Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg
2006 Annual Newsletter
PO Box 71
Blossburg, PA 16912
http://www.hillsiderodandgun.org
Dear Members of the Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg,
Here it is and yet another year has gone by. We hope this letter finds you and your family well, as we all feel the financial strains of the economy. With all this in mind, we have survived another year. We are grateful to all of our members who have supported the club by stopping by to have a drink, play tickets, or get a bite to eat. We could not have been successful without you. A special thanks to those members who donated time or materials on the many club projects. Read on for a look at 2006 and a peek at 2007!
Trap Team Places 2nd Place in the League! - The Northern Tier Trap League has come to an end and the officers of the Hillside Trap Team would like to thank all of the teammates for a successful season. Hillside Trap Team finished in 2nd place this year. Check out the plaque in the trophy case. Thank you to all of the great volunteers who helped out with the Trap projects and work bees. Thanks to Dave Burris who donated his time and materials to make new counters for the inside of the trap clubhouse. We have 2 new scorekeeper stands! Thanks to Dean Alloy for his expertise, time and equipment and thanks to Jim and Cindy Guy and Jerry Owens for helping out with the completion of those stands. WOMEN!!!! There is a "job johnny" for those Wednesday night shoots. Hopefully it will bring in more women shooters. We had the trap houses "tweaked" this year and the birds are sure looking better. Make sure to check out the website to stay up-to-date on practices and shoots.
Archery Team - Winter indoor Archery League starts January 4, 2007, running for 12 weeks. League nights and shooting times are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM and 4 PM and Sundays at 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM. The Penn-York 3D League schedule is still TBA, but there will be weekly 3D shoots starting in January through September. Check out the website for the most up-to-date information.
Trout Nursery - As most of you know all of our stockings this season went quite well, with all of last years fish being put out by the middle of May. Thank you to everyone who participated. We're looking forward to seeing everyone again this season. Our one scheduled work bee lacked as many helpers as we would have liked. I guess we'll have to come up with a more efficient way to inform everyone of upcoming events like that! As some of you may be aware, we received 10,000 fingerlings on June 6th. When we got them, the fish were only the size of your pinkie and are now about 7"- 9" long. That's quite a growth spurt in such a short time. The first week in our care they receive only salt to feed on which then progresses to a crumble and eventually to a pellet form. It's rather interesting in that you can liken it to feeding a baby with the way the feed is introduced. Our most recent inspection on 9/29/2006 by Cecil Houser of the Cooperative Nursery Management was very favorable. According to Cecil, we have "very nice fish that are a good size going in to fall and winter - should have exceptional trout come spring." These things wouldn't be possible without all the people who donate their time, vehicles, expertise and equipment. Thank you all very much! If anyone is interested in being a part of the feeding schedule, contact Pat Levindoski at 570-638-3342.
2nd Annual Stanley Bombaski Memorial Sportsman's Challenge - The Stanley Bombaski Memorial Shoot was held in July and a good time was had by all. It was great to see the camaraderie between the two sports. 1st place went to Jim Guy and Clyde Mitstifer, 2nd place went to Jerry Owens and Steve Pettit, and 3rd place went to Don Payne and Brandy McRoberts. The challenge is setup so trap shooters and archery shooters are paired off into teams. Each team competes in trap, archery, and finally deer rifle marksmanship at the rifle range.
4th Annual Children's Miracle Network Shoot - The 4th Annual Children's Miracle Network Shoot which was held in October was another huge success. Thanks to all who participated. We had 95 shooters, which made for a generous donation to the Children's Miracle Network. Special thanks to the Morris Run American Legion and Wal-Mart for their prizes.
4th Annual TCCCC/Hillside Rod & Gun Club Lobster Bake - The fourth annual Lobster Bake was hosted by Hillside to benefit the upper Tioga River watershed. This was the largest of all the events so far, and approximately $4,900.00 was raised. The funds are put into CD's to help fund maintenance of watershed projects once they are installed.
Watershed Update - We are actively pursuing the clean up of the Tioga River watershed for AMD (acid mine drainage) for which we have partnered with the Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee for the past five years. Mansfield University has joined our group the past two years, and we believe that we will have a local chapter of Trout Unlimited joining our watershed group soon. We have recently received our first grant from Growing Greener for engineering and design of treatment systems for the upper Fallbrook Creek. The Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation is working on the South Mountain area which will benefit Johnson Creek. Through the efforts of Representative Matt Baker and Senator Joseph Scarnati, we have matching grants budgeted in the PA state budget to benefit the watershed project. We now have to come up with innovative ways to get matching funds for this money. We will be setting up a road trip to Harrisburg after the first of the year to meet with the governor's aides on this matter. The watershed committee continually feels defeat as we take two steps forward and three back, but we trudge on. We would like to extend our thanks to the watershed committee: Charlie Andrews, Joyce Andrews, Dave Burris, Tim Fleming, Jeanne Keagle, Dr. John Kirby, Bob Kuzneski, Jim Lamonski, Howard Schapiro, Mike Strohl, and Jack Vogler.
New Coal Stove! - Stop by and enjoy a cozy winter Saturday or Sunday evening with us sitting around the coal stoker sipping your favorite beverage and playing cards. This unit was donated by Jim and Cindy Guy, The Warm-Up Shop, to help defray the cost of the club's winter gas bills which can be as high as $1500 a month. Thanks to Clyde Mitstifer and crew for its installation.
Important Membership Updates - Bylaw changes made in March of this year: All members, including women and those residing outside the 3 county areas, are now regular members. There are now only two classes of membership, regular and life. Regular memberships are $15.00. Life memberships are available for free if you have met the following criteria: you must be 65 years of age by January 1st of the coming year and you must have been a regular member of the club for at least 5 years. We don't currently have systems in place to check automatically if you are eligible for life membership. If you qualify and we missed you, please let us know when you renew your membership. 2007 membership cards are available now. If you're unable to make it to the club, mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a check for $15 to the address at the top of the newsletter and we'll get it right out to you. The Game Dinner is the last day to renew your membership for 2007. A $5 late fee is applied after December 31st.
Gun Raffle - Many have asked about a gun raffle this year. We are no longer able to effectively sell the amount of tickets required to be successful at this and make the profits required. There is, by far, too much local competition and the economy has hurt us. Last year we had over 250 unsold tickets.
Big Buck Content - If you get a BIG BUCK be sure to take it to Cooper's in Mansfield to be measured for the Hillside's BIG BUCK Contest.
2007 Lucky 37 Raffle - We have enclosed a Lucky 37 ticket which begins on April 1st 2007 and lasts for 10 weeks. The cost is $10.00 each. I hope you can help support the club and club improvements we will need to make in the future by purchasing a raffle ticket and returning the money and stub to:
Hillside Rod & Gun Club
PO Box 71
Blossburg, PA 16912
If you are unable to purchase the ticket, please return it to the club, or mail it to the above address. We so much need our members' support to continue the programs we have in place, and maintain our beautiful facility.
New Years Eve Party! - Remember to mark New Years Eve on your calendar for the Hillside Rod & Gun Club. This year we'll be having the DJ "Bordertown Sound", snacks and party favors. The cost is $5 per person.
Hillside Rod & Gun Club Game Dinner 2007 - The 2007 Game Dinner date has been set for February 17th from 12 PM to 8 PM. This year we'll be doing a few things differently than in the past to keep the mounting costs under control. Dinner will be catered by "Custom Catering" and will start around 3 PM. Also, all donated wild game will be cooked by volunteers. Stop by the club if you have wild game to donate for this year's game dinner. The club will be open to all members (men and women) only. No guests allowed for this one. Included with the newsletter is a pre-registration form. If you pre-register by January 14th the cost will be $15. The cost is $20 if you pay at the door. Includes dinner, a chance on a gun, snacks, and draft beer. Don't forget, the game dinner is the last day to pay your 2007 dues.
The Club - The Hillside has kicked it up a notch with bringing in entertainment for our membership. We had the bands White River and Electric Pawnshop during the summer and then about one DJ a month during September, October and November. You should stop by on Saturday nights with our extended hours from 12 PM to 11 PM , hang out with friends, shoot some pool and relax to the Juke Box. Stop by our big events on New Years Eve, Easter Sunday, Labor Day, where everyone always has a good time. We're also open Sundays from 7 AM to 9 PM which is by far our busiest day of the week. We've added 4 new high-top, oak tables with matching chairs that always seem to be full. The club is now a 501(c)7 non-profit organization. This means that the club exists to serve the social and recreational purposes of our members and we are exempt from Federal income tax on income derived from our members.
Board Updates - 2006 brought a lot of changes around the club. Fran Jaquish stepped down as Secretary as he received a new job as Principal of Liberty High School. Good Luck Fran! Josh Jones was appointed acting Secretary for the remainder of the year and was elected to the Secretary position at the October elections. Robb Bowens, Club Manager, stepped down in April as he bought Belawski's landscaping business. Good luck Robb! The Board has appointed Jessica Ponda as the new club manager. Everyone welcome Jess as the new Club Manager as she has been doing a wonderful job managing day-to-day operations of the club, bar and kitchen, and organizing events and entertainment for our members. Your 2007 Officers will be: President - Jim Lamonski, Vice President: Tim Fleming, Treasurer: Dave Jones, Secretary: Josh Jones. Executive Committee: 3-Year Term: Clyde Mistifer, 2-Year Term: Jim Guy, 1-Year Terms: Buster Wilson, Kirk Davis, and Cindy Guy.
Sincerely,
Hillside Rod & Gun Club of Blossburg