RMEF banquet raises $60,000 for wildlife

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's 14th Annual Banquet in Mountain Home netted a record $60,000 for wildlife habitat improvement during last Saturday's event at the Gunfighter Club at Mountain Home AFB.

That net represented nearly 70 percent of the total funds raised during the evening, which featured a prime-rib meal by the Gunfighter Club, raffles, auctions and games.

The club was filled to capacity with over 400 people attending, making it the largest banquet of the year in the Mountain Home area, and the second-largest RMEF event in Idaho (only Lewiston, which uses its fairgrounds to draw about 750 people, is larger).

"This is the first year I've had to turn people away," said banquet chairman Jeff Day. "Each year it has gotten bigger, so remember that next year, and get your tickets early."

Day praised the local merchant community for its support, noting "we had support from nearly every merchant in town."

And, he added, "one of the things that makes this banquet so unique is the quality of crafts that people donate to our banquet. We have some very skilled craftmen in our area and their donations are very popular."

Dennis Radocha, the state RMEF volunteer chairman, served as emcee for the banquet, and auctioneer Joe Lisle moved the live auction along quickly, raising over $15,000 for that event alone.

The RMEF is a hunter's group that uses the funds it raises to pay for habitat improvements that benefit wildlife, and to set aside lands for wildlife.