By Susan Monteleone
CALLICOON — November 8, 2002 – On November 1, Whitetails Unlimited hosted its very first Sullivan County Whitetails Unlimited Banquet at the Villa Roma Club House in Callicoon, along with the Sullivan County Sportsman Federation.
Whitetails Unlimited is an organization that has set out with a purpose to raise in support of educational programs, habitat conservation and the preservation of the hunting traditions for the direct benefit of the whitetailed deer and other wildlife.
With goal one, a national educational campaign has been designed to address and instill in the general public, with emphasis on youth, a basic understanding of practical conservation measures. With goal two, they promote the acquisition, restoration and management of wildlife habitat and with goal three they preserve the hunting tradition for many future generations.
Whitetails Unlimited began in 1982 and has gained the reputation of being the nation’s premier organization dedicating our resources to the betterment of the whitetailed deer and its environment. Currently the organization has over 68,000 avid conservationists.
Whitetails Unlimited further has raised owe $22 million to be invested in local, state and national projects and programs.
At the banquet, many different hunting clubs and private individuals showed their support for the organization through a dinner and a variety of auctions and raffles throughout the evening.
“This is the first time Whitetails Unlimited has come to the state of New York and Sullivan County,” Jack Danchak, the President of the Sullivan County Sportsman Federation, said. “The Sullivan County Sportsman Federation currently has 100 clubs and over 12,000 sportsman in its ranks.Tonight’s event was to help raise funds for the local habitat programs and to help the whitetail deer in our area. We feed them when the winters are hard and have established a habitat program. The money raise here tonight through the silent auction, public auction and various gun auctions, will be collected and 50 percent of those funds will be returned to Sullivan County. Tonight alone we have over 300 people present at the banquet and for a very first banquet I’m very happy with the turn out.”
Also on hand was Dave Bates of the Whitetail Unlimited Organization.
“Tonight was a great night and very beneficial to the whitetail deer,” Bates said. “We are very happy to be a part of the Sullivan County Sportsman Federation Dinner tonight and we hope to have a long working relationship with them.”