Ducks Unlimited Conservation Banquet – Three Rivers South Chapter

The 2019-2020 duck season is coming to an end, with regular season ending in just a few short days. Year round, Ducks Unlimited Chapters host their annual banquet to raise monies needed for the conservation of wetlands and habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife. Restoring grasslands and watersheds, creating winter habitats, and educating landowners are just a few of the conservation efforts. Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than twelve million acres of waterfowl habitats across North America.

The Three Rivers South Chapter held its annual banquet on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Arkansas County Fairgrounds. Approximately 280 people attended from around the state and multiple other states.

Attendees entered the doors beginning at 5:30 p.m. and dropped tickets in the door prize drawing for a chance to win one of the many items given away throughout the night and then made their way through the exhibit building to browse the many raffle and auction items. Picking out the items they were most interested in, bidders made note of the auction item numbers and kept a close eye on their competition throughout the event. Others bought extra tickets and dropped them in the raffle drawings, hoping to raise their odds of winning. Some of the items raffled off included wood duck boxes, gun cases, Yeti coolers, gift certificates, fashion jewelry, decoys and much more.

At 7:00 p.m. attendees enjoyed a savory steak dinner served with barbequed rice and salad. While enjoying the delicious dinner, the attendees enjoyed great fellowship with other attendees and family members as they waited for the live auction to kick off at 8:00 p.m.
Thirty-Five items were auctioned off with some of the items being DU Prints, decoys, Rich-N-Tone duck call, 2020 Knife of the Year, 2020 DU Stamp print, Uruguay dove hunt trip, Greenwing Teepee, South Louisiana redfish and speckled trout trip, 2020 shotgun of the year and more.

Whether they were there for the auction, raffles, or steak dinner, everyone in attendance had a great night! For some, it’s an annual event that reconnects them with friends they haven’t seen in a while. In the end, the result of the annual banquet was to raise monies for conservation efforts and that is exactly what the Three Rivers South Chapter accomplished!

Vendors for the 2020 banquet were Rich-N-Tone, Higdon, Coker Hampton, Wilkersons, Layne Arkansas, Webb’s Sporting Goods, Open Season, Carters, Adams Parts, Ludwig, Triple L, Yeti, Funcessories, New Leaf, Bridget Lane Boutique, 420 & Turnrow, Kora’s, Arkansas County Bank, Hairworks, Delta Ploy, Sanders, Blue Seal, Almyra Co-Op, White River Guide Service, DeWitt Fertilizer, Bullpen, Dean’s Pharmacy, Rush’s Duck Club, Crow Burlingame, Golden Scissors, Troy’s Drive-In, Heritage Agriculture, Kelly’s On The Square, The Station, Drake, CASL, Farm Bureau, McGahhey Hardware, Swanky, Fine Frenzy, Subway, Piggly Wiggly, Vandsandt Farms, and Greenway.

Sponsors were Adams Industrial Ironworks, Tommy’s Rexall, Whitmore Fertilizer, Triple L Liquor, Southern Ag, Fisher Trucking and Kelly & Kerri Mitchell. Corporate Sponsor was Cowboy Chevrolet.