A Local Washington Chapter

About Pheasants Forever Chapter 257

This is a reprint of a communication used at the 2009 Sportsman Show, Puyallup, WA

People often ask, "what is Pheasants Forever, and what do you do?". If you think about it that is a very big question and will have many answers.

To start let me identify who we are and then get into what we do. Nationally, Pheasants Forever is a group of individuals organized into Chapters across the country focused on maintaining and improving the habitat for the betterment of pheasants and other wildlife. Chapter members come from all walks of life with all types of background. Chapter members are fathers and sons, husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, grandparents, and grandchildren. We offer up our time on a volunteer basis to go out and plants shrubs, lay irrigation pipe or dig weeds to improve the habitat. The improvements are designed to establish or enhance the nesting areas, food plots and bedding grounds to give the pheasant a better chance of survival.

On one hand you could say we are a habitat conservation organization. With that you would be correct. One of our key tenets is habitat conservation. In addition, youth development and involvement is another key focus area. We strongly believe that the habitat and youth involvement go hand in hand to maintain the long-term preservation of pheasants and upland game. Whether you are a hunter or not you can understand the importance of these two strategies and how they link to improving and maintaining wildlife and upland birds.

I mentioned briefly what we do for the habitat. Let me give you an overview of what we do regarding youth development and involvement. For the 18 and under youths there is the Ringneck program. This is sponsored by Pheasants Forever and is a national program. At Chapter 257 we support throughout the year Youth Hunts, Skeet Shoots and are working with local merchants to sponsor Hunter Safety classes. There is much more we would like to do on the youth front. Again, this is a volunteer organization and there is only so much we can take on and feel that we are doing it in a quality manner.

In order to fund these activities, Chapter 257 hosts an annual banquet. All proceeds from this banquet go back to either habitat or youth activities. This year's banquet will be March 27, 2010, from 4:30 to 10:00 at the Tacoma Yacht Club. We will have a great meal, live and silent auctions, raffles, door prizes and great fun. I hope you can come out and join us.

If you can't make the banquet but are interested in learning more about Pheasants Forever come join us at a monthly meeting. Meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of the month at Johnny's in Fife (just up the street from Sportco). You can also check our website at www.pugetsoundpf.org for more information.

I hope this helped to answer the question "what is Pheasants Forever, what do you do?". If not, come out, volunteer and then you can see firsthand what you can do.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to meeting you again.

Todd Emery
Chapter 257 President (2008-2010)

History

Pheasants Forever (PF) scored a 3-star rating on Charity Navigator's 0-to-4-star rating scale. In fact, the non-profit watchdog group gave PF an "excellent" designation indicating that PF outperforms most charities in America in its efforts to operate in the most fiscally responsible way possible. To view Charity Navigator's evaluation of PF, log onto: www.charitynavigator.com and search Pheasants Forever.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

Please explore our website and discover more about the Puget Sound Pheasants Forever Chapter 257. You'll find detailed information on all our activities and upcoming events. Let us know what you think; we appreciate your feedback. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact us. We welcome people interested in the Pheasants Forever mission to attend our monthly meetings, listed on our events page.

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Volunteer your time or resources to our Chapter