By Dave Elwing, Secretary and Development Committee Chair
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s November, 2021 Volunteer Newsletter edition.
WWA needs your help if you live in the Baraboo, Reedsburg or Wisconsin Dells area. The Baraboo/Baraboo River Chapter wants to bring on new committee members to help grow the returns that WWA can provide to the area. Marv Tibbitts, who heads up the chapter, has spoken with the State Development Committee about ways to engage more WWA members as well his desire to recruit new blood within the organization.
A WWA volunteer checking wood duck boxes
To that end, we will host a Meet & Greet for any interested parties on Saturday, December 11th at the Reedsburg Outdoor Club located at S2064A Luedtke Road in La Valle. The Meet & Greet will start at noon and run until 4 PM. Pizzas and drinks will be provided for attendees. We ask that you bring some of your favorite hunting stories from this year’s duck season, some ideas about what you would like to see WWA doing in your area, and your willingness to be part of the re-invigorated Chapter.
Guest speakers will address WWA’s mission and our recent actions to fulfill WWA’s role in wetlands conservation, habitat restoration, waterfowling education, and our actions on Madison’s Capitol Hill to defend and preserve our waterfowling heritage within the State. We will highlight recent restoration projects and discuss where WWA plans to go during the upcoming year.
We want to hear your ideas about how WWA can be more effective in your backyard. Local area or river clean-ups are one topic that has already surfaced and is easily accomplished with a little elbow grease. Building, erecting and maintaining wood duck nest boxes or mallard tubes is another way to become involved and increase waterfowling opportunities. Many of us attend at least one fundraiser per year; some of us attend multiple events. These may be banquets, bashes, shoots, or golf outings. The great thing about WWA is that every dollar raised stays in Wisconsin. This is a chance for you to learn more about WWA and to personally make a difference by getting directly involved, and maybe even getting your fingers a little dirty for a great cause… waterfowling!
For more information reach out to Marv Tibbitts at (608) 495-3038 or via email at beaglerule1@yahoo.com.
Also, please feel free to reach out to me if you can’t reach Marv, or if you are interested in having a similar event in your area to start a new chapter, to simply try to grow or re-invigorate an existing chapter, or to get involved in “get your fingers dit=rty” projects. I can be reached at (703) 498-7322 or via email at dwelwing@rcn.com.
We look forward to meeting you on December 11th. Until then, shoot straight and enjoy your waterfowl season!