Cassandra Oosterhof needs your help. Her quest is to win the title of Extreme Huntress 2017 but she cannot fulfill her dream on her own.  She needs your help.

What is Extreme Huntress?  It's a competition where women from all over the world are invited to submit a 500 word essay on why they are "the most hardcore Extreme Huntress."

The essays from every participant is scored and the public is invited to vote for their favourite online, which is the contest's current stage.

Given only the top 6 finalists move on to the next stage it is critical to get the required votes, which is why Cassandra is asking for your help.

The Extreme Huntress website explains further.

The Extreme Huntress™ Competition is about preserving our outdoor heritage. Our goal is to create positive role models for women who want to participate in hunting.

With a 50% divorce rate among parents and kids becoming invested in other sports at a younger and younger age, kids may not have the role models or opportunity to start hunting when they reach the legal age to hunt (12 or 14 depending on the state). If mom goes hunting, so will her children, thus preserving our outdoor heritage for future generations.

Now in its 8th year, the competition is wildly popular among contestants and fans. The Extreme Huntress Competition continues to set the bar for serious outdoors women, while at the same time providing positive role models for women who are new to hunting, shooting and other traditional outdoor sports. In addition, by preserving our outdoor heritage for future generations, we ultimately create more conservation stewards for wildlife and their habitat.

The primary goal of the Extreme Huntress Contest is to preserve our outdoor heritage.  The secondary but no less important goal of the contest is to create positive female role models for women who want to learn how to hunt and enjoy the outdoors.

These are goals we can all get behind.

Cassandra Oosterhof is precisely that kind of role model.  She easily embraces the goals of this competition because they are simply her way of life.

"Through my experience as a huntress I have I learned that a successful hunt isn’t just about going out and harvesting an animal, although that is the ultimate reward, it is about everything that happens along the way. It is about spending time in the outdoors away from the hustle of everyday life. It is about the time spent with loved ones. It is about the connection to nature. I have learned to respect animals more than I ever thought possible."

What a great attitude from a young woman who is clearly passionate about hunting and being a role model for other young women.   To learn more about Cassandra's passion for hunting and her dream of being named Extreme Huntress 2017 read her essay at http://www.extremehuntress.com/main/cassandra-oosterhof/.

To me an extreme huntress is a woman who has a passion for the great outdoors and the wildlife that inhabits it. She cares greatly for the conservation of green spaces and animals so that they can remain abundant for generations to come.

An extreme huntress is a woman who stays physically fit and conditioned so she can take on all that the elements and landscapes throw at her. An extreme huntress is a woman who is mentally tough so she can withstand all hunting situations. An extreme huntress hunts so she can eat and provide organic food and have pride it in. She hunts so she can enjoy quality time with family and friends. She hunts because it is instilled in her; it is a part of her human nature.

I hunt for all of these reasons. I hunt not just for something to do, but because it is a part of who I am.

I am an extreme huntress.

Eric Welsh wrote an excellent article on Cassandra's quest in Friday's Chilliwack Progress newspaper.  I highly recommend you read that article in its entirety.

Cassandra Oosterhof wants to win the Extreme Huntress Competition, and she needs your help.  The Chilliwackian is one of 21 semi-finalists in a world-wide challenge, up against outdoors-loving women from Canada, the United States and as far afield as South Africa and Australia.

Oosterhof and the others are gathering online votes between now and June 1, hoping to be near the top when voting closes. The top six will compete in a series of skills challenges at a hunting ranch in Texas, and their exploits will be filmed and aired as a reality show on extremehuntress.com.

Right now Cassandra has only 499 votes.  That will NOT get her to the next round of the Extreme Huntress competition.  The current leader has 1,070 votes, which means she has a lot of catching up to do.  Cassandra is confident the people of Chilliwack can help catapult her into the top 6 though, so she is officially asked for your help!

At the moment she trails 6th place contestant and RCMP Constable Candace Knudsen of 100 Mile House, BC, by 58 votes and those 58 votes prevent Cassandra from moving forward in the competition.  Cassandra must overtake at least 6th position or her dream is dead.

Please help Cassandra Oosterhof make it to the next round of the Extreme Huntress competition.  Vote for her today at http://www.extremehuntress.com/main/2017-voting/.

When you go to the voting page enter "Cassandra" in the search box, click the box to receive email updates from her, if you like, and then enter your email address and click the green "Vote" button.  Click on the link that says ‘send confirmation email’ and then check your email for that confirmation and finally click the link inside that email.

Yes, it's a few steps that will take a minute or two, but isn't that time well spent when it's in the service of a young woman with such an awesome goal?

“You get the adrenaline from the hunt, you work hard to provide organic healthy food, you donate to conservation, you spend quality time with loved ones out in the field and you build a strong connection to nature and the outdoors.”

It's deeply gratifying to see a young woman "get it" when it comes to hunting and conservation, and that's really what the Extreme Huntress Competition is all about.

To recap...

Cassandra Oosterhof needs your help. Her quest is to win the title of Extreme Huntress 2017 but she needs your help to fulfill her dream.  If she is to make the next round of the Extreme Huntress competition she needs you to vote for her today at http://www.extremehuntress.com/main/2017-voting/.

When you go to the voting page enter "Cassandra" in the search box, click the box to receive email updates from her, if you like, and then enter your email address and click the green "Vote" button.  Click on the link that says ‘send confirmation email’ and then check your email for that confirmation and click the link inside that email.

Yes, it's a few steps that will take a minute or two, but isn't that time well spent when it's in the service of a young woman with such an awesome goal?