The Stikine Sportsmen Association raised $48,000 at this year’s annual fundraiser dinner, about $7,000 more than the previous year.
Its 35th Annual Game Dinner was held in Wrangell’s American Legion Hall on Feb. 28, and the money was raised through a combination of raffles, auctions, admission and donations.
“We give all of it away,” explained Mike Otteson, on the group’s board. Stikine Sportsmen Association is a private organization that directs its funding toward a wide variety of programs and causes.
“All our money is spent in town,” said board president Reme Privett. “We try to focus a lot on kids and outdoor activities.”
For example, the association funds Wrangell’s little league baseball program and sponsors the local Girl Scouts troop, and in 2013 it paid to replace the high school’s scoreboard. The group also supports upkeep at Middle Ridge Cabin and has adopted the cabin at Thoms Lake Trail for the past several years.
The group’s fundraising dollars also support the Irene Ingle Public Library’s summer reading program, radio station KSTK and the Wrangell Senior Center, and pay for two annual, renewable scholarships of up to $2,000 for local students.
“Throughout the year we do a lot of stuff,” Privett said.
He explained the group was initially formed to raise funds for the volunteer fire department’s search and rescue program, a function it continues to serve.
“Their support of our search and rescue mission has been substantial,” said Steve Prysunka, a board member and volunteer firefighter. Last fall the Sportsmen helped sponsor Prysunka’s dog through search and tracking training. The group will do so again this summer.
Upcoming projects and funding requests are generally submitted to the association’s board before its annual dinner in February or March.
The money raised this year will go to support next year’s fundraiser dinner as well. Ottesen estimates the dinner itself costs around $10,000, which includes renting the space and paying for auction items, food and the bar.
“It takes a lot to put it on,” said Privett. He explained financial and material support comes from First Bank and many of Wrangell’s other local retailers and businesses.
“We get a lot of support from outside,” Ottesen added. The Sportsmen is a private, invitation-only organization, but membership is not limited to locals. Each year members from neighboring Southeast communities attend the dinner. Members also come from Alaska’s Interior, Oregon, Washington, and even Palm Springs, Fla.
“It’s a lot of work,” Privett said. He figured a lion’s share of the organizing gets split between Ottesen and himself, and if the group is to continue, in the future other leaders will have to take the reins.
“It’s been around for a long time,” said Privett. “If people don’t step up down the road, it might be here, it might not.”
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