As an outdoor columnist, I try to offer information to outdoors enthusiasts covering a vast, widespread area of communication, and to offer several avenues to endorse and showcase different areas of outdoor recreation. When I can get assistance, I try to appeal to all outdoors people and their interests.
Recently, I wrote articles and made podcasts featuring several outdoors facilities and places the everyday enthusiast might find interesting and possibly want to consider membership in such groups. So far, I have reached out to the National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, the C4 Crew -- also known as the Carroll County Coyote Association -- and I am still trying to contact the Howard County Coon Hunters Association.
I am also hoping to contact a muzzleloader organization. That way, if I am successful, I should be able to promote and endorse several organizations to cover a wider group of enthusiasts. If you have any more suggestions, please reach out to me.
While making some telephone calls, I reached out Ducks Unlimited, and I contacted Wyatt Lucas, the Ducks Unlimited Regional Director for Southern Indiana. I talked with Wyatt and told him I would like to feature an article introducing the readers of my "Outdoors with Bud" column. And if they are interested, I want to schedule a representative as a guest for one of my future "Outdoors with Bud" podcasts.
First off, I must confess that I am not a very well-educated duck hunter. I went only a handful of times with some friends, and even though I did not enjoy as much success as the other hunters in the group, I had fun mixing and meeting an entirely different group of hunters.
That made me realize I was a true amateur, but I knew if I continued, I could become hooked. Sadly, with my work schedule, I had to decide what I could do and could not do.
Ducks Unlimited, established in 1937, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to conserve, maintain, and restore wetlands across the North America. They are a continental organization, meaning they do work in Canada, across the United States, and into Mexico.
One of Ducks Unlimited’s main forms of acquiring dollars is through their event-based fundraising division. Volunteers across the nation come together to form local chapters, and they work, hosting events to raise money for conservation.
The state of Indiana currently boasts around 55 or so active chapters, comprised of roughly 950 volunteers. There is a Howard County Ducks Unlimited chapter. Anthony Hughes and Alan Herschberger are the co-chairs of the chapter.
The committee holds two events a year: a "Gun Bingo" event in the Fall, and a “Gun Bash" event that usually falls on the third Saturday of January. The Howard County chapter raises roughly $33,000-$38,000 a year, with 2024 being just shy of $34,000.
The committee is always looking to bring on new members and to grow their events, so if Ducks Unlimited is something that interests you, please reach out to Tony at 606-682-9676. You can become part of building a new legacy for waterfowl today, tomorrow, and forever!
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