David Figura, of Skaneateles, has been a member of NYSOWA since 2008. He’s currently on the NYSOWA board of directors and one of three vice presidents for the association, representing the Central and Western NY regions.

Vice president responsibilities include participating in NYSOWA board meetings, writing a quarterly column for the NYSOWA online newsletter and assisting with/ organizing NYSOWA conferences and Safaris.

He’s also chairman of the association’s Scholarship Committee and serves on the Nominating Committee for association officers.

A Cornell University graduate, Figura is a retired, award-winning newspaper journalist with more than 40 years of experience as a reporter and editor – mostly working city desk jobs on 5 different papers in Southern California and New York state.

His last newspaper job was as outdoors writer for Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard and NYUP.com in Syracuse, N.Y., covering everything from birding to bear hunting.

He is author of “So What Are The Guys Doing?” The book follows interviews with more than 50 men ages 40 to 60. It focuses on what men are doing – and in many cases not doing – during these years and how it affects their overall happiness and relationships. One of the strong themes is that “Good friends make for a good life.”

Figura has published columns about middle-age men in The Post-Standard and on the websites of nationally syndicated advice columnist Amy Dickinson and the The Good Men Project

He also read many of his columns on WJFF, a public radio station in the Catskills, in addition to creating a “Tales from the Middle Ages” Blog. See his book website and blog entries at: https://davidjfigura.com/

Figura is currently finishing up his second book, “Nobody Likes a Whiny Man,” which once again highlights what he found out following interviews with more than 50 guys – this time, about men ages 60 to 90.

He is also free-lancing for New York Outdoor News and 55-Plus Magazine.

During the past 14 years, Figura said his attendance at NYSOWA Safaris and Conferences have been extremely helpful in generating story ideas, learning from craft-improvement sessions and sampling first-hand this state’s numerous fishing, hunting and other outdoor opportunities.

He has also won more than a dozen writing and photography awards in the NYSOWA EIC contests.

“I can’t stress enough how much my membership in NYSOWA and participation in its various activities has advanced my career as an outdoors writer, along with generating what I know will be valued and life-long friendships,” he said.

David can be reached at davidjfigura@gmail.com