Hunters and anglers from the area show off the awards they received at the Kindersley Wildlife Federation’s annual fundraising and awards banquet on March 3 at the Kindersley Inn. Back row from left: Layne Wall, Rick Fries, Darrin Johnson, Tim Kachmarski, Jeff Vass, Brooke Kachmarski, Scott Patey, Brad Ginther and Jason Desmarais. Front row from left: Kaylee Allin, Danny Alexander, Tom Ginther, Shaunesy Diemert, Joylene Mann, Kallom Hadland and Jesse Smith.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Kindersley Wildlife Federation (KWF) has been busy with its projects, and a successful fundraiser last weekend will help to support its efforts.
The KWF held its annual fundraising and awards banquet on March 3 at the Kindersley Inn. Approximately 200 people attended the event and, while the fundraising total was not available for publication, organizers say the banquet could be considered a success.
There were several ways for people to keep busy, spend their money and win items over the course of the night. Jeff Vass, the master of ceremonies, welcomed people to the event and he reminded them about the main reason they were all there.
“This is the wildlife federation’s main fundraiser of the year,” Vass said, noting that he wanted to recognize and thank everyone for getting out to support the federation, and all of its programs, activities and members.
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The master of ceremonies called up auctioneer Brian Deck to help determine which five tables would get to eat first. A small set of antlers was sold at auction, and the table with the highest bidder got to eat first. The winning table paid $60 to eat first, and the antlers were passed along to four other tables that each paid $25 to eat.
After the supper, the focus switched to raising money. The event included a live auction, silent auction, raffle tables, gun raffle, $500 cash draw, and special raffle featuring three larger prizes. The federation also had a shooter bar, a new event for the banquet.
The live auction prizes included a Saskatchewan Rush package, Edmonton Oilers and Kindersley Klippers ticket package, vehicle detailing package, gun cabinet, smoker grill, wolf print, turkey deep fryer and a Ruger 10/22 rifle.
After the bids were in, the live auction raised more than $4,300 and the grill fetched the highest price of all items at $1,300. The gun raffle was for a Savage Model 10 rifle, and it required the winner to have the proper acquisition licensing. The silent auction was packed full of items for the eager bidders.
Vass introduced the KWF executive and all of the chairpersons for the federation’s programs. He recognized the members that spearheaded the effort to organize the banquet and he asked the guests to support the businesses that supported the federation and its banquet.
“We couldn’t do this without them, so please support our local businesses that support us,” he said, recognizing that people could find a list of sponsors on their tables and on items throughout the banquet room.
There was a long list of award winners and each of the winners on hand received their awards that night. The game awards are handed out for scores on big game antlers, and for weights when it comes to birds and fish. All awards apply to animals hunted or fished in the year prior to the banquet.
Joylene Mann took home the most lucrative prize of the evening. Mann won the KWF’s Top Big Game Award for a score of 233 and two-eighths on a set of non-typical mule deer antlers. She will wear the Top Big Game Award championship belt until next year.
Mann said she was hunting with her brother near Marengo when she shot the winning buck. She noted that she often hunts with her brother and they were checking out a group of whitetail deer when she spotted the mule deer buck in the distance. Her brother told her it was too small, she said.
The award winner was determined to shoot the buck, but she was nervous and she used her brother’s shoulder to prop up the gun barrel. She warned him to cover his ears before she pulled the trigger. The result was a winning set of antlers.
According to Mann, she felt badly about the winning antler score because she heard that Kaylee Allin, a junior KWF member that had shot a large mule deer buck just days before she shot hers, had non-typical score that was close to hers. Mann said it was nice to beat out the guys, but she would have been happy if Allin had won.
Kallom Hadland, president of the KWF, said in an interview after the banquet that the event sold out and the only the size of the room kept the federation from selling more tickets. He referred to the event’s success.
“I would say we all felt that it was a success,” he said, recognizing the federation did well on the live auction and on several other aspects of the night. “The general consensus for everybody, as far as a fundraising banquet goes, it was exactly what we would hope for. It was good.”
He noted that the federation’s main focus is the gun range south of Kindersley where members are working on projects to build a clubhouse and expand the range. The federation’s second biggest project is stocking perch at the Motherwell Reservoir. The KWF has a new bee project with four hives at the gun range and the federation continues to look for options to stock trout, send people to a camp, and support research and the Fish in Schools program.
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