Sherry Casswell (left), who is chairperson of the Kindersley Ducks Unlimited (DU) committee, and DU fundraising representative Alan Smith present local DU member Barb Alexander with her service award for 25 years of involvement at the annual DU banquet held this year on Oct. 13 at the Kindersley Inn
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Ducks Unlimited (DU) committee in Kindersley has held its 37th annual banquet, and an eager crowd did its part to support the fun and games on Saturday.
More than 180 people not including committee members were on hand at the DU banquet on Oct. 13 at the Kindersley Inn. While the fundraising total was not available in time to publish, the numbers indicate another successful banquet for the committee, a spokesperson says.
People spent the first hour of the event socializing, perusing the prizes and auction items, playing games and bidding in the silent auction. People enjoyed a tasty roast beef supper, and then they waited for the fun and games to begin.
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The master of ceremonies duties were performed by Alan Smith, a fundraising representative with Ducks Unlimited. Members of the Kindersley Kobras football team were among the group of volunteers helping out. Before supper, Smith mentioned the success of last year’s fundraising banquet in Kindersley.
“These guys here got an award for the top chapter in their region,” he said, recognizing that the Kindersley DU banquet enjoyed its most successful year ever in 2017 and the committee deserved a lot of credit for the success.
Smith asked the committee members to stand, and the crowd gave them a nice round of applause to show appreciation for their efforts. Smith explained the various draws and games to the crowd. The event includes several draws, games, raffle tables and the live and silent auctions.
The prizes and auction items included several guns, hunting and fishing gear, art prints and even a 12-foot tall windmill. The jewel of the live auction ended up being a Tragically Hip laser cut out print that sold for $1,000.
One of the big moments of the night is the High Flyer draw. People bid on 15 DU folding chairs, or different items in other years, and the winning bidders are entered into a draw for a special prize or prize package. The chairs and chances to win sold for anywhere from $350 to $550.
The High Flyer prizes included an Elk Ridge Resort spa package, Carrie Underwood concert package, 2019 Banjo Bowl prize package, remote control Zamboni cooler with refreshments, and an 80th anniversary Browning Silver Semi Auto 12 gauge shotgun.
A total of $7,150 was raised in the High Flyer chair auction. The winning bidders take a number and line up at the front of the room before they are eliminated one by one. Joel Miller was the last person standing, and he picked the shotgun.
The winner of the Pick of the Litter draw gets to choose any live or silent auction item and Amanda Wake, who won, picked the giant yard windmill – a prize sponsored by the Kindersley Wildlife Federation. The Big 3 Raffle has three specific prizes and winner Glen Bitz picked a Terry Redlin print over a swivel rocker recliner and a Winchester rifle.
Each year DU committee members are recognized with service awards and one member received an award this year. Barb Alexander received a special plaque in recognition of her 25 years of involvement on the committee.
Sherry Casswell, chairperson of the local committee, said she wanted to thank all of the donors, sponsors and volunteers that helped to make the event such a success. She noted that it would not be possible without strong support from the community, so she thanked the people who attended the banquet.
“I think it went relatively well,” she said, recognizing that the banquet was a great success and it ran smoothly aside from the odd minor glitch. “I was very happy with our turnout. I was very happy with the evening overall.”
She noted that it was a good year for the event in certain ways, but a challenging year in other ways. Casswell said long-time committee member Dave Burkell was in attendance for every banquet since the beginning, but he was unable to attend this year due to being under the weather.
The chairperson said the committee members all felt as though something important was missing, so they hope Burkell is around to enjoy banquets in the future. The committee also missed the late Frank Colby, a long-time bartender at the banquet.
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