CULLMAN – Cullman County Ducks Unlimited (CCDU) held their annual banquet Thursday evening at Terry Pines County Club to raise funds for waterfowl protection and wetland preservation. The group fundraised through tickets, sponsorships, raffles and a live auction. More than 200 people were in attendance.
Leading the banquet was Daniel Hassell, committee chair, and Johnathan Shabel, committee member, both of Cullman. Most of the money raised throughout the evening will go to the Mississippi Flyway, according to Hassell. The flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi River from Louisiana to Minnesota and Michigan.
Both Hassell and Shabel expressed thanks to all of the local businesses and sponsors who donated money and items that were auctioned as part of the fundraiser.
“It’s very important to us, as a chapter, to have things come from our city that is producing funds for us,” stated Shabel.
In addition to funding, events like the annual banquet are a way to raise awareness about the local CCDU and their efforts in protecting waterfowl and wetland preservation. The group is actively trying to expand its membership to the next generation and hopes to see many new young people join its ranks in the following months. The group meets once or twice between January and August, and is most active in preparation for the banquet.
The CCDU is just one of many thousands of local chapters of the national organization throughout the country. The Ducks Unlimited (DU) national organization got its start in 1937.
“Determined not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl dwindled beyond recovery, a small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited. Its mission: habitat conservation. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private, nonprofit, waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. DU is able to deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.” (www.ducks.org)
Cullman’s DU mission echoes the national organization’s: “Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl. CCDU's annual banquet raises funding and awareness on a local level.”
For more information or to contact the CCDU, email them at cullmanducks@gmail.com or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CullmanDU/. All donations are tax deductible, as the group is a nonprofit organization.
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