2008 Deer Hunting Weekend Sept 26-28, 2008
Wow, what a weekend this was! This was our biggest hunt yet with 19 hunters from 6 states.
* behind name represents a deer
New hunters were:
Graham Brown-Newell, IA— Ben Schottler-Loveland, CO**
Chelsey Wampler-Bristol, VA— Mitchell Tuttle-Vinton, IA*
Dalton Medhaug-Waterloo, IA— Ty Rassier-St. Cloud, MN*
Cole Madson-Lavista, NE— Seth Robins-Owensboro, KY*
Returning hunters were:
Nicole Hintz-Milford, IA*— Brittney Winter-Aplington, IA*
Nick Bassett-Boone, IA*— Braxton Wiebush-St. Cloud, MN
Ryan Assmann-Alta, IA*— Megan Hoy-Spencer, IA*
Sam Foss-Springfield, MN*— Bryce Wiley-Laurens, IA
Bo Elliott Mitchell-Arion, IA— Hunter Horst- Ruthven, IA
Dillon Dostal-Toledo, IA
Friday is always a big day with hunters arriving, some by air and some by car. The new hunters are outfitted in hunting gear and all hunters have a qualifying shoot at the farm. The evening banquet gets the weekend rolling. The night starts out with a fabulous meal and then we get to meet all the hunters, guides and the weekend speaker. Darlene Wise presents each new hunter with a SYC quilt she has made and the SYC board presents the new hunters with a Hunter’s Bible.
Jeff & Terri Olson from Hoffman Estates, IL were the weekend speakers. Their message was Josh’s Hope. Their son Josh had a life threating illness and they told his story. To check out more on Josh’s Hope you can go to http://www.joshshope.org
Saturday was the 1st day out hunting and was a big feat for our group. Between hunters, guides, drivers and helpers, there were 100 people involved in getting everyone to the blinds. By noon, several hunters had been successful and 5 deer had come back in. The remaining hunters arrived back and then it was time for brunch and devotions. Jeff had devotions with the guys and Terri had devotions with the gals. After devotions, the hunters rested up and visited before going back out for the afternoon hunt. By dinnertime, there were 4 more deer that had come in. What a great day! The evening is finished out with dinner, campfire fun, fellowship, and then off to bed.
Sunday morning, the remaining hunters with tags to fill, headed back out to the blinds. While they were out hunting, volunteers were back at the farm getting brunch ready. When the hunters came back in, there were 2 more deer. Brunch was served and then Jeff had devotions. One of our hunters, Nick Basset, had special music for us. This was a perfect end to a very nice weekend.
The weekend was very successful with 10 hunters harvesting 11 deer. You will have to check out the picture section to see the pictures from the weekend.
A big Thank-You to: all the hunters and their families for spending the weekend with us, the many volunteers for helping out, the guides for taking time out of your busy schedules, the board members for all the long hours getting this all ready, our photographer, Dewey Hughes, Outreach Outdoors cameramen, the many people who opened their homes for the hunters and their families to stay, the landowners, Denny and Kathy Somers for letting us use their farm, Darlene Wise for all the hours on the quilts and all the donors and sponsors for their support. It takes all of you here to make this happen. Thank you all and God Bless you!
Upcoming Events:
Turkey Hunt April 24-26th, 2009