Staff Report
The East Hillsborough Chapter of Ducks Unlimited (DU) of Hillsborough County will host its annual Dinner and Auction on Thursday, September 14, at the Plant City Armory located at 4004 Airport Rd. in Plant City. Happy hour starts at 6 p.m., dinner served at 7:15 p.m., with raffles and auctions to follow.
Rich Wheeler said, “For our 30th anniversary Dinner and Auction last year in 2016, we got back to our roots by having it in the Plant City Armory. It was attended by more than 150 local conservationists, sportsmen, sportswomen, and their families. Our goal is to continue to raise money and awareness for habitat preservation. Please plan on joining us again this year at the Plant City Armory.”
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. With the farmland literally ‘blowing away’ during the horrific dust storms of the 1930’s Dust Bowl, Ducks Unlimited was born in 1937 as a first line effort to restore our wetlands. When the veterans returned from World War II, there emerged a ground swell of rank-and-file members who wanted to make a positive difference in the world they had seen so ravaged by war. Through efforts such as the “Duk-A-Nikel” program, individual hunting camps would raise money and contribute it to Ducks Unlimited.
From those humble beginnings, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 14 million acres thanks in part to the contributions from more than a million current supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.
Wayne Tasler, East Hillsborough Volunteer Area Chairman stated, “In January 2017, Ducks Unlimited celebrated 80 years of conservation efforts. Join us as we celebrate 31 years of wetlands conservation and restoration efforts here in Hillsborough County. Get in on all of the action including door prizes, multiple raffles and both live and silent auctions. We’ll have fishing and hunting trips, top quality coolers, limited edition guns, and this year’s hottest DU merchandise available.”
For info, visit their webpage or email wayne.tasler@gmail.com or call 727-743-8810.
