Just another humid night in Houston, TX? I don't think so.

We did not know or care what the weather was like outside because this night was the night the Houston Chapter of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation was hosting their 20th Annual Fund Raising Banquet and Auction.  This event exceeded our expectations and we had such a good time meeting everyone who worked so hard on this event and made us feel so welcome from the moment we walked in the door. 

We made our way to the ballroom at the Westchase Marriott Hotel where everyone was setting up. I was smiling as I looked around at all the preparation and I heard the "Testing. Testing. One, two, one, two" over the microphone and many people briskly walking all around the room giving directions and asking questions about where things were.

Debra, John (Wildlife Biologist), and I set out to find the ones we had been waiting to meet face-to-face. Let me just tell you that this is one of the friendliest and down-to-earth groups of people you will ever meet. Thank you so much to Michael Gookins, Kirk Waldron, Robert Linder, Tom Hood, and David and Michael Fine for getting us situated so quickly and for being so hospitable.

Picture this: a FREE area of TexasHuntFish.com merchandise in an "L" shape, it's kind of like Heaven for most people (complete with our banners, tshirts, stickers, and business cards).  We did not expect to be given this space, but RMEF knew we were there to support them and, in turn, were so generous in supporting us as well. 

Robert Linder sat down with us for about 10 minutes and shared the goals of RMEF and their desire to help educate the public on habitat conservation, the value of hunting, hunting ethics, and wildlife management. He also told us about the Youth Hunting Program they have, which sends a large number of kids from Texas into New Mexico to experience an Elk Hunt they will never forget. The video interview will be posted on the site soon.



Everything was moving along quite nicely. There were about 350 people, free wine and beer (water was $3.25), and the ever-famous Raffle Ticket Ladies patroling the room - we'll call them Tracie and Tiffany. The silent auction and the raffle each had 59 items and they stayed open for the majority of the night. Around 8:30pm, it was time to let the games begin...

Debra was taking pictures, John was filming, and we were all waiting for the rowdy bidders of the live auction to stand on the tables. The auction had only been going on for a few minutes when the Wooden Indians were auctioned off for more than $5000. That's when I knew that this group LOVED RMEF and were so excited to support their future endeavours. There were 55 items in the live auction, of which 23 were hunting or fishing trips. Some of the trips were in Texas and some were out of state in Alaska, Montana, and other beautiful states.



At the beginning of the live auction, all the members who had bought a $10 raffle ticket to play "the coin toss game" had to stand up and guess whether the coin tossed would land on heads or tails. If you thought it would land on heads, you simply put your hand on your head. If you thought it would land on tails, you simply put your hand on YOUR biscuits...NOT the person next to you, but YOURS. Thank you. It was comedic, to say the least.

Another highlight was when Harold and Rae Harborth stood up at the podium and introduced the items they donated. Rae makes a beautiful quilt each year and dedicates it to the auction, and this particular one took her hours upon hours to make. Harold is a master gunsmith and donates a custom-made rifle from his shop in Rosenberg, TX each year to the Houston Banquet. I would encourage you to CLICK HERE to contact him about his custom made rifles.

Mr. Tom Hood, one of the board members, was giving us pep talks the entire evening. He was at the table right next to us and would periodically turn around and say to me, "You having fun? I hope y'all have enough battery for those cameras because you're gonna need it.  You're not gonna want to miss a minute of this." 

He was right! There were 55 items auctioned off after dinner, but the time flew by for us and we had so much fun meeting some of the members of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, who entertained us with good bidding fights and good conversation.

Although there is much to tell about the fun night, the real story is in the people and the tradition to keep up the efforts of RMEF.  The "people" I am referring to are the "David and Michael Fine"s of the organization - the father who passes on the tradition of being involved on the board of RMEF to his son.  It's the "Old Bulls" of the organization (H.A. "Butch" Kissman, Kirk Waldron, Robert "Bob" Linder, and Johnnie Cooper) who have put forth the hours, energy, and dedication to this great cause in their wise years. :-)



We can't wait to see how RMEF grows and succeeds in the next year!!  This international nonprofit organization has goals to better understand elk ecology, wildlife conservation, and preservation of elk habitat. Since it began in 1984, RMEF has grown to more than 135,000 members across the US and Canada, raising more than $75 million for the conservation and enhancement for 2.6 million acres of North American wildlife habitat. To find out more about Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, you can visit their website for the Texas Chapter and find out how to get more involved.