Saturday, February 2, 2013 Banquet
The annual Arrows & Antlers banquet was another great success. The banquet was once again held on the Saturday of super bowl weekend. All of the members and guests that were present enjoyed the hunting stories and hanging out with fellow hunters.
As usual, the food was fantastic, thanks to Gary Merkes and chef Steve Johnson. This year’s menu featured a variety of venison, elk, turkey, pheasant, shrimp, catfish, bluegill, pike, and walleye. And we washed it all down with 4 – ½ barrels of beer.
Despite the economy, we had another great year of generous sponsor donations and door prizes. The Mathews Drenalin bow was won by Gib Fagen. Fuzzy’s Liquor donated a Bud Light Mini Fridge – the fridge and beer raffle was won by John Gross. Arrows & Antlers and Shawn Arnold from Auburn Ridge donated a Solid Oak 7-Gun Cabinet, which was won by Ken Schmidt. Rob Hill of Nature’s Image Taxidermy donated another free head mount this year – Tommy Kempfer was the lucky winner of that raffle!
We also raffled off $3,300 in cash prizes – those winners were: Kris Hellenbrand ($300), Howie Chaussee ($500), Matt Chaussee ($500), Ron Jacobson ($500), Randy Holguin ($500), Dan Reierson ($500), and Jerry Crook ($500).
The winning buck entries were: 1st place – Gary Merkes (165 1/8), 2nd place – Steve Steiner (146 7/8), 3rd place – Randy Holguin (135 4/8), 4th place – Chase Peterson (122 1/8), 5th place – Jimmy Zbigniewicz (121 1/8), 6th place – Scott Johnson (106 3/8). Because only 6 bucks were entered, 7th place was raffled off for a free membership – which was won by Zach Hampton.
We implemented a few changes at the 2013 banquet. First, the 2014 membership dues will increase to $35/year, due at the 2014 banquet. Second, the buck payouts have increased, and are now (old/new): 1st – $375/$500, 2nd – $220/$300, 3rd – $100/$150, 4th – $75/$100, 5th – $30/$35, 6th – $30/$35, 7th – $30/$35.
The majority of our members paid their dues for the 2013 season – for those who didn’t, your $30 is due by August 1st, otherwise your membership is forfeited to a new member. The waiting list is ever-growing, so please get your dues paid as soon as possible. Thank you to all of those members that paid for next year at the banquet. Also remember that guest spots for the 2013 banquet are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis, for $25 each, paid at the door. If you are interested in reserving a guest spot, please contact Gary Merkes at (608) 837-7813 or gary@arrowsandantlers.com, or contact Tommy Kempfer at (920) 723-2140 or tom@arrowsandantlers.com.
Thank you very much to all the members and sponsors who help make our annual banquet as anticipated and exciting as it is each year. We look forward to another great year of hunting and fellowship!
2012 Buck Entries
From left to right: Front Row – Randy Holguin (3rd), Gary Merkes (1st), Back Row – Steve Steiner (2nd), Jimmy Z (5th), Scott Johnson (6th), Chase Peterson (4th).