By Dave Elwing, Secretary and Development Committee Chair
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s October, 2021 Volunteer Newsletter edition.
Waterfowl season is finally here. I hope you’ve had a chance to get out and chase some teal or geese already, if not… we still have plenty of season to look forward to.
Generally, this is the time of year during which we enjoy the fruits of our conservation and wetlands preservation efforts. We’ve acquired new gear at the various banquets, and maybe at August’s Waterfowl EXPO. For those of us fortunate enough to have one, we’ve refreshed our dog’s retrieving skills, and we’ve tuned our shooting skills at the trap, skeet, or sporting clays ranges. Now is the time to make some remarkable memories and to enjoy our days afield.
Now is generally not when we think about WWA banquets, bashes, fundraiser shoots and golf outings, and maybe… just maybe… we should. If you’re reading this, you’ve already demonstrated your interest in waterfowling and that WWA is a source for fueling your waterfowling interests. Are you an ACTIVE WWA member? By that I mean, “Are you a volunteer?” Do you want to volunteer, but there isn’t a chapter in your area? WAS there a chapter, but over the years it fizzled out? Are you interested in helping re-kindle a smoldering chapter or are you interested in hearing about how we can get a chapter started in your area?
WWA released a survey this summer and almost 300 people responded. Several questions we received focused on “Why isn’t there something in my area?” One of WWA’s State Development Committee’s primary missions is the expansion of WWA chapters throughout the state. There are a lot of waterfowlers who do not live in areas where we have active chapters. Expanding our organizational footprint, and thus expanding WWA’s wetlands restoration, education and advocacy, aligns to the input we receive from our members. Without local chapters, we may be blind and deaf to concerns Wisconsin waterfowlers have. Help WWA help you – our members -be heard and represented.
2021 saw many WWA firsts. We organized and hosted the Inaugural Waterfowl EXPO (EXPO 21) in August. We played a very large role in getting the Wisconsin State Waterfowl Stamp price increased so more funds are available for restoration and preservation projects. We will very shortly launch a Planned Giving/Legacy Giving initiative that allows interested parties to gift a portion of their estate to WWA upon their passing (or at any earlier time). The Development Committee initiated monthly interactive Chapter Chair Chats for Chapter Chairs to identify areas they want help with, or to have a chance to share new ideas and troubleshoot problem areas with their peers. The Development Committee also began planning and hosting WWA Meet & Greets.
To date, we had one Meet & Greet in the Wausau area in August and just after waterfowl season (December 11th) we will host a similar event at the Reedsburg Outdoor Club for the Reedsburg, Baraboo, and Wisconsin Dells area. While we have a Baraboo Chapter already, December’s Meet & Greet will focus on recruiting new committee members to bolster that chapter.
Our Meet & Greet format is pretty simple; we plan about a three hour event at a local facility (gun clubs are great, or restaurant back rooms/meeting areas work equally well) during which the Development Committee Chair (Dave Elwing), our Regional Director (Rob Monette), our President (Bruce Urben), and our Executive Director (Bruce Ross) talk with the audience about WWA’s mission, how we raise funds for conservation, how we assist the DNR with things from bird banding to adopting a wildlife area, to planting wild rice, and about our legislative interactions in Madison. Bruce Urben brought several of his hand-carved decoys, including the gunning pair of bluebills that took First Place in the World Carving Competition in 2019 and his single scaup gunner that placed third in 2021, to Wausau’s Meet & Greet. He put on a short demonstration and presentation while the audience enjoyed some food and beverages. The evening resulted in a core group of four new chapter members ready to take on re-starting the Wausau Chapter. If you are in the Wausau area and are interested in a Wausau Chapter reach out to Abe Shinners at (715) 219-1441 or via email at [email]shinners31@gmail.com[/email]. If you want to ensure you don’t miss our noon to 4:00 PM December 11th Meet & Greet at the Reedsburg Outdoor Club, reach out to Marv Tibbitts at (608) 495-3068 or via email at [email]beaglerule1@yahoo.com[/email].
If you do not live in an area where WWA has an active chapter and you think you would like to try and get one started/re-started, feel free to reach out to me, Dave Elwing, at (703) 498-7322 or [email]dwelwing@rcn.com[/email]. If you want to use a different format, I’ll gladly work with you on that, too. We host these events at no cost to the organizers or the attendees. I will work with you and your friends to help spread the word through posters, email blasts, newsletter articles, newspaper articles, and smoke signals if they’ll work. We, WWA, cannot represent you if we don’t know you. We look forward to getting top know you and your neighbors who share the same passion for waterfowling that we do. Please reach out to me.