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SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

Ducks Unlimited Mississippi Volunteers Aim for Fun with Hockey Fundraiser

March 23, 2012 - SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN- Ducks Unlimited volunteers and members recently flew in to the Landers Center to catch some RiverKings action and raised $5,500 for their conservation efforts.

Prior to the March 3rd game against the Mississippi Surge, Ducks Unlimited volunteers hosted a pre-game Waterfowl Hunters Party event followed by a large-scale silent auction and three-gun raffle during the game, giving RiverKings fans and local sportsmen a chance to score limited-edition hunting and fishing items in support of conservation. The money raised from the silent auction will be used towards the continental efforts of Ducks Unlimited, which strives to conserve and protect the game species that Mississippi's waterfowlers love and respect.

Ducks Unlimited is a worldwide conservation organization dedicated to the habitat life cycle needs of waterfowl. Founded by a small group of outdoorsmen during the Dust Bowl of the 1930's, Ducks Unlimited has been steadfast in preserving wildlife habitats since its beginning.

Ducks Unlimited Regional Director Billie Ray Fann has worked with area volunteers annually to host the RiverKings event, and hundreds like it, in and around Mississippi.

Fann's interest in Ducks Unlimited began in college when the U.T. Martin engineering major from Detroit saw a Ducks Unlimited bumper sticker on a friend's 1970's model Ford Bronco. Fann had already come to love the rich waterfowling heritage of Reelfoot Lake and surrounding hunting areas near his alma mater; so, as he learned more about Ducks Unlimited and conservation, he found himself drawn to the organization.

Prior to becoming involved in Ducks Unlimited, Fann described himself as "a young, environmentally-aware outdoorsman" who, because of heightened commercial environmental recognition programs throughout the 1970's, worried that the future of the world's natural resources was bleak unless the general population took notice. Through Ducks Unlimited, Fann saw a way to finally put his worrisome nightmares to rest by working to conserve and preserve wetlands.

"For me, it was a great way to combine my interests; that is, doing something for the environment while also fulfilling my interests in the outdoors and hunting," Fann said. "When I was finally able to attend my first D.U. event, it was a great honor. I purchased my first Ducks Unlimited item in the live auction there, a sculpture of an old time hunter, which I still cherish. It was awesome meeting people with the same passion for the outdoors, and I made lifelong friends and hunting partners."

After working in Tennessee for many years as an appliance engineer, Fann found himself in Greenwood, Miss. in 1999, and there saw an opportunity to further his relationship with Ducks Unlimited by reinstating the Greenwood Ducks Unlimited chapter. Fann was instrumental in transforming this once-forgotten chapter into one of the most successful in the state.

"Ducks Unlimited works for Mississippi Duck hunters like no other waterfowl conservation group," Fann said. "Only Ducks Unlimited performs habitat conservation both in our state and on the breeding grounds where our annual migration originates."

Ducks Unlimited has been responsible for the conservation of 288,426 acres across the state; and since its founding, Ducks Unlimited has spent over $34.5 million on projects in Mississippi alone. Proceeds raised from local programs, like the silent auction held at the March 3rd RiverKings game, are used to fulfill the Ducks Unlimited mission of conserving 1,730,556 acres in the Mississippi flyaway: 4,531,563 acres in the United States; 6,301,016 acres in Canada; and 1,861,056 acres in Mexico.

"In the United States alone there were originally 221 million acres of wetlands; only 105.5 million acres now remain, with ongoing losses exceeding 100,000 acres per year, making it our duty to preserve these rapidly disappearing lands," Fann said.

By 2003, Ducks Unlimited was experiencing exponential growth and Fann was more involved than ever, and it wasn't long before he made the transition from volunteer to employee, becoming the Mississippi Ducks Unlimited Regional Director.

"Something I still do today is try to explain to my mother why I made the career move from appliance engineer to D.U. Regional Director," Fann said. "The first time, I described to her part of what I do: "˜I work with volunteers to fulfill the D.U. mission.' She replied: "˜So you travel around Mississippi making friends and then getting them to work for free?' I replied, "˜Well, I guess you could say that.' She said, "˜Well, you sound like Tom Sawyer.' My response was, "˜Well, yes, you're right, but we're not white- washing fences, we are painting the prairies green.'"

To get involved with your local Ducks Unlimited chapter visit www.ducks.org or contact any local volunteer or Regional Director Billy Ray Fann at 662-253-5048 or bfann@ducks.org.



SPHL Stories from March 23, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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