NOV, 2012
C h a l l e n g e T h e O u t d o o r s , I n c .
A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO SERVING THE RECREATIONAL
NEEDS AND DESIRES OF THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED SPORTSPERSON
Reflections of the President— Keith Pamperin
I want to thank the Board of Directors of Challenge the Outdoors Inc. for the their confidence in me and electing me President of Challenge the Outdoors Inc. I will do my best to work with the Board of Directors, Committees and the membership to lead this worthy organization to serve and preserve the ability of CTO to serve members for not only this year but the future as well.
I am a relative newcomer to the Board, I became a member about six years ago and was elected to the Board shortly after my retirement in January 2009. I have great respect for the founders and long term leaders of CTO, and will do my best to continue to serve the disabled and non disabled members. I had a thirty eight year career with the City of Green Bay-Brown County Planning Department, serving the last ten years as Housing Administrator for Green Bay and Brown County. In that capacity I developed neighborhood revitalization and housing programs to serve mixed income households, the elderly and persons with disabilities. As a person living with mobility impairments from a motor scooter car accident when I was a student ( 45 years ago) at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, I have a strong interest in helping people with disabilities to live as independently as possible. Since retiring I have become involved with various Boards serving persons with disabilities and conservation of our natural resources.
Being an avid outdoors person that loves to hunt, fish, kayak and shoot with a strong interest in conservation and environmental stewardship, Challenge the Outdoors, Inc. is a natural extension of my interests and passion.
I am thrilled with the new friends that I have developed and I am amazed to participate and witness the challenges our members accept.
I am open to any advice, counsel or concerns you as members have to make CTO the best it can be. Feel free to contact me with issues you would like to discuss....but be prepared.... I know how to delegate. This is an
organization of members and we all need to share in making it successful. If you have an idea, or interest d please advise me or any member of the Board.
END OF YEAR PHEASANT HUNT J & H GAME FARM
Sunday December 9, 2012 - 8:00 AM - ?
It seems like we just did this, but it’s time again for the annual CTO end of year pheasant hunt at J & H Game Farm in Navarino. For those of you that may be new to this event, this hunt has it all including dogs and handlers, transporting machines, great food, plenty of birds, and lots of fun for everyone. Each hunter is welcome to bring family members or a friend to assist them, but only the disabled CTO mem- ber is allowed to shoot. If you don’t have your own gun, there will be guns available at the clubhouse, but you must provide your own shells. Field loads of 4 to 6 shot is recommended. This is another free event sponsored by Challenge the Outdoors and we hope to see you all there.
Please contact me by November 25th if you are going to be part of the hunt and if there will be any companions that will be joining you. My contact info is: steve.kettenhoven@gmail.com or 715-250- 0077.
Pictures! Nominations! Stories!
Your award committee wants to reward you for doing what you enjoy. So if you are planning some fish- ing, hunting or sporting clays. Please turn in your picture and details about the fish, animal or your score. Don’t forget to tell us about your experiences for the Deepdodo award, or inspirational story.
Let’s not forget about the volunteers. Tell us what the volunteers do that help out the organization. Don’t know if they are able bodied or disabled? That’s fine; we can figure that out for you. Please email the information to Cindy Mateer at mateercc@centurytel.net.
Special Disabled Deer Hunt By: Rod Barkhaus
Several CTO hunters took part in the annual DNR Special Deer Hunt for the Disabled that was held from Oct. 6 to Oct. 14, 2012.There were 19 landowners who were kind enough to donate the use of their land and resources to us for the 9 day season. Many volunteers were on hand to assist the hunters with whatever they needed and once again, our cooks did a wonderful job of keeping our entire group well fed. Many thanks go out to anyone who helped in any way to make this hunt possible.
27 hunters hit the woods on opening day. A few more joined in during the week to bring the total to approximately 30 hunters.
Opening day came in with cooler temperatures and the deer were moving with just about every hunter seeing deer. Conditions during the week were also good but the second week-end was pretty much a wash-out with the heavy rains on both days.
Successful hunters who bagged antler less deer were Gerald Pienta, Myron Renier, Len Cole- grove, Bill Mayville, Mike Quasius and Earl Miller. Bucks were taken by Lawrence Benbrook and Larry Lane. There were also a couple of missed chances that I will not mention – Better luck next time.
Thanks again to all who made this hunt possible. See you next year!
2012 Annual CTO Fall “Chasing Rainbows”
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Wings over Wisconsin Ponds, near Denmark, WI
Disabled CTO Member Attendees: (32 members) Able-bodied Helpers/Volunteers: (18)
Event Summary
This was our second trout pond event away from Zander Pond. Zander Pond was lost as a resource due to the passing of the owner. Wings Over Wisconsin is a Non-profit organization who manages these two ponds for fishing, hunting and wildlife observation and education. This site was selected for several reasons including proximity to Green Bay, (5 miles east), and a group of Non-CTO members who provided fish cleaning, the noon meal, restrooms and help for the disabled fishers. CTO paid for the trout stocking, soda and drinking water and fishing bait. People who attended provided their own fishing gear, a dish to pass, lawn chairs and coolers to take their catch home.Participants were limited to five fish per person able or disabled. The largest Rainbow Trout caught was 17 inches by able-bodied member, Don Kuezinski. The largest Trout caught by a disabled member was 16.5 inches by Justin Brockman.
The weather was perfect; sunny and warm. For those that came to fish, the setting was excellent, but for those who came just too quickly catch their limit of trout, it was not to be. It was estimated that about 100 trout were caught out of the estimated 400 trout stocked several days earlier. Quite a few hybrid bluegills and large perch augmented the trout catch. The largest perch caught was a whopping 13 inches.
There were two fishing piers available, but most fishers just sat along the bank and fished from there. Vehicle Parking and restrooms were adequate. CTO members were also allowed to fish on Sunday but without the benefit of helpers. About six members showed up with another 10 Trout and over 40 Yellow Perch and Hybrid Bluegills bagged. Many thanks to Joe Pienta for managing the gate opening and closing on Sunday.
Total CTO costs for the event were $1,122.14.
Wilderness Springs Trout Stocking = $1,038.00
Soda, Drinking Water & Ice = $ 44.14
Directional Signs = $ 40.00
The total Trout-a-Rama, (Now called “Chasing Rainbows”) budget for 2012 is $3,000. After the first
event, the account balance was $2,049.80. This leaves a balance remaining of $927.66. Co-chairs were Cliff Pfeiffer and Jeff Pagels.
Future Planning Notes: Wings Over Wisconsin has agreed to hold this event again next Fall. Allowing CTO members to also return on Sunday helps to justify the planting of so many trout with a smallish re- turn. However, planting less trout will probably result in even a lower catch, so the same amount
likely should be provided next year. Perhaps, additional time, (ice fishing) could be afforded CTO to catch more of the trout plantings.
This report was prepared by Jeff Pagels 9/22/12
CTO ANNUAL “SHOOT TIL YOU DROP” UPDATE
Steve Kettenhoven, Vice President
CTO certainly holds a number of great events each year, but I’d have to say my favorite is the Shoot Til You Drop, which was held at J&H Game Farm on September 25th.
Twenty shooters took advantage of a beautiful fall day and participated in sporting clays, 5-stand, and skeet. The event started at 9 am and you could literally shoot as much as you wanted until 4 pm. Many shot at least two rounds of sporting clays, and our group finished up by shooting an enjoyable round of “Buddy Back-Up” at the 5-stand. Buddy Back-Up is just like it sounds. You draw for a partner, and then take turns shooting at the variety of birds from the 5-Stand. If the first shooter hits the bird you get 2 points, but if the partner hits the bird on the second shot you only get one point. The stickler is, if the first shooter hits the bird and the second shooter shoots anyway, you get no points.
Lots of fun and if you’ve never done this before, I would highly recommend you try it.
Diane, Joanne, and the entire staff at J&H once again put on a fantastic fish fry with all the fixings. Everyone brought a dish to pass so there was plenty of food to go around, including some of my fa- vorite desserts. A special thanks to Steve Redmann and Jeff Pagels for providing all the fish. These two catch an awful lot of fish every year and I’m just hoping they’ll ask me to join them someday. It’s a little early yet, but as soon as we have a date set for 2013, I’d suggest you mark your calendar and avoid any conflicts at all risks. This was a great time.
7th Annual Goose/Waterfowl Hunt
Steve Lang, Chairman
On an extremely rainy and foggy weekend, October 12-14 will always be remembered as the water- fowl hunt that turned everything, and everyone, into a pond. It started raining Friday night and didn’t stop till after the hunt was over Sunday evening.
Our bunch of 12 disabled hunters, along with about 7 helpers, would not be deterred by the weather. They were determined to hunt, no matter the weather. This was their one chance to potentially harvest a duck or a goose this year, and they would not pass up the chance. Even with everyone soaked to the bones, the hearty hunters were able to harvest several birds. Tommy Narmore connected Saturday morning with a goose and a mallard duck. Then Saturday afternoon, Steve Lang got himself a mallard duck. Not to be outdone, on Sunday morning, our President, Keith Pamperin shot himself a nice goose as well. That made 2 mallard ducks and 2 nice geese, even though the weather was less than ideal to sit in.
None of this could have been accomplished without the helpers at the hunt, Tim Giese & Alan Lang transporting everyone to and from the hunting blinds. Our cooks Vicky & Heather Lang. Let’s not forget the gentleman that prepares all the tents, lights, generators, Fred Lang. We also need to give a huge thank you to our sponsors, Winnabego County Conservation Club who donated $500, Dominos of Ripon, WI who donated supper Friday night, Darboy Supper Club, Ballweg Implement for the ga-
tors to transport our hunters, & Silver Spur Saloon (Kingston, WI)for all the condiments & ice. With- out these sponsors, this hunt might not be possible. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR MAK- ING THIS HAPPEN!!!
Second Annual CTO Musky Outing with Title Town Muskies Inc.
Friday, Sept 7th, 2012
Green Bay Metro Boat Launch/Yacht Club, Green Bay WI
Disabled CTO Member Attendees: ( 11 members)
Boats (9 boats with total wheelchair capacity of 11)
Titletown Muskies, Inc. a local fishing club provided all boats. The CTO Pontoon Boat was not used.
Volunteers (15Volunteers)
Event Summary
Weather was fine for musky fishing, cloudy with a light east wind. Rain held off until quitting time around noon. As far as we can determine, only one CTO member cancelled from the event who had signed up.
We had one wheelchair user in each boat and some boats had one chair user and standing disabled. Loading and unloading into the boats went smoothly, most wheelchair users stayed in their chairs. A few CTO member volunteers helped in boat loading but most labor was from the Green Bay Fire Department.
Last year only one fish was boated. This year two huge fish were caught, boated and released. Gerry Schick caught a 47.5 incher and Harland Chapman caught a 47 inch Musky. (It is customary to release Musky, besides that the minimum size limit for a Green Bay Musky is 50 inches.)
The event concluded with an outdoor cookout at the adjacent Green Bay Yacht Club. Awards were made to the person who boated the largest fish and his captain. In addition, each angler received a “goody bag” full of fishing lures, fishing CDs, hats, flash lights, tape measures and tool kits.
Total CTO costs for the event were only $16.50. This cost was for postage to send out photos of the group and a thank you letter from CTO with information on tax deductions. $600 was budgeted for the event, which leaves a balance of $583.50. There were over a dozen sponsors who gave cash, lunch supplies, goody bag supplies and prizes for the biggest fish.
Future donations are always an iffy proposition, so again, $600 is recommended to be budgeted for the 2013 event. Co-chairs for this event were CTO members Tom Gagnon and Jeff Pagels and Muskies Incorporated member Kevin Pischke
Jeff Pagels prepared this report.
HOLIDAY PARTY/BOWLING
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The annual Holiday Party will be held on January 26, 2013 at a place and time to be determined. We are checking into different venues for this years party and will let everyone know through our annual Christmas cards and the January 2013 newsletter. Watch for details
CAR RACES
WIR Races on August 23, 2012 were a great suc- cess. The weather was great and the races were exciting. There were thirty six people that attended and all had a great time.
How do you read this newsletter?
Just send an email to Jean Chapman, chapjean1@yahoo.com asking that you be placed on the electronic subscription list. We do not sell or give away our list of names, but if that thought both- ers you, you can still read the newsletters anytime on line at our WEB site. Still email Jean to let her know you are reading the newsletter on our WEB site and don’t need the hard copy. Every penny saved here can be used elsewhere to help us help others enjoy the Great Outdoors. Thank You!!
REMINDER
Please check for a date on the mailing label of this newsletter. This date indicates when your dues are to be paid. Just complete the form on the last page and return with your payment.
Also—if you have a change of address and/or phone number please let us know. This will as- sure that you receive your newsletter on time.
Highlights of Board of Directors Meetings
August 2012
· CTO awarded $4000 this year and $4000 last year to Wisconsin Waterfowl Association for the Abrams project. These funds have enabled the project to receive $19,000 last year and
$20,000 this year in matching grants. There have been other fundraisers conducted by Wis- consin Waterfowl Association. An adjoining landowner has donated 40 acres. This project will be open to deer & turkey hunting as sea- sons allow.
· 58 people attended the Timber Rattlers double
-header baseball games & picnic. The weather was perfect. The Rattlers won both games and CTO member Steve Lang caught a foul ball.
September 2012
· Roger Mateer agreed to become an Associate Director.
· Fish were caught during the Fall Chasing Rainbows and Musky events. The average size of the rainbow trout that were caught was 16 inches. CTO member Gerry Schick caught a 47 5.inch musky and CTO member Harland Chapman caught a 47 inch musky.
· 350 people attended the Youth & Ladies event at J&H Game Farm. Everyone had a good time.
· Night at the Car Races was also a fun event.
PLEASE COME!!
Our Challenge the Outdoors, Inc Board of Directors meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. We welcome your presence and input.
Nov ??, 2012 Muehl Public Library
Seymour, WI, 7:00 p.m.
Dec 18, 2012 Muehl Public Library
Seymour, WI 7:00 p.m.
If you wish to attend one of our meetings call (920) 525-1123 for a possible change in location.
NEW MEMBERS SEPT—OCT 2012
GILBERT ARCHOMBEAU
MYRON RENIER
DUANE/MICHELLE HARTL
JAMES J. POWELL