Successful youth duck hunt, banquet held in area

The third annual youth waterfowl hunt banquet in Southern Illinois was dedicted to a special hunter this year, Bryce Reed.

“Bryce’s dad, Rex, and myself grew up hunting in Karnak,” said Gene Morgan of Murphysboro, the coordinator of the youth hunt and memorial banquet for Bryce. “Bryce learned to love the outdoors like I did.”

This year’s event, which was held at the Shawnee High School at Wolf Lake on Thursday, Dec. 27, was renamed the Bryce Reed Memorial Banquet.

Reed passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer on April 16, 2012.

This year’s youth hunt was held the following day, Friday, Dec. 28.

The youth hunters participated in waterfowl hunting at the Union County and Alexander County conservation areas, as well as at 18 private clubs located throughout Southern Illinois. The hunters hunted in Alexander, Johnson, Union and Williamson counties.

Morgan stressed there were many people involved making the banquet and the ensuing hunt a success.

“I’m glad the Shawnee administration and board members allowed us to do this,” he said. “And, I can’t thank the volunteers, sponsors and Illinois Department of Natural Resources people enough. The cooperation with everybody has just been simply outstanding.”

The participating clubs and numerous event sponsors were listed in a special program.

Morgan said the event was held at the Great Boars of Fire Restaurant located between Anna and Cobden last year and was moved to the high school because of the every increasing growth of the event.

At the banquet, the youthful hunters were treated to a meal and plenty of giveaways, including shotguns which were raffled off from various donors. There was a .270 rifle with scope raffle and a .28 gauge shotgun model 870 memorial gun won. There was a live auction as well as a silent auction for participants.

Other giveaways included waterfowl calls, shotgun shells and fillet knifes. Each youth hunter received hats from the IDNR commemorating the 2012 event.

There were 132 youth hunters participating. The first year there were 45 hunters and last year 110.

“We might have to cut back (on numbers) so we can have a quality hunt,” Morgan said. “We might try to balance things out next year.”

Videos about duck hunters were shown to the young hunters.

Conservation Officer Steve Vasicek, who serves in Union County, gave a safety talk for the young people.

“Our responsibility is to be safe while hunting,” he said. “When you waterfowl hunt in a blind or pit you should always be aware of where your partners are. Make sure the (gun) safety is on and the muzzle of the gun is always pointed away from anyone.

“And, it doesn’t matter if you kill a duck, just have fun doing it. Be safe tomorrow.”

The event concluded with a spokesperson from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Southern Illinois University Carbondale giving a prayer for hunter safety for the next day’s youth hunt.

Morgan is in charge of the Muddy Kids Project as well. This program helps youth identify various wild animals and waterfowl.

“I want to push kids and help them find out about wildlife,” Morgan said.  “And, this has been a tough two days and I can’t emphasis enough about how we appreciate the help we get.”

Morgan is a retired high school teacher and has been involved in youth programs since he retired from Sesser-Valier High School. He is assisted at the banquet by several volunteers as well as his wife, Tanna.