Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Illinois Ducks Unlimited [August 2012]
In This Issue
State Chairman Message 1 Contacts 2 Featured Photo 2 State Facts 3
Conservation Corner 3
Events 4 Chapter Spotlight 4 The Chicago Gala 6 The Back Page 11
A Word from Our Chairman Galen L. Johnson, 2012-2013 State Chairman
The Chicago Gala is now history, but what a fun evening it was! Among the distinguished guests were former Governor Jim Thompson and CEO of Caterpillar, Doug Oberhelman. A big thanks to them for co-hosting! There are still some pledges coming in from the event, so the total amount of funds raised has not be determined yet, but I assure you it is substantial. Fall events have begun, and I hope you have “sold out” halls. I would like to mention a couple ideas that will boost the bottom line. First, use the “red line” method on the silent auction. Ask your RD about it if you are not familiar with it. The red line raffle prize could be a decoy, special print, or the 10/30 gun. Another way to increase the bottom line is to obtain underwriters for auction items. Although I have mentioned this idea in past articles, it warrants repeating. This method will reduce any item to zero cost to the chapter and, at the same time, promote local business. Why not add a table card beside the item the night of the event advertising the underwriter? Several chapters have taken a photo of the card with the item and included it in a thank-you letter sent to the underwriter after the event. If you have a chapter that has a strong history of pre-selling tickets and would like to do another DU event, you might consider a gun bash. A gun bash is a large gun raffle for which a limited number of $100 tickets are sold. Because tickets are limited, attendees have a good chance of winning something. This can be a really fun event that doesn’t require much work. I would like to thank each of you for what you do for the ducks. Also, please remember those men and women in the military defending our freedom. Without our freedom, we would not be able to enjoy these types of events. Galen L. Johnson Illinois State Chairman
[August 2012]
Illinois State Contacts
Chairman Galen Johnson
Treasurer Bob Burton
Secretary Bill Sarafin
Greenwing Chairman Pat Killian
Webmaster Jonathan Fields
Regional Staff
NW Regional Director
Brett Brown
Central Regional Director
Jim King
Southern Regional Director
Jon Sturgill
NE Regional Director
Rodney Schlafer
Regional Biologist
Eric Schenck
Featured Photo
Jim King, Galen Johnson, and Todd
Johnson looking quite dapper at the
DU 75th Anniversary Diamond
Event at the JW Marriott in Chicago
This Issue: “Bond... James Bond” Location: Chicago, Illinois Photographer: Mrs. Bond
[August 2012]
Conservation Corner
Illinois DU – A Conservation Legacy
As Ducks Unlimited celebrates its 75th anniversary, it is fitting to look both forward to our future conservation challenges and back to our past conservation achievements. Here in Illinois, DU has developed a great conservation legacy in partnership with other conservation organizations like the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. A quick tally shows that DU has invested more than $6.2 million in cash and donated engineering and biological services in direct partnership with IDNR, resulting in the conservation of nearly 27,000 acres of wetland habitat on IDNR lands across the state. You might be surprised to learn that there are a dozen state fish and wildlife areas that have received more than $100,000 of project assistance from DU. On three of these sites—Spring Lake, Sanganois, and Marshall County SFWAS—DU has invested more than $1 million. These large conservation investments occur when DU purchases a property and then donates it to the IDNR. DU's land program is primarily funded by grants from Chicago-based private foundations like the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, which recently awarded DU a $5 million grant to protect land along the Illinois River. As DU moves forward to meet our future conservation challenges, we expect to see more million-dollar projects like these that benefit the waterfowl and people of Illinois.
- Eric Schenck, Regional Biologist
State Facts
Total Membership
28,110
Greenwings
2,061
Legacy Greenwings
650
Sponsor Members
1,806
Major Sponsors
406
2011 Grassroots Total
$1,891,258
Total Acres Conserved
44,712
[August 2012]
Chapter Spotlight
Williamson County
Lynn Glover, Vice President of the Williamson County Chapter of DU, wrote to tell me about one of their chapter events. On June 23, the chapter hosted a Kids Fishing Day for 9 kids from the local area. The event was held at Area Chairman Randy Brown’s property in Marion, IL. Prizes were awarded for the most fish caught, the biggest fish, and the smallest fish in each age category. Rods and reels were provided, the bait was donated, and the kids and parents were treated to lunch. A state fish biologist performed a fish-shocking demonstration so the kids could see what kind of fish were in the pond. The Williamson County Chapter is hoping to make this an annual event and get more kids involved.
Upcoming Events
South Suburban Sportsman Night Out
Friday, September 07, 2012
Grundy County Annual Banquet
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Banquet
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Champaign-Urbana Dinner
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Orland Park Annual Banquet
Friday, September 14, 2012
Montgomery County-Raymond Dinner
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Highland Annual Banquet
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Sauk Valley Gun Bash
Saturday, September 15, 2012
North Shore - 2012 Season Kick-Off
Celebration
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Tim Bell Memorial DU Banquet
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Blackhawk Chapter Banquet
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Barrington Area Annual Banquet
Thursday, September 27, 2012
For more information go to
http://www.ducks.org/illinois/events/
Carson Haake is all business as he shows Dad, Chris, how it’s done. You go, Carson!
[August 2012]
▲ Manning the check-in station from
left to right are committee members
Lyndal Peebles, Josh Tabor, Eric
Blades (Chapter President), Billy
Mathews, and Randy Brown (District
Chairman).
◄ More winners! From right are the Haake Brothers, Carson and Mason. On the left is Kennedy Rushing. Congratulations!
Erin Mathews caught this nice little
bass. She was one of the winners in her
age group. Good job, Erin! ►
GONE
FISHIN’
[August 2012]
75th Anniversary Diamond Gala Event at
the JW Marriott, Chicago
The shores of America’s Third Coast rang with celebration on June 28 as the Chicago Ducks Unlimited 75th anniversary Gala garnered more than $1 million for the ducks. The evening was hosted by the Downtown Chicago Chapter with assistance from the Lake Forest Area, North Shore, Northwest Suburban, Chain O Lakes, Naperville, and National Area chapters; national board members; Illinois state committee members; and DU staff from across the country. More than 200 DU supporters gathered at Chicago’s JW Marriott for an evening that was uniquely Great Lakes. Attendees watched in awe as Brian Olsen, also known as “Art in Action,” painted a giant canvas with a skyline of Chicago. The room echoed with the sounds of the Rolling Stones and other rock classics as the artist completed the work, which was auctioned off later in the evening.
DU at large board member Joe Mazon thanks attendees for their support.
Brian Olsen, aka “Art in Action,” creates a masterpiece.
[August 2012]
Doug Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc.; Garrett and Amber Patten, Patten Industries Inc.; and Dale Hall, CEO of Ducks Unlimited
George Dunklin Jr., DU First Vice President; Amy Batson, National Director of Fundraising Operations; and Joe Mazon, DU At Large Board Member
Diamond Gala, continued… Guest host and Ducks Unlimited board member Joe Mazon traveled from New Jersey to kick off the event and the fundraising. Auction items included canvases created at the event, tantalizing tastings, and exciting trips. Chicago truly stepped up to celebrate the 75th with spirit and style by putting their financial support behind the organization for the next 75 years. The evening ended on a musical note when the Bill Pollack Orchestra took the stage. Event attendees danced into the night knowing they had 75 years of critical waterfowl habitat conservation behind them and a future that was truly unlimited.
[August 2012]
Troy LaRue, Director of Fundraising and Volunteer Relations, lends a hand with the 75th anniversary handgun, a Ruger Vaquero .45 Colt.
Illinois Regional Directors Jon Sturgill, Jim King, Brett Brown, and Rodney Schlafer looking good in the neighborhood
WANTED: Ducks Unlimited
Chapters
Ducks Unlimited of Illinois still has a few areas without local chapters. If you know anyone in these areas that would be interested in participating in a local DU chapter, contact the Regional Director for that area, your local RD, or the state chairman. Bloomington, Carlinville,
Danville: contact Jim King
Robinson, O’Fallon, Olney:
contact Jon Sturgill
Monmouth, Galena, Galesburg:
contact Brett Brown
[August 2012]
Ducks Unlimited is excited to announce that your chapter now has the chance to earn a handgun
with the official DU logo to use in your fundraising efforts, with zero cost to your committee!
The new Call ‘Em In program officially kicked off on January 1, 2012.
The members you recruit to DU are critical to our mission. In addition to their commitment to
wetlands and waterfowl conservation, they increase DU’s ability to attract advertisers and afford
us critical influence with state and federal legislators.
DU’s Board of Directors recognized that we should be rewarding our chapters that are best at
bringing members in and keeping them coming to events. The new Call ‘Em In program does just
that by giving events the ability to qualify for a no-cost handgun featuring the official DU logo.
In order for an event to qualify, it must:
Generate $5,000 net/net for a dinner event or $2,500 net/net for a non-dinner event
Generate a minimum of 70 members
Have no net loss of members from the prior year’s event
AND have 60% member retention from the prior year’s event members
Events that qualify in 2012 will be awarded the no-cost handgun for their 2013 event!
If you need help with your membership retention and recruitment, you can download a copy of
DU’s Membership Recruitment Manual by clicking here: Recruitment Manual. This guide was
developed by your fellow volunteers across the country, and is full of ideas to help you fill the
halls at your event. More resources are also available at volunteergear.ducks.org or through your
Regional Director.
Thank you for all you do and good luck in this new, exciting program!
[August 2012]
[August 2012]
The Back Page
Hi folks! The heat finally broke up here in
northern Illinois. There’s a hint of crispness in the
early morning air. The acorns are dropping from
the trees and the dogs and I have a bounce in our step and a little more energy
on our morning walks. You can almost smell it in the air. Yes, it’s the fall
banquet season! Everywhere across the state, chapter committees are
ordering merchandise and selling banquet/raffle tickets in anticipation of
their events. I wish you all success in your fundraising efforts. Good times!
There’s another season some of you may also be preparing for—the upcoming
waterfowl season. If you haven’t been working your pups (young and old) to
get them in shape, it’s never too late to start. Morning walks or evening swims
will help shed those extra pounds that added up over the hot summer, when
too many days were spent in the air conditioning. Your pups could benefit
from the exercise too!
Finally, big congratulations go out to Rodney Schlafer and all the staff and
volunteers who put on an outstanding Diamond Anniversary event in Chicago
last month. They raised some serious money for the ducks and had a great
time!
Till next time…
Bill Sarafin Editor 815-440-5494 [email protected]
