2011 AZ Deer Association Banquet

The 15^th Annual Arizona Deer Association Fundraising Banquet was held at Chaparral Suites Resort in Scottsdale on May 21, 2011, and was once again a combined effort with the Arizona Antelope Foundation.  We were honored to have this year as our special banquet sponsor Sanderson Ford of Glendale Arizona.  Their enthusiastic support and generosity raised our banquet to a new level and was reflected in our bottom line. 

The banquet doors opened at 4 pm and a delicious prime rib dinner was served at 5:30 pm.  With approximately 400 people in attendance at this year’s banquet, we saw a rewarding increase in the amount of money raised for deer habitat and conservation in Arizona. In total, the banquet netted about $370,000 for wildlife projects in Arizona, with the ADA netting approximately $250,000.

The event offered a fantastic live auction with unique items including a Tom Car from Sanderson Ford; deer and turkey hunts in Mexico; nice weekend getaways; bronze artwork; a South African safari; a New Mexico antelope hunt; an incredible custom knife from John Toner; and a bear hunt with hounds.  

This year’s silent auction featured over 130 items in which the ADA netted over $6,400.  All of the items in our silent auction were donated, which maximized our fundraising efforts.  The special ladies raffle brought in over $900, and the ADA blitz and general raffle brought in close to $14,500.  Special thanks go out to Sanderson Ford for underwriting the cost of the cup raffle.  Their generous donation allowed the ADA to realize a profit of $6080 on this very popular raffle. 

The big thrill of the night, though, always has to be the Commissioners’ Special Tag auctions.  We did not set any records this year, but we did manage to bring in over $230,000 for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, which will be deposited into the tag fund and used directly for habitat projects.  Money in this fund is protected from by law from any other use, and is dedicated directly to on-the-ground habitat projects that are submitted to the committee by Arizona Game and Fish wildlife managers and voted on by Habitat Project Committee members.  The Habitat Project Committee consist of a group of sportsmen and women, many of whom represent the various conservation groups that assist in the auctioning of the Commissioners’ Tags.  Unfortunately, citizens are not always aware of how the money collected from the sale of the special tags is spent, but Arizona has developed a great program to determine how the money is appropriated and spent.  Arizona’s sportsmen and conservationists are involved throughout the entire process.  Below is a list of the ADA/AAF banquet’s Special Auction tags and the money that was raised by each.

Mule Deer Tag:           $180,000

Mountain Lion Tag:    $3,750

Bear Tag:                     $4,000

Antelope Tag:             $30,000

Coues Deer Tag:         $16,000

The ADA would like to thank everyone who attended the banquet and made this year’s event successful.  Most of all, we would like to thank all our donors and volunteers because without their support and generosity, none of this would be possible. 

Special Thank You to our Live Auction Donors:

John Toner Custom Knife   -   John Toner

Self-guided 2 doe & 1 buck antelope hunt in New Mexico   -  Tony White

The Tomcar  -    Sanderson Ford, Andrew Kimmerle

Bear Hunt w/ Hounds  -   Brian Marshall

Cigar Aficionado Set   -  Scott Ballor, Heritage Metalworks

Elk Antler Floor lamp with Rawhide Shade -  Charlie Kelly

Weekend for 4 at Cherry Creek Lodge   -   Mike Lechter, Cherry Creek Lodge

Bouquet of Orchids/Weekend at Chaparral Suites  -    Julie Heaney, Chaparral Suites and Tracey Martin

Mexico Coues hunt and Mexico Turkey Hunt  -   Javier Monge, Mexafari

Ken Rowe Bronze - Ken Rowe

Yeti Cooler - Sunlund Chemical Company

You can take a look at all the items we had in the auctions by clicking on the lists below.  Many thanks to those that donated to our silent and live auctions!

Silent Auction lists

Live Auction list

General Raffle items

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