Submitted Photo
EARLVILLE – The Earlville Conservation Club held their Annual Big Buck Contest and Chicken-n-Biscuit dinner in late January at the Earlville Legion.
Every year at this dinner, officers are nominated and elected. Ted Barker was elected as club’s President for the new year while Don Campbell was voted in as Vice President. Others to elected were Bev Clark at Treasurer and Betsy Campbell as the Secretary.
The Earlville Conservation Club also had the privilege of having two speakers at their annual dinner.
Stanton Baker, who is a junior at Norwich City Schools, was welcomed as he spoke of his good fortune to attend Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) youth Camps for four years.
Baker reported he was given the opportunity to learn and earn his hunting license while also learning how to tie flies, and how to build fires along with other hunting and survival skills. Baker employed these new skills during various day and overnight trips to go camping, fishing and hiking.
Baker also earned certificates for birding, fishing, and a polar bear plunge. He was motivated by DEC employees that spent time teaching these conservation and life skills as they made connections with these experiences to future endeavors such as college.
Baker’s mother, who ran the slideshow, added the parents’ point of view, stating what a great experience this has been for her oldest son. Not only are his younger siblings excited for their opportunity to go to the camp, but Stanton was able to meet new friends, do what he loves and the DEC officers connecting these times with Stanton’s goal toward being a vet.
Stanton’s talk was a perfect and natural transition to introduce the conservation club’s next speaker, Rick Grisolini, a DEC State Police who brought the evening to full circle.
