Vacationing south of the border proved a fine choice for local waterfowl on Saturday, as Pontiac’s finest duck hunters gathered at Davidson’s Magnum Outfitters for an annual fundraising meal.

With over 120 in attendance, the Pontiac Delta Waterfowl’s gathering was a sold out event celebrating local hunters, complete with games and prizes to be won.

Chapter president Chris Bertrand said the evening is an important event for the group, as it’s a huge fundraiser. Last year it raised $11,000 for Delta Waterfowl, which helps greatly with their local conservation mandates.

Now in it’s fourth iteration, the meal proves to be a hugely successful fundraiser for the Pontiac chapter. Drawing in folks from all over the area, it’s meant to help bring the waterfowl hunting community together while also stimulating an interest in the activity amongst the younger crowd.

To help with this, the group gave away a youth-designed gun and had some activities oriented for their age. One such was a testing out of duck calls, and to add to the fun, the gun was awarded to the lucky guest who had a reed taped within their call. When Anna Sallafranque found hers to appear defective, she took home the 20-gauge youth Benelli shotgun.

But that wasn’t the only gun to be won that night, as the group had six to give away. Chances to win the guns were based on participation in the various games, such as a peg pull.

All of the event’s fundraising supports the group’s various initiatives, from conservation through to education and more.

For some members, like Pembroke’s Alex Hynes, volunteering with Delta is a way to give back and encourage conservation. An avid hunter since he was nine-years-old, Hynes said their winter gathering was also just a great opportunity to socialize, meet more of their community and have some fun.

Bertrand said volunteers like Hynes are what’s really important to keeping the event, and chapter, alive. There’s a lot that goes into the evening and their season, and without reliable help it’d be much harder to pull it all off.

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