ESTEVAN - The Estevan Wildlife Federation hosted its 37th annual fundraising dinner, raffle and auction on the weekend. The event brought in close to $40,000, which will help with the organization's many projects and undertakings.
Following the dinner, Wanda Michel, the president of the Estevan Wildlife Federation, opened the auction part of the night. She spoke about their achievements, including a new fish-filleting station at the Boundary Dam, a successful youth summer camp, a terrific Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation convention and more.
Kendra Lainton, who co-chairs the dinner and auction alongside Monica Eagles, said they were happy with the event.
"I thought it went very well. Food was great, people seemed to be enjoying themselves and overall it went very smoothly," Lainton said.
As per usual, Estevan did not disappoint and they had a full house.
"Monica and I both had people contacting us right up until Saturday afternoon asking to come. And even if people couldn't make it they still wanted to donate raffle or auction items," Lainton shared. "And while some expenses are coming in, we are looking at approximately $40,000 raised."
About 90 items, donated by local businesses, organizations and individuals, were available for bidding at different tables around the Wylie-Mitchell Hall. Forty more exciting and often unique pieces were up for the live auction. Bid items included silver bars, Saskatchewan Rush tickets, a semi load of gravel, grain hauling, a local fishing excursion and a larger fishing trip in northern Saskatchewan.
"We were also thrilled to have pork raised and donated by four of our youth members to be auctioned off, which was very popular with the crowd," Lainton noted.
The evening also saw lottery bucks and jewelry raffles, the pick of the litter draw, a toonie 50/50, a mystery key draw and a sleigh of spirits.
Lainton said their raffles are always popular but this year their jewelry draw went exceptionally well. The ping pong ball auction went over great as well.
"We auction off ping pong balls and it acts like an elimination game, and the last person standing gets to pick from a table of different firearms to take home," Lainton explained.
The Estevan Wildlife Federation runs several programs throughout the year, and the funds will help with the expenses. Their fishing tournament is coming up in May at Boundary Dam, and their popular youth camp is slated for August. They also have a school program called FinS (Fish in Schools) that sets up a classroom with all the necessary equipment to hatch trout eggs and raise them until they are big enough to release. And they host an annual awards night to showcase local hunters, anglers and photographers.
The money will also assist with the general upkeep of their shooting range, Rafferty Marina, filleting station, clubhouse and bird-feeding program in the winter.
Putting the fundraising dinner and auction together was a struggle last year as they had two years off due to the pandemic, so they almost had to re-learn how they did things, Lainton said. They were also time-crunched because they were waiting for COVID-19 restrictions to lift. But with that experience in, this year felt more like their normal planning routine, she added.
The 2023 dinner committee co-chairs also thanked everyone who made the event a success.
"Monica and I just want to say a huge thank you. To all the businesses and people that donated money or items for the evening. Thank you to everyone who came out to support this organization. And thank you to our board members and volunteers that helped with the whole planning process and working that evening," Lainton said.
