texas Conservation Hall of Fame in 2018, named a ‘Hero of Conservation” by Field & Stream Magazine, named a “Quail Crusader” by Outdoor Life, and winning the National Quail Calling Championship from Quail Unlimited in 2002.

Dan is a native Texan, born in Lubbock and grew up in Dallas. Dan was introduced to hunting and fishing at a very early age. But of all the game species he was exposed to wild quail stood head and shoulders above the rest. Dan happily concedes his childhood duty of caring for an ever-evolving string of 4-6 English Pointers likely influenced his passion for the art of quail hunting. Dan credits these early childhood adventures with cementing his passion for the outdoors and focusing his desire to learn everything possible about wildlife.

Dan earned a Bachelor and Masters in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University in 1991 and 1994, and a Ph.D. in Biology/Ecology from Utah State University in 2001. In previous jobs Dan worked as a Research Biologist with Maryland DNR and TPWD on the Gus Engling WMA. For the past 20 years Dan has served as a professor of Biology at Sul Ross State University.

In his spare time, Dan endeavors to keep his 4 German Shorthaired Pointer’s noses into the wind and chasing wild upland game birds across Texas and the western US as much as humanly possible!

Dana has a B.S. in Biology from Tarleton State University and studied Wildlife Management at Texas Tech University. Dana has worked in the Western Rolling Plains for 30 years as a Wildlife Biologist with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Panhandle District. Dana has worked with numerous landowners and written wildlife management plans and provided habitat management recommendations on close to one million acres, educated thousands of people on wildlife conservation, helped with restoration efforts for Rio Grande Turkeys and Pronghorn, conducted wildlife surveys and research for species such as Lesser Prairie Chickens, Pheasants, Quail, Dove, Turkey, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Pronghorn and numerous nongame species.

Dana Wright has received numerous awards including receiving the TPWD Employee Recognition Award for Community Outreach in 1996, the Area I Soil & Water Conservation District Conservation Professional of the Year in 2009, the Joe Kurtz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award from the National Wild Turkey Federation in 2014 and the Fugate Memorial Wildlife Division Professional of the Year Award from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in 2023. Dana and her husband Frank live near Paducah, TX where they manage properties for livestock and wildlife. Dana enjoys ranching, hunting, fishing, photography, and anything outdoors.

Mitchell earned a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. He started his professional career at a ranch in Comstock, Texas. From there, he worked as a technician for Wildlife Systems in San Angelo, and MT7 Ranch in Breckenridge. Continuing his work in the private sector, Mitchell served as Ranch Manager on a ranch outside of Marfa, where he managed cattle and wildlife. Following his work in far west Texas, he worked with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Throckmorton. Mitchell eventually found himself with Quail Forever as a Coordinating Wildlife Biologist. In this role, he worked with federal, state, NGO, and private landowners to promote grassland conservation across the Rolling Plains.

From an early age, Mitchell developed his leadership qualities, attending National Youth Leadership training and later earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Currently, Mitchell serves as a Co-Chair of the Excellence in Wildlife Conservation Committee with the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society and is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigades. Additionally, he is the Habitat Chair for the Big Country Quail Forever Chapter and a James G. Teer Conservation Leadership Institute Fellow.

In his spare time, you can find Mitchell hunting game birds, like dove, duck, and quail. Outside of hunting season, Mitchell enjoys carpentry and spending time in the workshop.

Maya earned a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Texas State University in 2020 and a M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Sul Ross State University in 2023. At Sul Ross, Maya worked as a Graduate Research Assistant for Borderlands Research Institute studying Montezuma quail. Through her research, she investigated unstudied factors potentially affecting Montezuma quail populations, such as feral pigs and extreme weather events in the Davis Mountains of west Texas (Jeff Davis Co.).

Maya grew up in the suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth, often escaping to west Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico to go backpacking with her family. Maya attributes her love for ecology and the outdoors to those childhood experiences. Maya and her husband live outside of Marfa, Texas with their two bird dogs, often running around the wild country of Far West Texas.