"For Hunters by Hunters"
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"For Hunters by Hunters" |
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THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER January 2008 By: Dan Ochsner, President, Valley Waterfowl The 2007/2008 Season so far… This year the season started well, but the weather sure did not cooperate until 2008. For a more in depth report on the Valley Waterfowl hunting experience this year, be sure to read Ron Tobeck’s article on Page 4. I want to personally thank Ron for a job well done with hunter applications this year. He has gone way beyond the call of duty to accommodate members this year. He has put in countless hours on the phone, making sure you got a hunt, and we also appreciate the patience of Liz, (Ron’s wife) putting up with all the evenings that they did not spend together. Thank you Liz.
ISE Show
The International Sportsmen’s Exposition in Sacramento is fast approaching. We will be there, stop by and see us. I know many of you take your cameras into the field, because without the picture there are no bragging rights! We plan to show our successful hunters off in our booth, but we need your cooperation. Please email or send me your pictures of successful hunts at our blinds; we will enlarge them and have a photo contest judged by people that stop by. The winner will receive two 6 foot GIBSON’S DUCKBLIND COVERS (retail value $380.00) that we commonly refer to as flip flop covers. These covers (Donated by Carl Gibson) are at all our VW blinds and they provide amazing permanent cover. Carl Gibson is a Valley Waterfowl committee member who has a huge heart and has been a significant contributor to the success of our organization. Send your pictures to Valley Waterfowl, P. O. Box 2299, Lodi, CA 95241, or email them to me @ dan.ochsner@primevest.com no later than January 15, 2008.
4th Annual Sportsmen’s Dinner Our dinner is shaping up to be the best ever. We are very fortunate to have Outback Steakhouse provide the catering again this year. We still have tables available, but they are going fast. The dinner price also includes your annual membership fee. I can’t think of anywhere else that provides Duck Hunting for $35.00 a year.
Membership Survey At our upcoming dinner on March 8th, we will have a short membership survey for you to complete. We want your input to help make this a better organization. If you do not attend the dinner, we will have the survey on our website for 30 days following the dinner so you can download it and mail it in, or you can email it to me @ dan.ochsner@primevest.com.
The benefit of being a Valley Waterfowl member I have not missed a duck season since 1973. For many of my years I hunted refuges, mainly Grey Lodge. It now costs $15.50 a day to hunt at a refuge and you need to be there 2 ½ hours before shoot time. Living in Lodi, this usually requires an overnight stay. In addition, I hunt in Nevada with my son at least 2 times per year at Stillwater. The hunting is usually good, but the walk and standing or kneeling in the water all day can wear me out. I may not always shoot limits at our blinds, but the benefits of a dry blind, stools, a decoy spread, flip flop covers, and no one encroaching on my spot seem to far outweigh the refuge experience.
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