By: Clay Green
Since 1975, the Indiana Hunter Education program has played a vital role in the lives of boys, girls, men, and women across the state to provide them with the skills necessary to become safe and ethical hunters, and are truly passing it on. The dedicated men and women in this program volunteer their time throughout the whole year to ensure that the future of Indiana hunters will live on and live on safely.
These volunteers do not ask for anything in return; however, once a year, the Indiana Hunter Education Association (IHEA) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Law Enforcement Division honor those hard-working men and women with a banquet. Come the second weekend of October, you will find a whole horde of volunteers from across the state gathering at the Pines Evergreen Room in Seymour, Indiana, for the banquet. A night full of laughter, food, awards, raffles, and a very engaging live auction – with a very lively auctioneer.
The doors open at 4:00 p.m. and the crowds begin to filter in. They stop at the check-in table and collect their packets and bidder numbers from Janelle Beck and Jennifer Hasenour before finding a table. Good luck trying to get in and get to a table without being stopped by people along the way. Friends who live on opposite sides of Indiana finally get to see each other and catch up on life while sharing a good laugh. Along the way, they walked down the aisle to see what items were up for the silent and live auction. At the end of the auction table is Stephen Spencer, the man with the wide wingspan. He spreads his wings further than any, giving just a little extra chance for those tickets for the various raffles. After the person playing the games puts either their bidder number or name on the tickets, they drop them off in the raffle buckets.
Before viewing the array of different firearms and bows, one should make a quick stop to visit Brent Headland and enter a chance to win one of the six turkey calls that were partnered with the National Wild Turkey Federation(NWTF). Winning one of these turkey calls gets you entered in the drawing for a Three Rivers recurved bow and a set of handmade arrows by Stephen Spencer.
The battle of who wants it more begins with the silent auction, where people write down their numbers to outbid those before them and win the item they covet the most. Chatting with friends in a room of 190 people gets rowdy; your ears are filled with the sounds of people just enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, your eyes are overwhelmed by the bounty of auction items displayed along the walls, not to mention the sweet yo-yos donated by Flambeau on everyone’s placemat.
The dinner line opens at 6:00 pm to a buffet filled with chicken, ham, roast beef, and all the fixings to go with it. Before people are dismissed to fill their plates, the Pledge of Allegiance, with a special thank you to veterans and first responders, is presented by Roger Hosbrook, followed by a prayer and moment of silence said soulfully by “Pappa” Jim Mahoney. While everyone is enjoying their meals, the volunteers (after eating their own delicious plate) begin to get ready for the evening’s festivities, like the well-oiled machine they are.
1) Bingo balls: check!
2) Mic check: check!
3) Reading Cheaters: Double Check!
After dinner, Tim Beck and Chris Clark presented a ceremonial clock to Brian Cook as a token of appreciation for the great working relationship and friendship for the past twenty-five years in their partnership at Ross Camp between him and the Department. It was also announced by Colonel Steve Hunter that the former Lieutenant Andy Hagerty was promoted to Captain, and his role would be filled by the newly appointed Lieutenant Travis Stewart. Congratulations to both!
The gun drawing came next: six different bundles with at least four different prizes to be picked from by the winner. The emotions run wild during the drawings. Will my number be called? A groan from everyone when Tim does not announce their number. A little bit of jealousy as you see the winner coming forward to claim their prize, followed by a celebratory round of applause, and if you are certain individuals, maybe even some heckling. After the guns and other raffle prizes are claimed, they go off to visit Keith Steward to get their background check completed so they can take their prize home.
Voices begin to settle down, and the microphone is passed off to Hannah Green, who gives us all a breakdown about the 50th anniversary logo and the meaning behind all of the elements. I overheard a few people mention that they learned something, and they were glad she took the time to explain the design; it gave it more meaning and depth than just a pretty logo. As she is talking, the lights are turned down, the projector is brought out, and now is the time that these men and woman of this program get to see their hard work in pictures. The music is loud – you can feel it in your seat and the pictures are bright and vibrant on that screen. The year-in-review video is much more than a picture slide show; it is hours of work digging through a year’s worth of photos taken by the Association’s Marketing Committee at all events. Then take that photo and pair it with the lyrics of a song that is being played. The song has a meaning, mostly that meaning is building camaraderie, friendship, making memories of being outdoors, and, of course, passing it on. Hannah does a great job. Every year, I get choked up at some point during one of the songs, seeing the perfect picture paired up to the lyrics and seeing a child’s face light up from being a part of whatever event is being held. The lights are brought back up while people applaud the video, and the night moves on; it’s a jam-packed evening with a tight schedule. You can’t have a banquet without awards, and that’s just what’s next on our list.
For each district, they are awarded teaching teams, individuals, and Indiana Conservation Officers. In addition to the Hunter Education awards, they also award the Dirk Studebaker Award, President’s Award, and Past President’s Awawrd. Below are this year’s winners:
- District 1: Doug Wise, Officer Dustin Whitehead, Elkhart County Teaching Team
- District 2: Mike Pinkerton, Officer Andrew Harmon, Team Chapman
- District 3: Barbara Trenary, Officer Seth Owens, Carroll County Teaching Team
- District 4: Randy Willmann, Officer Rhett Braun, Henry/Wayne County Teaching Team
- District 5: Kevin Cross, Officer Patrick Labhart, Attica Trapper Education Team
- District 6: Mike Marsh, Officer Scott Johnson, Johnson County Teaching Team
- District 7: Melissa Cushman, Officer Kyle Hembree, Posey County Teaching Team
- District 8: Jason Webster, Officer Robert Klakamp, Floyd/Harrison Unified Teaching Team
- District 9: Charles Worden, Officer Brad Wehner, Laughery Valley Fish and Game Club
- District 10: Mick Perry, Officer Derrick Beamer, Timothy Ferguson & Thomas Olson Teaching Team
- Volunteer of the Year Award Winner: Charles Worden from District 9
- Karl E. Kelley Conservation Officer Youth Camp, Dirk Studebaker Dedication to the Hunter Education Program: Doug Chapman
- President’s Award: Ray Rausch
- Past President’s Award: Roger Hosbrook
As the awards and pictures come to an end, people begin to prepare themselves for the evening’s entertainment: the auction! Ed Boeglin gave the room simple instructions on how the auction works: if you see something you like, raise your hand, and when they get to the number that sounds right, they will let you know you can put your hand back down. It’s pretty simple, really!
Prices are shouted out as the bidding war begins, pitting friends against friends or spouses against spouses. One of the six NWTF turkey calls was sold during the live auction and gave that lucky person a chance to win another great prize. Another hot ticket item, a honey locust bowl, made by Josh Chapman. I’m sure the lucky winner of that bowl found the perfect place in their home for this piece of luxury woodwork.
During the auction, after one of Jim Mahoney’s handmade fox hats sold, he asked for a microphone. He asked the question to the audience, “Who was the youngest person in the room who has taken hunter education class?” and that person was a 9-year-old young lady in the room attending with her father. Jim presented her with one of his handmade. The smile on this young lady’s face filled the room. She wore the hat all evening!
After the auction was picked back up, Ed was back in his groove, wheeling and dealing and pitting bidder against bidder. However, some of them didn’t even have to bid against anyone, Sgt. Kyle Hembree just got to buy $25.00 worth of cookies. I hope he shared with his table! The auction brings laughter and fun to an already eventful night and is the perfect way to wrap up the evening.
The annual banquet is an event that I look forward to every year. It’s the one event where, for the most part, sit around, play catch-up, chit-chat, laugh, and reflect on the year’s hard work. While it’s not the type of “Pines” we all would prefer to be sitting under, the Night at the Pines is always memorable and another way that the Indiana Hunter Education Association continues to “Pass It On.”
View more images from the Indiana Hunter Education Association Banquet
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