From the
I President's Desk
self through college at UCLA, earning an engi neering degree, while working evenings and weekends for his father.
By Bruce Cull In 1955, Jim left the company and went to
GREETINGS FELLOW ARCHERS
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It is with extremely great pleasure that I am able to announce that the NFAA’s prestigious Compton Medal of Honor will be presented to Jim Easton. The presentation will be in Las Vegas. February- 17th at the NFAA Annual Directors Banquet. The NFAA Medal of Honor known as the Compton Medal of Honor is bestowed sparingly and in recognition of out standing contributions to the entire sport of Archen-. There have been less than 20 recipi ents and has not been awarded in over 10 years. The Compton Medal of Honor is consid ered to be the most highly esteemed award in all of Archer}’. Following is a condensed biography of Jim. in addition to those listed Jim contributed 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 of the NFAA Clubs/Shops/State Associations Nationwide.
Jim Easton
Jim Easton's father. Doug Easton, founded the Easton Company in 1923. Doug was a craftsman and perfectionist and he loved archer}-. Doug Eastons intro duction of the first aluminum arTOWS was bom
out of his frustration with the lack of consisten cy between every’ 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 inno vate and strive for perfection.
From the time Jim Easton was eight years old, he worked part-time in his fathers business, all the way through high school. Jim put him10
ARCHEBY February/March 2004
work at Douglas Aircraft as an engineer. Jim designed the air conditioning and pressuriza tion system for the first jet Douglas built for commercial use, the DC-8. In 1960, now an experienced and degreed engineer. Jim rejoined his fathers 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 addi tional applications for Easton's core technolo gy. 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. Jims unrivaled work ethic and drive for perfection created an environment of inno vation. and the highest standard of quality. From continually improving aluminum technol ogy to highly advanced aluminum/carbon and carbon composite technolog}-. Easton Technical Products, the archer}’ division of Easton. Inc., clearly is an industry leader. On both the archer}’ and team sports sides of the business, the Easton logo and brand have become syn onymous with excellence. Today, Jim Easton is the Chairman and CEO of Eston, Inc., one of the largest and most respected high-quality, high-performance sporting goods equipment manufactured in the world. Ils subsidiaries include Easton Technical Products, Inc.: Hoyt USA, Inc.: Easton Sports, Inc.; Easton Sports Canada; and Easton Sports Mexico. Jim’s passion for archer}’ is evident in his efforts to enhance the quality of the sport. His drive has not just focused on developing the worlds best archer}’ equipment, but developing archer}’ into a sport participated in and respected throughout the world. Especially sig nificant to Jim is 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 Athletes Village at UCLA. He organized the 1983 World Archery’ Championships in Long Beach, California that served as a test event for the 1984 Olympic archery event.
As part of the 1984 Olympic Games Official Supplier program. Easton. Inc., developer! three archer}' ranges in the Los Angeles area. Today, the archer}- 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 senes 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 archen- in the Olympics. Jim's commitment to this cause allows archer}' to maintain its positive expo sure to millions of people worldwide. In 2002 Jim was elected to one of the four Vice President’s positions of the IOC, and is one of the three members in the United States. He presently senes on the IOC Nomination Commission and Marketing Commission. He is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Executive Committee and the National .Archon- Association Foundation Board. Jim is a member of the Board of Directors of Ambassadors International. Inc., and the fol lowing 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 chairman, director and member of the Executive Committee of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGM.A), chairman of the 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-lo-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 awarded the 1997 Meritorious Sendee Award by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was inducted into 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 Archer}’ Association’s highest honor.
Sincerely, Bruce Cull