The Lee Roy Gordon Scholarship Grant was established by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association in 1989 to commemorate the spirit and dedication of the late Lee Roy Gordon, a charter member and active participant in the Virginia Deer Hunters Association.

Over $190,000 has been contributed to this fund. The Scholarship grant program has come from proceeds of annual Association banquets, which provide funds necessary to support graduate or advanced undergraduate research on issues relating directly to the study of white-tailed deer.

In January 1996, Ben West, a Master's Degree candidate, was selected as the first recipient of the Lee Roy Gordon Scholarship Grant. The Gordon Scholarship has allowed Ben to pursue a study at the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences/Virginia Tech. The scholarship course administered by Virginia Tech examined the extent and severity of damage caused by deer in Virginia and to develop recommendations to improve management of deer to minimize conflicts between deer and humans. This project is nearing completion and will provide valuable input as the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries completes its revision of the Virginia Deer Management Program.

The VDHA will continue to raise funds for future research studies. The organization is looking forward to a new student working on another project in the near future.