STURGIS - Ducks Unlimited Canada hosted its annual East Central Flyway fall banquet and fundraising auction on Nov. 4 at the Sturgis Community Hall with many raffles, and silent and live auction prizes.
Travis Behning of Regina, fundraising manager for Ducks Unlimited, welcomed everyone to a fun night of games and fundraising.
"The goal and focus for tonight is to raise funds and awareness for conservation of wetlands, water, wildlife and the ecosystem," Behning said. "The Ducks Unlimited mission is to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl.
“These habitats benefit other wildlife, people and our environment,” he said. “We partner with government, industry, non-profit organizations and landowners to get our work done so we can connect people to nature and make a healthier world for future generations. Volunteer support is what makes Ducks Unlimited such a success. Last year, Sturgis's event was the best fall banquet with raising the highest amount in history. All funds raised completely stay in the province and are used to help fund local organizations,” said Behning.
Charlotte Chernyk catered the banquet and proceeds from the bar were allotted towards Sturgis Minor Ball. Karla Gervais (Ukrainetz Auction- Karla’s Auction) was the auctioneer for the live auction portion of the evening.
The evening featured fun raffles and games including: plinko, poker darts, ax throwing, Hi-Lo corn hole, shooter raffle, big 3 and head/tails raffle.
The high-flyer auction featured 15 shoulder bags being auctioned off and the winner received his or her choice of one of the following items: a houseboat package at Tobin Lake, an Elk Ridge Resort Golf and Lodge package for the Banjo Bowl, and a vision travel voucher or a gun and scope banner.
The 2022 Ducks Unlimited committee members are: Carla and Perry Keller, Kristen and Conrad Peterson, Jean Babiuk, Craig Folk, Kim and Derek Ryczak, Brooke Keller, Brayden Ganson, Justin Keller, Ashley Ward, Andrea Tonn, Levi Soltys, Tammy Wenc, Cory Babiuk, Shae Peterson and Drea Beblow.
"Ducks Unlimited have been working hard for 80 years to save Canada’s wetlands. These sloughs, ponds, marshes and bogs play a critical role in maintaining the health of our environment, our economy and our lifestyle. Wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, but up to 70 per cent of wetlands have been lost in settled areas of Canada. More are lost every day," said Behning.
Our mission is to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl, stated the Ducks Unlimited website. These habitats benefit other wildlife, people and our environment. We partner with government, industry, non-profit organizations and landowners to get our work done so we can connect people to nature and make a healthier world for future generations.
Since 1938, we’ve completed more than 11,890 projects and conserved, restored and positively influenced more than 163.5 million acres of habitat. Despite our progress, wetlands continue to be lost at an alarming rate. Conserving wetlands and other natural habitats across North America is a challenge. That’s why we bring together a number of approaches to get it done efficiently and effectively. We conserve, restore and manage wetlands and grasslands to benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people. Our goal is to ensure abundant wetlands and waterfowl for generations to come while improving Canadian lives. Waterfowl are migratory. That’s why our conservation efforts impact diverse areas across the entire country—including your community. said the website.
