Welcome to 2020. What a first year this has been for Kansas BHA! Pint Nights all over the state, booths at conventions and shows, Beer Bands and Public Lands, and on and on. But even more exciting is the year we have coming up!
This year we will have a bunch of projects in the field with Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Our members will help KDWPT game biologists and managers so they have more time to do the things they were actually trained to do. That translates to far better experiences for everyone on Kansas public lands! Make sure you take a little time out of your busy life to help at some or all of these field projects. BHA members have the reputation of getting things done, and now the opportunities to back that up are flowing in!
We already have several fun events planned as well. In Wichita, we have a three month long film series, one night per month, in January, February and March. Each Film Night will have a different film and topic. We also have a HUGE list of items (with a value of $1,000) we will be raffling off at each event. Additionally, we will have a local brewery at each Film Night dispensing their finest refreshments. Take a look at the Events page on the BHA website to buy your tickets in advance. Tickets might be available at the door depending on the event. Seating is limited and you do not want to miss these events. Also in January, we will have a booth at the Monster Buck Classic in Topeka, so stop by, get in our raffles and say hello. We will also have a combined sporting clays shoot and Pint Night in Kansas City in March. We are in the process of setting a Pint Night in Emporia and other places, too.
We have a new statewide sponsor that is contributing great prizes for our raffles at each of these stops. Waltons has jumped in as a HUGE sponsor for Kansas BHA and has given us a ton of merchandise. We have meat grinders, sausage stuffers, meat packaging equipment, and more, all designed to help you process your game faster, easier and better. You can see all their products at Waltonsinc.com. Also, Dr. Jedediah Reece, O.D. and Doerksen Eye Clinic in Wichita have donated top of the line Oakley sunglasses for each of our Film Night raffles. Maybe he'll also give us a few tips on how he took those big public land bull elk the last few seasons! We have also received a huge donation from SMH Consultants in Manhattan. They are not directly in the outdoor industry, but they recognize how BHA improves and defends our public lands, waters and wildlife, which generally improves everyone's life. How cool is that?To top it all off, we started our very own Kansas BHA podcast in 2019. We are the FIRST and ONLY chapter in North America to have our very own podcast! Check it out wherever you get your podcasts.
This is a great time to be a Kansas BHA member. Now that we are here, we are making some noise!
About Kurt Ratzlaff
I'm an old retired guy, barely hanging in there, but focused on spreading the love for our public lands and waters!