Delta Waterfowl Provides A Pleasant Vacation Surprise
While at the Mackinaw Outfitters store in Mackinaw City I heard about a new Delta Waterfowl chapter having their first annual banquet. This was a pleasant surprise and I knew that I had to make that event. After doing some begging and pleading with my wife, she decided that she would go with me, if nothing else she got a nice dinner out of it.
I called Mike Scott the president of the chapter and got all of the details, so when Thursday evening rolled around Mikey, my wife and I headed across the Mackinaw Bridge to the Casino for the banquet. The event was held at the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, Michigan just across the Straits. What a beautiful facility, not to mention the gaming!
Upon arrival I met the president of the chapter and talked a while getting to know him. Then I saw a familiar face! Scott Berg, the Regional Director for this area for Delta Waterfowl was there! We talked a while also; I had met him when my hunting buddy Chuck Parr started the Holly Waterfowlers Chapter of Delta Waterfowl. So it was nice to see a familiar face so far away from home. They had some nice raffle prizes to offer and some really nice live auction items. We put our tickets in for the raffle prizes and made a few bids on the silent auction items.
For those of you who don’t belong to a conservation club or group, these auctions help raise money for the organization to do their work. A lot of these groups are also non-profit organizations which allow you to use this for a tax deduction. A portion of the money raised stays at the local chapter level for their functions also. They typically have one big fundraiser per year to keep the chapter going.
Dinner for the evening was white fish or roast beef. They had a great spread of food, which alone was worth the price of the ticket. We spent $90 to get the three of us in for the evening. The price included the dinner, $40 worth of raffle tickets, and my yearly membership and Michael’s youth membership for Delta Waterfowl. The last time I took my wife out for dinner it cost me over $40, so last night was well worth the money.
After dinner the fun began, we had the live auction where I won 2 beautiful Delta Waterfowl framed paintings along with a Remington 597 .22 rifle that was pink camo done special for Delta and the Breast Cancer Society. 70% of the money from the gun went to the local Breast Cancer Society, of course my oldest daughter managed to get that one. Michael won a customized R-n-T duck call in a nice wooden case. There was one young fella who managed to almost get completely outfitted for duck season from the youth table raffle. He won a 20ga youth shotgun, decoys, bags, and other items. I think his parents took him into the casino for good luck! It was an awesome night that was capped off by Scott bringing all the youth up front and letting them hammer their duck calls in front of everyone. There was a good amount of money raised for a great organization that promotes youth, hunting, and hunter’s rights.
Thank you Straits Area Chapter of Delta Waterfowl for a great evening. If you are in the area and are looking for a great outdoor organization to join, give them a shot, you can find Mike Scott’s contact information at www.deltawaterfowl.org you won’t be disappointed!
