Winner of the Alaskan Moose Promotion

From Scott Hed:

“Hi, this is Chris.”

“Chris Gatch?”

“Yes.”

“This is Scott Hed, Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska.  How are you doing tonight?”

“I’m doing alright.”

“Good to hear, but not as good as you’ll be doing in about 10 seconds.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Chris simply replied: “No way.  I won?”

He was amazingly calm and collected – more so than I probably would have been had I been on the receiving end of a call like this one.

So there you have it.  The winner of the Bristol Bay Hunt Promotion is Christopher Gatch from Keller, TX.  Chris and I began discussing what will be happening in the coming weeks as he makes his trip arrangements and receives the items in his grand prize package.  We’ll look forward to hopefully seeing some great pictures and the story of his hunt later in the fall.

At this point, there are a number of very sincere thank you’s I need to extend.

First of all, thank you to all of the donors that helped us raise some needed funds for the fight for Bristol Bay.  In the end, there were 280 entries in the drawing.  I said it when we launched this promotion and it’s every bit as true today: Sportsmen have shown a willingness to engage in conservation efforts and often make generous financial donations to support these important campaigns.  Thank you all very much for your support!

Next, I’d like to thank the sponsors of the promotion for putting together such a fantastic prize package:

·        Clark Whitney, Sr. and Clark Whitney, Jr. of Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc.  Chris will need to decide on a moose hunt or a grizzly hunt, but either way it’ll be a terrific experience in the wilds of Alaska.

·        Kimber America for giving Chris another decision.  What caliber rifle to receive in either the Model 8400 or 84M Montana series?

·        Leupold & Stevens who supplied the VX-II 3-9x 40mm scope to top that rifle.

·        Sitka Gear and Polartec who will be sending Chris a 90% Jacket, Ascent Pant, and baselayer system.

·        Kevin Paulson of www.HuntingLife.com <http://www.HuntingLife.com>  who helped in the creation, launch, and publicity of this promotion from the very start.

Finally, this effort wouldn’t have been a success without the numerous outlets which helped spread the word.  I will apologize in advance if I leave anyone out, but the list includes: Eastman’s Hunting Journal, Huntin’ Fool magazine, American Angler magazine, Field & Stream magazine’s “Field Notes” blog, Wade Bourne Outdoors radio, Dan Small Outdoors Radio, Dakota Outdoors radio, Black’s Sporting Directories, Dallas Safari Club, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the International Sportsman’s Expos, and the Fly Fishing Show.

I’ll be doing a press release in the coming week to further publicize the results of the promotion and drawing.  We need to continue to raise awareness about the battle for Bristol Bay, especially among the community of hunters.  This promotion was a start, and we learned what worked and what didn’t work quite as well as we had hoped.  I guess I’m trying to hint that we may put together another promotion like this in the future.  Stay tuned…

In closing, thanks once again to all those mentioned above and to anyone I may have inadvertently omitted.  With your generosity and assistance we’ll keep fighting for Bristol Bay and all the tremendous renewable resources this amazing region supports!

Scott Hed
Director
Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska
www.sportsmansalliance4ak.org