WORKING TOGETHER FOR WILDLIFE

2nd ANNUAL BANQUET HELD AT FEDERALSBURG, MARYLAND

Derrin Moore and friends did it again.  This years banquet fundraiser was even bigger and better than last years.  I attended this banquet and I have never been to a better dinner of this type.  The place was wall to wall people, exhibits, great food ( including venison and oysters appetizers).  The tickets for the event were sold out well before the dinner.  There were several nice guns and guided trips as raffle prizes.  There were items up for bid at both a silent and live auctions.  Art work, hand-carved decoys, cookers, signed prints, sporting goods, hunting and fishing equipment, plus, all manner of other items as door prizes as well.  Will I attend next year?  You'd better believe it!

                             WEB CHANGES UPDATE

Thanks to a nonprofit organization called "What Goes Around.org" a person can now donate to WCEF through a link on our Website.  The link takes you to whatgoesaround.org. You register, and then follow prompts to make a donation.  Whatgoesaround charges a very small fee for this service. Eventually, I hope to have our own merchant account so that we may receive donations directly.

                            NEW DECOY ACQUISITIONS

Just within the last six months we received a donation from a business, Groshe's Lawn Service of Clear Spring, Maryland.  The donation was for construction of a new deer decoy for use in Washington County.  The full body mount was recently completed and put into the field.  It is remote-controlled.  This is a new style approach for us and may help make it convincing to poachers and road-hunters. The mount was done by Mountinman taxidermy in Washington County.  A photo of this may be seen at their website at www.mountinman.com.  

                             MORE TO COME FROM WCEF

We are just starting to see some good donations from the public and from the courts as well.  Several judges and states attorneys are coming over to our side, so to speak.  We have received plea bargain donations from every region except Southern Region.  Darrin Moore in Hillsboro, Davie Robertson and Mike Friend from Gwynnbrook, Greg Bartles, Guy McCartney and Jeff White from Western (and others), and Scott Richardson from Lower eastern shore have all sent donations resulting from plea bargains.  This is an excellent way to obtain money for equipment since the people who are causing the problem are literally paying for it, helping the field officer catch more Poachers.  Way to go guys.  keep up the good work.  We have made up some information packets to give to judges and states attorneys to acquaint them with the mission and goals of WCEF.  If any officer needs an information packet please contact me.

                          THANKS TO THOSE WHO HELPED

I have held out trying to thank all the people who have been helpful to us over the five years since we were organized.  I feared that I would miss someone.  However, I feel pressed to thank some of them. I would like to thank the taxidermists who have made our decoys, namely Vic Kulynycz of LES Region, Collins Taxidermy from the same area, Mountinman Taxidermy of Washington County.  I thank Mr. Robert Cooksey of Frederick County for donating a mounted turkey to create a decoy.  I want to thank Darrin Moore and his friends, and the Federalsburg VFD, who helped put on the fundraising banquets in Federalsburg.  Also, all the businesses and people in that area who helped make them a success.  I would also thank all the officers and their judges and states attorneys, statewide, who worked together to generate funds through plea bargaining agreements.  Also, all the businesses and organizations who they contacted and who helped us along the way.  I would especially thank the Deep Creek Lake Property Owners Association for their generous donation for cellular telephones and service for the officers who perform boat patrol of Deep Creek Lake.

For all the above, I say sincerely, THANK YOU.  If I have missed anyone I do apologize, and say thank you as well.