INNISFAIL – For nearly a century Innisfail and area hunters and anglers have celebrated wildlife and the great outdoors.
The Innisfail Fish and Game Association is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2019.
They recently held the club’s horn scoring in February and annual awards banquet at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion on March 16.
“Tonight we’re giving out about nine awards, varying from moose, deer, elk, and (several) different species of fish,” said Bob Leney, president. “It’s a celebration of a great year and a great harvest.”
In addition to marking 90 years as an association the club had other reasons to celebrate, noted Leney.
“This year we did hit some milestones. We came in second in the province for growing our club by over 100 per cent,” he said, pointing out the club’s 277 members by the end of 2018. “We’re hoping to continue to grow again this year.
“The banquet has grown too. We’ve sold out this year.”
Guests and members enjoyed a meal, keynote speakers, including senior executives from the Alberta Fish and Game Association, displays of award winners and runners-up, as well as live and silent auctions.
Banquet-goers also had a chance to enjoy some wild game.
“On every table there’s wild game samplers so you can try anything from bear, grouse, elk, moose and deer,” said Leney. “Our members bring in some of their harvests and everybody gets to have a try.”
He said the annual event also helps raise funds for the Innisfail Fish and Game Association.
“We’re using this (banquet) as a fundraiser as well to continue the programs that we’re doing, such as the duck nesting tunnels and the fishing line recycling program,” said Leney. “In order to kick-start some of our other youth programs we want to raise a little bit of money too.”
