By Jack and Kay Danchak
Kay Danchak, Chairperson for the annual Wildgame Dinner and Awards Banquet for the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, welcomed guests to the Kauneonga Lake Firehouse for the 2011 event. Kay thanked the weigh-in stations, the Sullivan County Democrat and those who contributed game and fish for the event, held last Saturday, April 28.
The Hors d’oeuvres consisted of: pickeled pickerel, deviled eggs, venison summer bologna, smoked Mountain lion, striped bass, turkey and bear, bear and venison jerky, venison speedies, corned venison, bear chili and bear gumbo, lox and cream cheese, pheasant tenders, wild game spread and cheese and crackers.
The dinner consisted of roasts of venison, bear, moose, wild turkey breast and Hawaiian mountain lion, venison barbecue, schnitzel, sauerbraten and stroganoff, perch fillets, pulled mountain lion, pheasant breast casserole and pheasant thigh Caribbean jerk with pineapple, salmon alfredo rotini, rabbit, crappie with lemon butter and dill, fried trout, baked ham with apple fennel compote and wild turkey Greek style meatloaf. Sides of coleslaw, mashed potatoes, string beans apple and cranberry sauce accompanied the meal. Cupcakes and beverages were served for dessert.
Awards were presented to the youth in fish and game divisions. Winners were Haylie Barber - perch, J.J. Carovinci - channel catfish, Antal Bercze - brown trout, shad and carp, Jake Yager - pickerel and lake trout, Ethan Morgan - largemouth bass, rainbow trout, crappie and pheasant, Ken Abplanalp and Hunter Flynn - spring turkey and James Schulz - deer. All youngsters received a certificate, a goodie bag and $25 in cash.
The winners of the Fish Division were presented an ice fishing jigging rod and reel, donated by Lou Gocek. A special drawing for a fishing trip to Hunter Lake in Bethel was won by Jake Yager and a gift certificate from Catskill Pheasantry and Sporting Clays was won by Ethan Morgan.
Past Junior Sportsman Award winners present were: 2002 - Andrew Yager, 2003 - J.C. Sommer, 2004 - Jonathan Levy, 2005 - Kristina Millis, 2007 - Josh Campfield, 2008 - Paige LaPolt, 2009 - Jesse Campfield and 2010 - Scotty Herbert. The 2011 Junior Sportsman Award was presented to Ethan Morgan.
The Art Terbush Memorial Knife Award was presented to Chris Kaiser, and the Norm Weiss Memorial Knife went to Joseph Kaiser.
The adult fish division winners were: Chester Stungis Sr. - largemouth bass, Jack Danchak - smallmouth Bass, Barbara Weiss - brown trout, Lisa Schantz - shad, Lou Grocek - walleye and eel, Chris Story - channel catfish, Tom Yager - pickerel and perch, Sara Ingoglia - Crappie, Ken Ingoglia - striped bass, Bill Danchak - brook trout, Bullhead - rainbow trout and carp.
The Adult Game Division winners were: Brian Fisher-Deer (weight), William Abbate - deer (points), Boris Shekhter - bear and Rachael Lindsley - spring turkey.
The $100 donated by the Sullivan County Democrat in the fish division was won by Bill Danchak, and the $100 game winner was Rachael Lindsley. The $300 donated by the Federation was won by Brian Fisher.
A special Frances Loughrey Memorial Certificate was presented to Barbara Weiss. Thank you gifts were given to Sharon Carroll, Linda Loughrey, Paula Barber and Barbara Weiss. President Jack Danchak presented flowers to Linda Loughrey, to Sharon Carroll for the past eleven years, to Barbara Weiss for 28 years and to Kay Danchak for 28 years, with 22 years as chairperson.
President Jack Danchak concluded the program by saying, “Kay, on behalf of the Federation, everyone in this room today and all the past recipients throughout the years, we thank you for putting on this program, and we thank you for the 22 years of memories we will cherish forever.