Welcome to Challenge the Outdoors, Inc.
www.ctoforme.org January 2017
President’s Message – Carl Gierke:
Welcome to 2017 everyone! I hope you had a chance to enjoy the holidays with family and friends and, in the spirit of the season, also do something for someone to put a smile on their face. Looking back, the members, sponsors, contributors, and others involved in CTO have brought that same spirit to a lot of people and events for many years now and we thank everyone who has helped make this a wonderful organization that focuses on producing lots of smiles. Looking ahead to the new year, that tradition of fun events continues with our annual Holiday Party on February 18th, our Spring Pheasant Hunt on March 5th, and our Sporting Clay Shoot / Fundraiser on April 1st. Check the calendar in this newsletter or on the website to see which events you might want to help with or attend. The Sporting Clay Shoot is our big fundraiser for the year and a chance for everyone to lend a hand in some way. You can help solicit donations for raffle prizes, hang up posters to advertise the event, sell raffle tickets, or help with some of the many duties the day of the fundraiser at J&H Game Farm. We’ll also be setting up on March 31st and cleaning up on April 2nd. There’s a lot to do, but it’s always a fun event and I can almost guarantee we’ll have better weather than we did last year when we had everything from beautiful sunshine to horizontal snow. If you can help in any way with the Sporting Clay Shoot or any event, please contact the event coordinator(s) or anyone on the CTO Board and let us know how you’d like to help. Remember that we’re always looking to get more people (disabled or able-bodied) involved in CTO and you can help by spreading the word about who we are and what we do. If you know anyone who might enjoy participating or helping at our events, give them a brochure, let them know about our website (www.ctoforme.org) and the many opportunities we provide, or bring them along to an event and introduce them to CTO. The more the merrier and we always look forward to making new friends. Thanks again for your help in supporting and growing CTO. Here’s wishing you, your family, and friends a happy and healthy 2017 and we hope to see you at a CTO event soon.
Annual Fundraiser at J&H Game Farm – Jim Adamovich: It’s already time to start thinking and planning for our biggest fundraising event of the year. This coming year, CTO Inc. Annual Sporting Clays Fundraiser sponsored by J&H Game Farm is set for Saturday, April 1, 2017. J&H Game Farm is located at W5810 J&H Road, Shiocton, WI. Please mark your calendars and come out with your family and friends to take part in making this event a great success again this year. The success of this fundraiser goes a long way in determining what we as an organization can accomplish throughout the year and helps fund the many hunting, fishing and other outdoor sporting activities we provide that help get more people outdoors. The Fundraising Committee is seeking assistance from all of our members and friends to help make this fundraiser a success! In particular, we need help with selling raffle tickets, asking for and getting 2 raffle prizes, and helping with the day of the event. A list of where help will be needed will be posted at our Holiday Party on February 18th and in a mailed letter in early March. We will be collating these letters at the party. Raffle tickets and request letters will be available as well. Much more information will be coming in our March Newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact committee members: Rita Adamovich at: (920) 722-2090 or Karen Baehr at: (920) 766-9218. The Fundraising Committee thanks you in advance for your support!
Spring Pleasant Hunt at J&H Game Farm – Jim Adamovich: This event, which is scheduled for Sunday, March 5, 2017, has become a very popular event. Some of the things we will be coordinating include ordering pheasants, dogs and handlers, machine operators, back-up shooters, cleaners and baggers. In addition, expect great food and a chance to get acquainted with other CTO members and listen to plenty of their stories. Each disabled hunter will be allowed two pheasants. If you have a favorite recipe and would like to share it, please bring it along. If you don’t have your own gun, there will be guns available at J & H Game Farm for your use. John Kempen has donated 12 and 20-gauge shotgun shells. You should wear orange colored clothing and have proper eye protection. Each hunter is welcome to bring family members or a friend to assist them, but pheasants are provided only for disabled CTO members. Food is being made by J & H which is always delicious. Don’t forget to sign up by March 3rd, 2017 if you are going to be part of this hunt. Contact information is: Jim Adamovich E-mail: jimrita0208@yahoo.com or call Jim at 920-722-2090.
Spring Turkey Hunt -- Tom Narmore: In May of 2017, Challenge the Outdoors is teaming up with Shadows on the Wolf to host a spring turkey hunt for our disabled members. We are able to take approximately ten hunters and the hunt will be from May 12th through May 14th. Lodging for the hunt will be provided at the Christus Memorial Camp located just outside of Clintonville. Food will be provided throughout the hunt, although we will be doing a potluck Friday evening for dinner. Since we are limited on the number of participants we can accept, we will be giving preference to those who have never hunted turkeys and to those who have not harvested a turkey. If you have forgotten to send in for your spring turkey permit application, you can purchase one over the counter sometime near the end of March 2017. Just make sure you obtain a tag for Zone 3 period E. If you would like to participate, please get a hold of Tom Narmore either by email narmore1988@yahoo.com. or give me a call at (920) 410-4436. (Please leave a message).
Water Buffalo Hunt Adventure – Roger Mateer: I started to plan for my water buffalo hunt about a year ago. Cindy and I decided on the Wilderness Lodge in Monterey, Tennessee for a September 17th hunt date. To prepare for the hunt, I needed to practice with my .460 Weatherby magnum. The spring and summer was spent at the range practicing and sighting in the rifle. Everyone told me that it was going to kick like a mule. The good news is that I was able to handle the kick as it wasn't as bad as I was told. The bad news, is that the video wasn't funny enough for America's Funniest. We left on Thursday the 15th of September. With an overnight stay in Davenport, Iowa to visit friends. We were on our way. We had good traveling weather, no major storms or snow to worry about. We arrived late on Friday as we did get lost in the mountains of Tennessee. Saturday morning, we met our guide, Todd. He put me out on a bait pile of corn. Cindy was down below with the pigs roaming around. The morning was a bust, we only saw the pigs and a few fallow deer. We went in for lunch and made a new game plan. We decided to try a different area by a swamp. As we were driving to the new spot, Todd spotted the bull in another swamp sleeping. We backed up and hiked in, on crutches, about 70 to 100 yards. I almost fell in the swamp with him. The bull woke up and looked at me like I owed him money. So I took my first shot. I hit him good. He stood up and struggled to the shore. Todd told me to shoot again. The second one hit him in an artery and he bled out quickly. The cow came over by him and I was prepared for her to come after us. Todd and his crew were able to bring back the bull, all 2000 lbs. of him, with the use of their big tractor. On Sunday Cindy was able to do a spot and stalk on some fallow deer. She was finally able, after a couple of hours driving and walking, to get within 50 yards of a buck with non-typical antlers. She dropped the buck with 1 shot from her rifle. The buck ran 10 feet and fell over dead. Cindy and I had a great time with the guests and the employees of Wilderness Lodge. We can't wait to go back after another exotic. It will be a while as the freezer is full and the hunting budget depleted.
Highlights of the Board of Director Meetings – Judy Paluch: OCTOBER We had a discussion about the size of a banner for display to let people know about our organization. Ideas for an 8ft by 10ft. or 6ft. by 8ft. sign was determined to be good sizes. We need to find out when the new sign, which is finished, will be put up at J&H where we have our fundraiser. There were ten hunters that harvested deer in 2016. Allen Wegner harvested a spike buck and Jim Rohde harvested an eight-point buck. Randy Graham, Bob Schuh, Mike Quasius, Bob Stockinger, Tom Sauer, Jeff Pagels, Larry Benbrooks, and Tom Narmore harvested doe. We got the adaptive hunting trailer back 5 days before the hunt and were able to use it. Outagamie Conservation Club waived all fees for the day of this year’s event as a donation. They said that all the work we do is priceless, and they wanted to do this for our organization.
NOVEMBER We officially made a motion to elect Brian Hess as CTO’s Treasurer.
The Pheasant Hunt went great. Jim said that he had 22 disabled members signed up. Jim would like to have the new hunting trailer on display for the members and others to see. We have to find a way to put the wording for advertisement temporally back on the trailer without messing up the camouflage painting, because Jim would like to enter it in a parade. Carl wants everyone on the board to bring ideas on the following items: 1. How we can get more disabled people interested in our organization; 2. Ho to get more current members to attend events; and 3. How to get more people interested in helping with these events? List of Upcoming Board of Director Meetings - Judy Paluch: All meetings begin @ 6PM and fall on the third Tuesday of each month. January 17- Good Will at 907 S. Green Bay Road, Neenah, WI 54956, 920-558-4507 February 21, March 21, April18, May 16-Muehl Library at 436 N. Main Street, Seymour, WI 54165, 920-833-2725