Big turnout for RMEF banquet

TROUT CREEK – Outdoor enthusiasts from across Sanders County came together last weekend to support the county’s chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The foundation held their annual fundraiser banquet at the Lakeside Motel on the banks of Noxon Reservoir last Saturday, Oct. 18, with the banquet starting shortly after 5 p.m.

This year’s banquet marked the 24th annual edition of the fundraiser, which has taken place in venues throughout Sanders County.

Last year the benefit was held at the Sanders County Fairgrounds in Plains.

“The Sanders County chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has been hosting this for years,” Chapter Chair Raf Viniard said.

RMEF Regional Director for northern Idaho and western Montana Jared Wold was on hand as a special guest at the night’s banquet.

Wold said he was impressed with how hard the chapter had worked to put on a great banquet.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how hard this chapter and this committee has worked,” Wold said.

Wold added he was also excited to see the strong turnout at the foundation’s annual event.

The regional director added the amount of individuals at the fundraiser appeared to be up from last year’s event.

“Tonight’s attendance is looking better than we have had in a long time,” Wold said.

The room was certainly packed as row upon row of tables were jammed full of attendees, many of whom spent the early portion of the evening circulating throughout the room in order to check out the items up for grabs in the silent and live auctions.  

A wide variety of outdoor equipment made up the 30 items available in the live auction. Some of the items auctioneer Kevin Hill called out throughout the night included a Tundra Yeti Cooler, a RMEF 30th anniversary Red Ryder BB gun, a 2014 Banquet Edition Rifle, and a two day Montana wolf hunt for one hunter.

The silent auction featured 25 items included a fly-fishing combo pack, an elk call package and a Nitro headlamp.

In addition to the auctions there were two raffles, one for a Howa Hogue stainless .270 Win Mag and one for a progressive rifle/bow raffle, with the winner choosing which item they wanted to take home.

There was also a padlock key game, where certain items up for bid in the evening’s auctions contained keys, which the winning key opened the lock and led to the prize, a Savage B Mag. 17.

Many attendees were also looking to grab some of the food available at the banquet including portions of a roast pig, slow cooked in a smoker by Roger Storer.

Some of the volunteers who helped make the evening a success were local students from Noxon High School.

RMEF is a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitats.

The foundation has completed over 7,700 projects conserving and enhancing over 6.1 million acres of habitat throughout the nation.

According to Wold RMEF has helped to enhance and protect 17,500 acres of elk habitat in Sanders County.

The RMEF is headquartered in Missoula and was founded by hunters from Troy in 1984, and is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.