The Texas A&M Chapter of DU is the #1 University Chapter in Texas in the Ducks Unlimited organization. They blow all of the other chapters out of the water, actually. Their banquet is their biggest fund raiser of the year, so it should not surprise you (but still impress you) that they have a team of about 25 students that are 110% dedicated to making this night productive, fun, and entertaining.

There were about 450 people who attended this event and most of them were either students at A&M or they were wearing an Aggie Ring. It was neat to see so much support for the University and for Ducks Unlimited.

When John and I walked into the Brazos Center, we were greeted by Ashley Carter and Seth Ringley. Thank you to these 2 team members who had been preparing me for this event. They were very friendly and accomodating, even as they were running around crazy, making sure everything was in place and ready to go. 

The big meeting room we were in began to get a little louder as people started packing in and realized there were games (competitions) at each corner of the room. In the back, you found people battling it out at the Shell Toss, trying to win the 12 ga Benelli Nova.  To the side, you saw the Hi-Lo game that was sucking people into the table. Then there was Duck Dice where the winner got a Ruger 10/22 Carbine.  

The silent auction had 28 items up for bidding, including 2 night stay at Blackberry Creek Bed and Breakfast in Missouri, the Mallard Drake "Shooting Rig" Collection, a weekend in the Hill Country, and a Budweiser Refrigerator. Something for everyone. :-)

The live auction had 27 items, including a 70th Anniversary Commemorative Browning Silver Hunter Automatic Shotgun that went for $2100, a Chocolate Lab puppy donated by Branham Labs that went for $925, a 4 man Goose Hunt by Run-N-Gun Outfitters (which was chosen by the winner of the "Pick of the Litter" Raffle), a 2 man Bowfishing Trip donated by Gar Guys, and a 20 person Wine Tasting at Messina Hoff Winery.

Among all the chaos, there were also 4 different raffles you could buy tickets for, for other great prizes. Needless to say, there was something for every person that was there. The people, whether they were working or playing, were all so very friendly.

We were able to meet Daniel Kubecka, a member of our site and owner of Run-N-Gun Adventures, and he will be calling in to the TexasHuntFish.com Radio Show every Sunday with a hunting and fishing report from a few different locations around Texas. He spent most of the night at the Shell Toss trying to give one other guy a run for his money...and skills at aiming. At the very last minute before they closed the game, the other guy passed Daniel in total points and he won the Benelli Nova.

Everyone had a great time! Congratulations to the A&M Ducks Unlimited Team!! Y'all did a really good job! 

Images and Files: View all 25 photos / videos here.