Wait for it…
The Waukesha Chapter!
By Bruce Ross, Executive Director bruceross@wi.rr.com
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s February, 2021 Newsletter edition.
Mike Alaimo accepts the plaque of his chapters “Top Gun” award
The Waukesha Chapter, led by Mike Alaimo, is a perennial contender for this award and indeed, took home the honors again this year. This required a lot more creative persistence than most years, however. COVID restrictions in Waukesha County caused them to break the event’s normal 250-person event into two separate venues – but held on the SAME NIGHT! One of the venues had never been used by the chapter before, bringing a whole new level of complexity to the planning.
These simultaneous events required creative thinking to pull off – including turning the high end gun boards into two separate Class A events that were held simultaneously in the two venues, requiring nearly constant communication between the two separate Masters of Ceremonies (and he got stuck with me as one of them). And of course, the chapter and helper teams were split between the two venues!
Even after that successful event(s), Waukesha would not have taken Top Gun honors unless they had also conducted five distinct Class A raffles, and run the annual Christmas Bash in December. And, in a secret tip for other chapters, Mike’s precision planning spreadsheet helps him know almost-to-the-dollar what the event’s Net Profit will be – BEFORE THE FIRST PATRON WALKS IN THE DOOR! [The spreadsheet can be obtained at the low cost of a single beer. Contact the ED for more information].
Mike and his chapter always demonstrate precision planning, unusual persistence and flexibility, and astounding creativity, but never more than this year. Well done!