PSA 2006 Game Banquet
It was a full house at the Peachland Community Centre Feb. 11 for the 23rd annual fund-raising banquet of the Peachland Sportsmenıs Association. Dozens of volunteers cooked and served a wide variety of game meats and fish, organized raffles, draws, auctions and awards, while hundreds of guests enjoyed an evening of food, drink, activities and entertainment. During the evening, Gordie Schimpf of Westbank was presented with the club's top award, Sportsman of the Year, in appreciation for his many hours of effort as membership director and volunteering for projects such as the annual game banquet and Fishing Forever. "Gordie keeps great records for us and is always there when we need a hand" commented PSA president Al Springer. "We had to drag him away from his post to receive the award," he added with a grin.
Other awards presented for top fish and game during the evening included Louis Molloy, for the junior spring salmon; Janelle White, junior wild sheep and junior white-tailed deer; Kevin Wiebe for junior mule deer; Jack Heynsbergen, rainbow trout; Jon Koele, moose; Jerry Kneller, non-typical mule deer; Jerry Sikora, white-tailed deer; and Dan Jenkins received the skunk award. First prize in the club's photo contest went to Ronda Moyneur while Dean Ficociello took second prize.
Guests played games such as the loony toss and loony drop; bid on framed wildlife prints and other silent and live auction items and purchased raffle tickets on thousands of dollars worth of items donated by local businesses. Of particular note were donations made by L&O Jewellery of Kelowna of a diamond ring, 12 massage therapy sessions from Paul Dournovo of Apple Valley Massage in Peachland, a professional teeth whitening kit from the Peachland Dental Centre, a wildlife print from the Evans Gallery, a patio set from Gorman Brothers Lumber and three gift baskets from the Peachland IGA. Valley Glass of Westbank provided all the glass for the wildlife prints in the auctions.
While the meat and fish were prepared by club volunteers under the management of Martha Jenkins, the vegetables and dessert were catered by Peachland's hospital auxiliary and drinks were served up by the Westbank Kinsmen. Volunteers set up a display of wild game mounts ranging from pheasants to wild sheep, moose antlers to bear skins, in one corner of the hall, along with the wild grasses and evergreens that would be their natural habitat.
Last year the club held a Fishing Forever event for the disabled, followed by a regular Wednesday lakeshore fishing evening in Peachland to help young and new anglers learn more about the sport. Both will be repeated this year. Members also commissioned a report on Peachlandıs dam on Trepanier Creek, and removed truckloads of rusted wire from the creek in the canyon, from an early 20th century hydro-electric project for the community. In the upper watershed the club spent thousands of dollars on riparian improvements to a tributary of Trepanier Creek to improve water quality for both fish and people downstream. That project of creek and watershed improvements will continue this year.
The club also offers a CORE course for people interested in hunting, with the next one beginning Apr. 4; and a beginners fly tying course beginning Apr. 24, and running for three nights. Both are in Peachland, and registration is through the Peachland Community Centre. For membership information, contact club president Al Springer at 767-2287.