~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
A near capacity crowd enjoyed an evening of food, drinks and fund raising for the Greene County Gobblers Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Held at Clover Hall on the Greene County Fairgrounds in Jefferson Jan. 31, the event drew more than 100 guests who enjoyed the meal catered by Lidderdale Country Store.
More than $3,600 was raised through the live auction of hunting products, prints, etc. Auctioneer Kevin Lentz cried the sale with committee members serving as hawkers.
Members of the committee in charge of the banquet are Susan Cort, Kevin Devilbiss, Dean Dozier, Jeff Gorsuch, Fred Long, Mike Minnihan and Aaron Sloan.
A silent auction with more hunting merchandise had guests checking the bid sheets frequently to keep their bid on top.
Special recognition was given to the sponsors of the event: Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District; Susan, Steve and Eli Cort; Fred and Sandy Long; Doc’s Stadium Bar and Grill; Home State Bank; Dr Steven and Julie Karber; Countywide Electric; Edward Jones, Dean Dozier and Rick and Karla Janning.
A drawing just for the sponsors was held with Home State Bank, represented by Roger Custer, taking home a nice gun.
Listed as underwriters thanks to their donations were Peoples Bank, Wild Rose Casino and Resort, Muir Embroidery, Cobblestone Hotel and Suites, Jefferson Telecom and Scheels All Sports. There were many other donors who contributed donations and door prizes.
Games and raffles added to the fun and the fund raising. They included a Valentine’s Day raffle featuring jewelry, roses and overnight stay at the Cobblestone Hotel; turkey vest raffle with all kinds of products stuffed inside; ping pong ball raffle that was won by the last ball remaining and a dice game with prizes awarded to the high scores.
Youngsters age 17 and under are eligible for JAKES memberships of NWTF. JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) is dedicated to informing, educating and involving youth in wildlife conservation and the wise stewardship of the nation’s natural resources.
This was the 15th annual banquet in Greene County. Providing assistance from NWTF was Hunter Voigts. He noted the importance of local chapters. The wild turkey population is down 15 percent nationwide. Habitat area the size of Yellowstone National Park is lost each year to development.
Special recognition was given to the sponsors who donated funds to the Greene Gobblers Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Their donations were used to purchase merchandise for the auction at the annual banquet held Saturday night in Jefferson.
A special drawing was held for just the sponsors with Home State Bank drawn from the bucket.
