Gilmer Ducks Unlimited slates annual banquet

The Upshur County Ducks Unlimited Committee has scheduled its annual DU Banquet for 6 p.m. Friday, Feb.9, in the Gilmer Civic Center, located on U.S. Highway 271 North in Gilmer.

According to Upshur County DU area chairman Steven Hagler, the Gilmer

DU banquet will include a live auction, a silent auction and a tiered raffle structure.

Tickets cost $35 for a single, $50 for a couple and $20 for a youth (aged 17 and under) if purchased in advance. At the door, tickets cost $40 for a single, $60 for a couple and $25 for a youth.

Tickets are available from any Upshur County DU committee member, including Hagler (903-790-2960), Mark Cooper (903-445-3563), Eric Hagler (903-790-5398), Dustin Hodges (903-797-6026) or Michelle Hagler (903-797-6968).

"We're looking for a good crowd for this year's banquet,"

This year's banquet auctions and raffles will feature three specialshotguns, the 2006-07 DU "Gun of the Year," a Remington 11-87 with custom engraving and gold inlay; the 2006-07 Texas DU gun, a 20-gauge over-under with the Texas DU logo laser engraved on the stock; and the new Ducks Unlimited 70th Anniversary shotgun, a Browning Model 5 with custom engraving and gold inlay.

"The 70th Anniversary Browning is great," Steven Hagler said. "It celebrates DU's 70 years of wetland conservation- nearly 12 million acres so far- and it's a beautiful shotgun."

Besides these three shotguns, the live and silent auctions will feature several additional shotguns and rifles, several carved, decorative decoys including the third in the Shooting Rig Decoy series, and a number of limited-edition prints, including the 2006 DU International Artist of the Year print by Ralph McDonald.

"Ralph McDonald has produced a series of prints featuring young children for DU for more than 10 years, and they've always been popular,"

Steven Hagler said. "But this is the first time he's been the featured artist."

Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest wetland conservation organization.

Its mission is to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl.

Since its founding in 1937, DU has raised more than $1.8 billion, which has contributed to the conservation of more than 11 million acres of wetland habitat throughout the North American continent. These areas provide habitat for ducks, geese, deer, elk, moose, bear and more than

900 other documented wildlife species. No organization does more for North America's waterfowl than DU.

For more information about Ducks Unlimited, visit the organization's Web site at www.ducks.org. For information about DU activities in Texas, visit tx.ducks.org.