Joey Payeur
If organizers of the Ducks Unlimited banquet and auction were worried about how people would respond to its reprisal, this past Friday showed their fears were unfounded.
The Fort Frances Curling Club played host to the event, which was not held last year due to a lack of organizers, with approximately 175 people turning out to raise more than $30,000 for the Fort Frances branch of DU.
“It went fantastic,” said extremely pleased co-organizer Charles Fisher.
“For not having it last year, it’s as good a turnout as we could have hoped, especially with it being a very busy weekend for a lot of people,” he continued.
“People enjoyed it and lots of people won prizes.
“I think it was definitely a strong enough showing that we can have it again next year,” he predicted.
“It’s always a really good event for Ducks Unlimited here in Fort Frances. We’re very happy.”
Fisher said doing a couple of things in a new way when it came to the prize giveaways seemed to go over well with the crowd.
“We’re grateful for all the volunteers and sponsors who helped make this happen,” he declared.
Rob Watson, DU senior manager of events and volunteer relations for northern Ontario, said the Fort Frances event has continually ranked in at least the top 10 or at worst top 20 in terms of the amount of funds raised for DU throughout all of Ontario.
“It’s a very strong organizing committee here,” praised Watson.
“Usually it’s one or two or three people that do most of the work but, in Fort Frances, it’s a real team effort,” he lauded.
“That’s how they’ve been able to offer such a high-calibre event for 33 years.”
Watson tipped his hat to the entire community for coming out in force despite dealing with such setbacks in recent times like the closure of the Resolute paper mill.
“I know the economy shook things up a bit around here and we also hired Luc Quesnel, the former committee chair from here, to do the same job for us now in Manitoba,” he pointed out.
“It’s a signature event for the town and without a doubt an important event to Ducks Unlimited in Ontario.
“For it to come back on says a lot about all the volunteers, the local support from artisans and crafters as well as businesses,” he claimed.
“It’s far better here than anywhere in northern Ontario.”
Receiving milestone awards for their long-time affiliation with the local branch of DU included Times co-owner Don Cumming (25 years), Kevin Begin (15 years) and Times employees Susan Martin (15 years) and Pam Munn (10 years).
The Conservation Award for local businesses went to Sunset Country Ford, while the Conservation Award for local artists was given to Steve Latimer.
Various Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors were also recognized for their contributions to this year’s event.
Auctioneer Telford Advent also received a gift for being part of the proceedings for many years.
