MEET THE PROFESSIONAL
October 2017
Game Warden Hani Ataya
Mr. Hani Raja Ataya is a Texas Game Warden & Buffalo Wild Wings Franchisee. Game Warden Hani Ataya exhibited heroism and courage during the life-saving search and rescue operations resulting from catastrophic Hurricane Harvey that made landfall on August 25th 2017. Hani worked around the clock in treacherous and dangerous conditions in the cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange rescuing Texans trapped in their homes by flood waters.
In addition to being a successful business owner, with 500 employees working at his Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, Hani is a licensed helicopter and airplane pilot.
Hani is a supporter of professional networking and our mentoring program within our community. We are very excited to feature him as our professional in this month’s installment of our “Meet the Professional” series.
Below are a few questions to help facilitate this interactive connection. At the end of the page you will have an opportunity to post your own questions for Game Warden Ataya.
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Describe your current Occupation & Degree/s and Universities.
- MBA in Entrepreneurial Finance and International Business from Baylor University
A list of any awards/recognitions:
- Multiple Sales & Guest Service Awards for Buffalo Wild Wings 2004-2017
- Multiple Local Community Awards
- Board Member – Goodwill Southeast Texas
- Spindletop Rotary Club
- City of Beaumont Chamber of Commerce Leadership
- NRA Rifle Instructor
- Texas Game Warden Swift Water Rescue Officer
- Texas Game Warden Tactical Boat Operator
- Tactical Emergency Response Officer
Discuss a moment or turning point in your life that led you to your career path:
I have been fortunate in my life. I have had the opportunity to carry out and fulfill two dreams that I’ve held since I was young – owning my own business and having a career in law enforcement. When I was first applying in to college I actually wanted to become an FBI agent. However, my passion for starting a business at the time overpowered the desire to be an FBI agent. I decided to study in the business field. Within a few years upon graduation from Baylor University I had the opportunity to start my own business. It was a small ice cream shop. That small ice cream shop over the years led to me getting in to the Buffalo Wild Wings franchise. It was a huge project for me at the time. It took years before my partner and I started to make any sort of significant money. We made so many mistakes terrible decisions, it’s amazing how we survived during that time. However, we learned from our mistakes, worked our you know what off, and ended up finding a way to make a little bit of money. Once we made a little bit of money, we used it to expand and make a little more. Over a decade we grew the company from 1 location to 8, doing over $30 million in annual revenue. It took a lot of hard work, and sacrifice. For many years I did not live a normal life, constantly working. Over the years we finally reached a point were we hired enough of the right people that the owner workload became less and we could start to relax a little. During this time the thought of getting in to law enforcement started to come up in my mind again.
During our busiest times of growing the business I had the opportunity to volunteer as ride along with a close friend of mine who was a Texas Game Warden. I loved it. Game Wardens are the ultimate Peace Officer. Game Wardens can enforce any laws on the book, but they specialize in Parks & Wildlife Code. Texas Game Wardens have complete freedom of their schedules and they decide what type of Law Enforcement work they want to focus on. The position is also very community oriented. Game Wardens are the lead agency for protecting the public from natural and manmade disasters, whether it is hurricanes or a terrorist attack. It seemed like a great way for me to achieve my dream of working in Law Enforcement, while also doing something bigger than myself by serving the public . At the time, I never thought I would have the opportunity to become one.
Then, sometime in 2015 my business started to operate without me. That’s when I decided this is the time for me to apply to be a Texas Game Warden. It was a very difficult process. The application process was 9 months and had 8 steps. I applied in 2016 for the 61st Game Warden Academy. There were 1800 applicants that applied, but they would only select 53. The application process involved a very difficult physical test including swimming, running, firearms, weights and other exercises , background check, multi-step interview and a health and psychological examination. It was the hardest application process that I know of for a state law enforcement position. Texas Game Wardens are the most powerful Law Enforcement authority in the state, so the department only picks the best. You have to be in great physical condition, intelligent, and be of great moral character to even be considered to be accepted in to the Texas Game Warden Academy. The day I got my acceptance call was one of the greatest days of my life. I could not believe that I was chosen. However, I did not even realize that getting accepted was the easy part. The Game Warden Academy is one of the most difficult in the country, and one that I loved and hated all at the same time.
Discuss a role model or mentor who influenced your career choice:
I can without a doubt give all my successes to my late father, Dr. Raja H. Ataya. He taught me how to work hard, never give up and always fight with everything you have until your last breath. My father lived his life this way and worked until the day he could no longer physically work. He was my inspiration and everything I have accomplished in my life is due to him.
I have also had many mentors in life that have helped me along the journeys I have taken. Any person who has been of a good moral and ethical character is someone I always took inspiration from. Finding someone who is of flawless character is very difficult in life, so when I find someone who resembles those traits I try my best to learn from them. I have been lucky enough to have been in touch with a number of people in my life that have had these qualities, from business associates, community leaders and many Texas Game Wardens.
Do you recall any specific challenges you encountered and overcame?
I have had more challenges to overcome than I can even remember. For years as a business owner, I never knew if we would ever reach that ever important critical time of turning a profit. The one time I remember the most is when we got hit by Hurricane Ike in Beaumont. We only had our Beaumont location at the time. The city was shutdown for almost a month. Our cash reserves had depleted to almost nothing. Our insurance for last revenue had still not kicked in. The city was under a curfew. We had to come up with something fast. We convinced the city to allow us to open during the curfew to serve first responders. For a number of weeks we took care of every first responder in the area for a reduced price. The money we made was just enough to keep us afloat until we got back to normal operations.
Another incident we had was when one of our general contractors embezzled a large sum of money and did not pay any of the subcontractors. We had to come up with a way to appease the various parties and convince them to finish their work until we were able to open and could begin paying them back. It was an ordeal that I never thought we would recover from, but we finally did.
As my life has transitioned from a business owner to a Texas Game Warden, my challenges that I have had to overcome have become even more complex. I have had to find ways to balance my responsibilities of protecting the public and the State resources and my responsibilities of owning a business and answering to my employees and business partners. It is difficult at times, but it is not something I would trade, as I am living my dream right now.
My most recent and one of the most difficult challenges I have had to overcome was the Texas Game Warden Academy. The Academy was grueling. 7.5 months long, isolated in a part of Texas that doesn’t have cell phone reception, away from family with only 2 days off every 2 weeks. It is a test of your physical ability, capacity to memorize large amounts of information in a short time, firearms and tactical training, search and rescue, emergency operations, and community involvement, to name a few things. We do everything in the academy. Study of law, penal code, code of criminal procedures, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Code is just a sample of our material we have to memorize. The academy was of course very physical, with PT sessions taking place up to twice a day. Our days would start at 5 am and many nights would not end until midnight. We are all trained as expert marksmen, which meant 10-12 hours at a time of straight tactical firearms training. We are all trained as combat medics, search and rescue, and high risk operations. There is no doubt about it, the Texas Game Warden Academy is tough. By the time graduation came around, 20% of the class failed out.
Some of the hardest things that I had to endure were Officer Water Survival training and OC spray certification. Texas Game Wardens are the lead law enforcement authority on state waters. There have been 9 Texas Game Wardens that have died due to drowning in the history of the department. So Texas Game Wardens take the water seriously. Officer Water Survival is a specialized month long training that involves all of us conducting a number of drills in the water wearing our full uniforms, body armor and gun belts. Some of the drills we did were things like simulated fighting in the water, tactical water operations, active drowning rescues, and at the end a huge obstacle course that took into account everything we learned over the course. I honestly don’t know how I got past it. We lost 4 cadets during this time that could not complete the course. The single hardest thing for me to do during this time was to tread water for 5 minutes with all of our gear and blackout goggles with our instructors throwing weighted plastic balls at us. We could not float on our backs; we had to fight through it. I thought I was going to drown. But when I finally completed it I had the greatest sense of accomplishment.
The most painful thing I had to endure was getting OC Spray certification. OC spray is the law enforcement version of pepper spray, but much more powerful. To get certified to use it we had to endure the pain of being sprayed in the face and eyes with it and complete an obstacle course while enduring this pain. I have never felt such pain in my life. I thought my face was going to melt off. I completed the course in a very good time, which is amazing because I had to fight every second to get through it. It took three days for my eyes to return to normal and the pain to finally go away.
I think the single toughest thing I actually had to endure during the academy was being away from family and having little communication with them. My father at the time was very sick and it was difficult to be away from him during this time. It was a bag of mixed emotions for me. I was worried about my father, but also was worried for myself wondering how I was going to survive the academy.
The Texas Game Warden Academy is meant to be this difficult. Texas Game Wardens have a motto that we live by, “First in, Last out.” The Texas Game Wardens are always at the lead when it comes to situations of a high stress environment, whether it is responding to a hurricane, terrorist attack, active shooter situation, or any other incident that involves risk to the public, Game Wardens are always there. The mental, physical and psychological demands can be very stressful, so that is why our academy is designed the way it is. It is designed to mimic the real world environment that we face.
The day I graduated from the Academy was the day I swore an oath to defend the public, protect the natural resources of our State, and to do everything in my power including giving my life to defend and preserve the United States Constitution. That day made the months of the academy worth it and the greatest sense of accomplishment overcame me. I was lucky enough that my father was able to be by my side at graduation and share the moment with me before his passing. The feelings were overwhelming and the pride I had on that day is not one I think I will ever have again.
Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
To be honest, I don’t sweat the details of the future. I know if I live my life everyday working the hardest I can and following a strict moral and ethical code, I will be just fine in the future. However, if you want exact details, I hope that I still have a financially successful business, and I am making the best impact I can make as a Texas Game Warden. At the end of the day I just want the world to know I was a good man that found some financial success and served our country, protected the public and preserved the United States Constitution in the best way I know how, as a Texas Game Warden.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in your field?
To give you some more honesty, I still am looking for advice everyday. I don’t claim to be an expert in anything. The only advice I am qualified to give is this: bust your ass every single day of your life, live an honorable life and find a way that you can make a positive impact on your community. Do all this while you build your foundation first and make sure your house and family is secure, but never give up on your dreams. I was 40 years old when I entered the Texas Game Warden Academy.
Lastly, don’t believe anyone that says you can’t do it. When I decided I was going to apply to the Texas Game Warden Academy, I had many people say I am too old, not strong enough, not connected enough, not (fill in the blank) enough. Look, sometimes you can’t do it, no matter how hard you try. But you determine if you accomplish something or not based on you working your hardest and could not do it versus someone telling you you can’t do it and not even try.
I think that’s the best advice I can give.
Ok, one more” lastly”, if you try your hardest and fail, who cares? Try again or try something else. Life is too short for us to get hung up on our failures.
Tell us a little bit about your hobbies outside of your field:
You know, the great thing about being a Texas Game Warden is that my job is my hobby. Texas Game Wardens are awesome. How could I find a hobby that could make me any happier than being a Texas Game Warden?
A Q&A form will be uploaded shortly. In the meantime feel free to send any questions you would like to ask Mr. Ataya to admin@network1017.com
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