DU fundraiser in Jeanerette

Published 8:00 am Sunday, November 4, 2018

JEANERETTE — Jeanerette’s Ducks Unlimited Chapter raised more than $11,000 in live auction, silent auction and raffle action Thursday night during the annual general membership banquet at the West St. Mary Civic Center.

The fundraising event, which attracted an estimated 75 banquet-goers, put a smile on the face of the chapter’s third-year chairman, Larry Gaspard Jr. of New Iberia. He was focused on staging a successful event with the help of  dedicated committee members in the weeks and days leading up to the banquet.

Mission accomplished.

“Hopefully, I can just do better and have it continue (improving) as we go,” Gaspard said later.

“A lot of people said they enjoyed it. That’s a good thing.”

What encouraged him the most that the number of Green Wings, young boys and girls joining DU, doubled compared to last year’s event. A dozen Green Wings were on hand to add to the community event inside the West St. Mary Civic Center.

“That’s better. That’s encouraging. We try to encourage families to attend,” Gaspard said.

Four of the Green Wings on hand were recipients of special Green Wing raffle prizes designated by the Jeanerette DU Chapter. Two of them won DU flags, another took home a GW backpack and another lucky Green Wing got his hands on a DU BB gun.

The live auction raised $7,470. The silent auction raised $1,200. The raffle raised $3,000.

Laine Faucheux had the highest big for the DU Gun of the Year, which went for $1,825. Bruce Broussard got the DU Pistol of the Year for $900.

Mark Palombo of Lafayette will be hunting doves in the future in Argentina. Palombo won the Pick of the Litter raffle prize that included anything on the live auction table with the exception of two items, Gaspard said.

The banquet-goers were served a meal prepared by Butch Bourgeois.

“It was very good. I enjoyed it,” Gaspard said about the brisket, baked beans, rice dressing, salad, rolls and bread pudding.