SOUTHWEST OUTDOORS CLUB NEWSLETTER Volume 13 Issue 3 May 2017                      Southwest Outdoors Club                                                           P.O. Box 983                Wheatley, Ontario N0P 2P0                           www.swoc.ca             “Working Together To Protect and Improve Our                             Outdoors” President: Dan Reive 322-1213                                            Vice President: Dennis Reive 326-7430 Secretary/Newsletter Editor: Ken Koehler 825-7451 Treasurer: Sheilah Marans 991-7484 Membership Chairman: Leo Wybenga 965-2720 Directors: Jack Szorvas, Larry McDonald, Rob Dietrich, Peter Wood, Gerry Harvieux, Dale Wiper, Dean Ware    Upcoming Meetings General Meeting: May 9. Wheatley Legion. 7:00 p.m. Executive Meeting: May 23. Wheatley Legion. 7:00 p.m.   General Meeting Minutes: April 11, 2017 Attendance: 25 Moment of Silence for the passing of long time club member Allan “Oscar” Tofflemire. Correspondence:

1. Sympathy card sent to the Oscar Tofflemire family.
2. Get well card sent to club supporter Ron Janzen of Janzen Equipment.
3. Information received re: Delta Waterfowl Youth Hunting & Conservation Course (published in newsletter).
4. Small game hunting changes WMUs 1-50 and 53-59 (circulated via email).

Minutes: Moved by Leo Wybenga, seconded by Don Wigle to accept the minutes as printed in the newsletter. Carried. Membership Report: Single- 88 Family- 50 Life- 1 Junior- 1 Total Membership- 140 Old Business:

2. Big Buck Sportsmen’s Show- 60 tables booked with revenue so far of $6970. Leisure Trailer Sales will replace Canadian Tire and sponsor the show for $750. Arena floor marking set for Thursday at 6:30 pm and set up for the show on Friday at 9 am. It was agreed to donate a vendor table to the Canadian Blood Service. 225 ATV tickets sold so far.
3. Raptors Conservancy Show- Wheatley Area P.S. and Tilbury Area P.S. will have shows presented on September 28. Each show is 20-30 minutes with questions and answers to follow.
4. Rainbow release- the fish will be released at 11:30 am on Saturday, May 6^th. Moved by Dale Smith, seconded by Leo Wybenga to add an additional $500 to our original donation, dependent on whether the extra fish can be delivered in one trip. Carried.
5. Nine ATV tickets were sold and Buck Show advertising was distributed at our club table during the Sportsman’s Yard Sale at the Jack Miner Wildlife Festival.

New Business:

1. Chatham-Kent Tourism has agreed to sponsor the Big Boyz Tournament for $1000. They require the C-K logo and name on all advertising, prize boards etc. Final details will be determined at a later date.

Membership Participation Winners- Louie Bondy, Don Wigle. Moved by Brad Kirkpatrick, seconded by Dale Wiper to adjourn. Carried.   Welcome Aboard! Several new members have been added to our club membership since our last meeting, including some who were recruited at the Big Buck Sportsmen Show. Joining our club are: David Bradley, his partner Kimberly Duquette-Thibeault and children Dawson Bradley and Darrien Bradley (Leamington). Jamie Lavallee (Leamington). Mark Tremblay (Stoney Point). Louis and Sonia Comartin and children Dellisle and Nolan (Stoney Point). Thanks for joining and we hope you enjoy your time with the club.   Executive Meeting Minutes: April 25, 2017 Present: Dan Reive, Gerry Harvieux, Leo Wybenga, Rob Dietrich, Dennis Reive, Sheilah Marans, Larry McDonald, Jack Szorvas, Peter Wood. Correspondence

1. Sympathy card sent to the Ron Janzen family.

Membership Report Total Membership- 146 Old Business

1. Big Buck Sportsmen’s Show- paid attendance of 1220. The Kids’ 3D shoot and the trout pond were huge hits. Over 60 trout were caught. Trophy winners will be published at a later date. Thank you letters will be sent to non-member volunteers.

ATV tickets sold out and the winner was John Urban from Wheatley. New ideas for 2018 were discussed: Raise the charge for vendor tables and eliminate vendor door prize donations. 50/50 sellers to be located at a table. Buyers to write name and phone number on the ticket. Out of town winner could be paid electronically, if possible, or mailed.

2. Rainbow trout release on May 6^th at 11:30 am.

New Business

1. Next year’s Big Buck Sportsmen’s Show will be held on April 14^th or 21^st.

Well Done!! Many thanks to everyone who helped with the 2017 Big Buck Sportsmen’s Show. It was great to see so many people (members and non-members) pitching in to help with the many jobs that needed to be managed before, during and after the show. A big round of applause goes out to Co-Chairs Gerry Harvieux and Dan Reive and the committee of Larry McDonald, Rob Dietrich, Dale Smith, Rob Dietrich, Dale Wiper, Dale Holland, and Dennis Reive who spent many hours over the past few months getting things organized and ready to go. Well done guys! Looking forward to 2018 after we have rested up!   Upcoming Events Kids’ Fishing Derby- July 8 Big Boyz Fishing Tournament- July 28^th – August 6^th.   Rainbow Trout Release Saturday, May 6^th. Wheatley Harbour. 11:30 am. 1500 fish (12”-15” and some larger) to be released by the Lake Erie Salmon and Trout Club. This is a joint project between our club and The Wheatley Harbour Authority.   Don’t forget to check the expiry date on your Outdoors Card. Moose Tag Draw Deadline: May 31 Anterless Deer Draw Deadline: June 30   OFAH Annual General Meeting highlights provided by President Dan continued from the April newsletter.   *Youth Hunter Education Scholarships - subsidies are available through OFAH to assist young people ages 12-17 yrs. with the cost of taking hunter education courses. *OFAH Conservation Lottery - in 2016, 305,000 tickets were sold, providing $915,000 in gross proceeds for OFAH programs. Last year, a club in Sudbury sold over 500 books to win the OFAH award. *Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario - the Act is under review and there will be public consultations later this year. OFAH will be asking why taxpayers such as hikers, birders, etc. pay nominal user fees while hunters and fishers pay very high user fees. *Alternate Land Use (ALUS) - a charitable organization of the Weston (grocery chain) family; landowners willing to provide ecosystem services on marginal land (ie. restoration of natural habitats) can get corporate funding to assist with the work as well as ongoing annual payments for maintaining the habitat. Visit alus.ca for more details. *OFAH Student Research Program - provides up to $4,000 towards university students' research programs. Matt Polumbo, whom we provided funds last year for his hen mallard research project in the Lake St. Clair area, was one of the students supported through this program. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” -Helen Keller