Milford Township
Fish, Game, and Forestry Association


The Straight Shooter

News

Presidents Column -- February/March 2011  

George D. Honeywell

Long time Member and Club supporter Joe Nosal passed away recently. I had the privilege of sharing a camp with Joe on a caribou hunt in the early eighties and I can tell you he made the week more interesting with his wit. We express our condolences to his Wife and Family. Before his passing Joe graciously donated an elk mount to the Club for the new Clubhouse.

Spring is the time for renewal, the crocus will bloom, trees will bud and it won’t be long before we are fishing for trout and hunting turkeys. Take some time to enjoy the season and make sure you take a kid along and show them the splendor of nature.

The Vice President’s Corner

John Burke

2011 should mean positive change for all of us at Milford Township Fish, Game and Forestry, our new club house is moving right along and in no small part because a group of individuals whose names need to be mentioned, George Honeywell, Chester Dotts, Matt Bauman, Ken Leister, John Finnegan, Gary Erbe and Mindy  running around helping with whatever is needed. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you Jim Erb, Ken Leister and all of the members who sold their gun raffle tickets and thank you to all who continue to give their time to help the club move in a positive direction.

My personal goal is to encourage everyone to come out and help us move forward, not only to build our membership but our club spirit. MTFG&F is a premiere organization and as far as I am concerned we do not pay enough to belong to such a club. Some of us have debated the issue of dues increases, these conversations might not take place if we all could sell our gun raffle tickets, help on work days, sell chances for the shoots , bring visitors to archery, spring and fall shoots. I see the same group of people working no matter what is needed, so when you see the members motioned above take the time to thank them, they have as much time as you do, and think about what you can do to positively influence OUR CLUB it a great facility let’s not make the mistake of taking it for granted, hop on the 2011 Club bandwagon it is the place to be!

“Obstacles are those frightful things you can see when you take your eyes off your goal” Henry Ford

For the Good of the Association

559 tickets sold for the gun raffle; $5,590 turned in to the treasury.  Thanks to John Burke and John Finnegan for mailing out tickets.  Twelve members sold 280 of the 559 tickets.  Special thanks to Ken Leister who sold 94 tickets and Jim Erb who sold 52.

The Blubird seminar/nesting box building had (9) youngsters in attendance, all 25 box kits were assembled and each participant took a box home for their use. As before, the remaining boxes will be donated to Milford Township for use in the parks and other open areas. Thanks to Dennis Young for getting the materials and prepping the kits for construction.

In addition to the events on the schedule we again will be represented at the Calvary Church outdoor Expo in Souderton, the Spring Shoot is set for April 10th, the kids Fish Rodeo on May 7th and the Hunter’s Ed course June 21st, 23rd, 25th. There may be a second Hunter’s Ed course later in the year, please follow the newsletters for further information.

 Remember guests may come to the Club but must be accompanied by a member, there are forms in the clubhouse door which need to be filled out and deposited with the $10.00 fee in the slot box in the door. Both the member and quest must sign in at the range boxes. No guests are allowed in November and December.

There is an answering machine/service on the Club phone (215-538-7875) now, please feel free to call and leave a message if you need to contact us or call me at one of the numbers on the inside of the front cover, we are here to help.

George D. Honeywell

Building Committee

The framing is complete, the roof is on and the windows are in, the ductwork has been installed and we will have the building secured by the end of February and will begin the electrical wiring and water lines after which we will insulate and hang drywall. As the weather changes we will continue work on the exterior of the building.

Please call for the work schedule if you can help out for a day..

George D. Honeywell

 Pamphlet

Any Member that would like to add something to the newsletter can do so by sending me an email @ bonefish@ptd.net or send it to the Club.

The bi-monthly newsletter can be viewed on the Club website www.milfordstraightshooter.com

If you know of anyone that would like to advertise in the newsletter let us know and we will contact them.

George D. Honeywell

 Membership

Membership took in $2,035 last month; bringing the total to $6,065 for the year. 

Three new members were voted in at the February meeting.

Libby and Matt Bauman

Fishing Reports

Ice fishing has been sporadic.span>

John Burke

Game

The snow and ice will make it hard on the animals this winter, more deer are being seen as grass becomes exposed with the melt.

George D. Honeywell

Forestry

There is more timber down and available for firewood, please contact the Club or President George Honeywell and we will get you in touch with the Forestry Chairman.

Paul Wassum

 Archery

The Club voted to renew the UBP membership for 2011. The Shoots will resume in March. There is more timber down and available for firewood, please contact the Club or President George Honeywell and we will get you in touch with the Forestry Chairman

George D. Honeywell

 Shoots

The Spring Shoot is Sunday April 10th from12 noon to? Come out and enjoy a day with us and bring along some friends. Baked goods are always appreciated for the raffle.

Jim Erb

 Ranges

Both ranges are in good shape.

Jim Erb

 PA Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs

We are still looking for a Conservation Camp participant, the youth must be at least in the 9th grade and have completed (1) science course. The camp is (1) week, takes place in Northampton County and includes classes and field work in stream life, orienteering, identification of plants and fauna and other outdoor related subjects. The camp is FREE to an interested youth.

Please contact us soon if you know of an interested person. They do not have to be Club members.

Dennis Young

 Public Relations

No report.

Richard Ruth

Work Parties

No report

Gary Erbe

Activities

None

John Burke

50/50 and Membership Drawings

There were (2) winners in the 50/50 drawing and member #290 was not present, the Membership drawing for March will be worth $15..

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