NFAA Honors Jim Easton with Compton Medal of Honor

From the President's Desk

Greetings fellow archers!

It is with extremely great pleasure that I announce that the NFAA's prestigious Compton Medal of Honor will be presented to Jim Easton. The presentation will be in Las Vegas, on February 17th at the NFAA Annual Directors Banquet. The NFAA Medal of Honor, known as the Compton Medal of Honor, is bestowed sparingly to the entire sport of archery. There have been less than 20 recipients and has not been awarded in over 10 years. The Compton Medal of Honor is considered to be the most highly esteemed award in all of archery.

Following is a condensed biography of Jim, in addition to those listed Jim contributed to the funds to initiate and perpetuate the NFAA Junior Bowhunter Program. This program has been responsible for countless numbers of youth archers. The program is still used today and is available to all NFAA clubs/shops/state associations nationwide.

Jim Easton's father, Doug Easton, founded the Easton Company in 1923. Doug was a craftsman and perfectionist - and he loved archery. Doug Easton's introduction of the first aluminum arrows was born out of frustration with the lack of consistency between each piece of wood he used to make his best arrows. The development of truly consistent arrows was a remarkable breakthrough for the sport of archery. And so began the Easton commitment to always innovate and strive for perfection.

From the time Jim Easton was eight years old, he worked part-time in his father's business all the way through high school. Jim put himself through college at UCLA, earning an engineering degree while working evenings and weekends for his father.

In 1955, Jim left the company and went to work at Douglas Aircraft as an engineer. Jim designed the air conditioning and pressurization system for the first jet Douglas built for commercial use, the DC-8.

In 1960, now an experienced and degreed engineer, Jim rejoined his father's company. He worked in the plant and learned every detail of how Easton products were made. He focused his energy on figuring out better ways to do things and improving the machines and processes. Jim also worked on finding additional applications for Easton's core technology, which was the manufacturing of precision aluminum tubes. And as a result Easton branched out into making very precise tubing for industrial uses, aluminum ski poles, golf club shafts, baseball bats and tent poles.

In 1972 Doug Easton passed away and in 1973 Jim took over as President. In the decades that followed, the business grew and expanded. Jim's unrivaled work ethic and drive for perfection created an environment of innovation and the highest standard of quality. From continually improving aluminum technology to highly advanced aluminum/carbon and carbon composite technology. Easton Technical Products, the archery division of Easton Inc., clearly is an industry leader. On both the archery and team sports sides of the business, the Easton logo and brand have become synonymous with excellence.

Today, Jim Easton is the Chairman and CEO of Easton Inc., one of the largest and most respected high-quality, high-performance sporting goods equipment manufactured in the world. Its subsidiaries include Easton Technical Products Inc., Hoyt USA Inc., Easton Sports Inc., Easton Sports Canada, and Easton Sports Mexico.

Jim's passion for archery is evident in his efforts to enhance the quality of the sport. His drive has not just focused on developing the world's best archery equipment, but developing archery into a sport participated in and respected throughout the world. Especially significant to Jim in his involvement in the Olympics, which began when he was chosen as one of the first Commissioners for the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. He worked from mid-1983 full-time as Archery Commissioner, Vice President of the LAOOC Technology Department, and Mayor of the Athlete's Village at UCLA. He organized the 1983 World Archery Championships in Long Beach, California which served as a test event for the 1984 Olympic archery event.

As part of the 1984 Olympic Games Official Supplier program, Easton Inc. developed three archery ranges in the Los Angeles area. Today, the archery ranges are still supported through the Easton Sports Development Foundation. The company also donated the archery range at the ARCO USOC Olympic Training Center in San Diego.

Jim currently serves as President of FITA, the international governing body of the sport of archery. In 1994 he was named to the International Olympic Committee, where he has worked tirelessly to keep archery in the Olympics. Jim's commitment to this cause allows archery to maintain its positive exposure to millions of people worldwide. In 2002 Jim was elected to one of the four Vice President's positions of IOC, and is one of the three members in the United States. He presently serves on the IOC Nomination Commission and Marketing Commission. He is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Executive Committee and the National Archery Association Foundation Board.

Jim is a member of the Board of Directors of Ambassadors International Inc. and the following not-for-profit boards: the Amateur Athletic Foundation, Kids in Sports, Disney Goals, and the Board of Visitors for the Anderson School at UCLA. In the past, he was chairman, director and member of the Executive Committee of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), chairman of SGMA Baseball and Softball Committee, Vice President and U.S. representative to the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, and on the Board of Directors of People-to-People Sports. He also served as chairman of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and as a trustee at Claremont McKenna College.

Honored by several organizations, he was named Executive of the Year by both the U.S. Baseball Federation in 1986 and the International Baseball Association in 1995, and was awarded the 1997 Meritorious Service Award by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was inducted in the Archery Manufacturers Organization Hall of Fame and the Sporting Goods Association Hall of Fame. He has been awarded the Gold Plaquette - FITA's highest honor, and the Thompson Medal of Honor - the National Archery Association's highest honor.

Sincerely,

Bruce Cull