Most of us do our part each day to keep our world a little cleaner. We use trash bins. We recycle. We properly dispose of hazardous items. We lambaste any company or organization that doesn’t do likewise. But what most people are unaware of is who the most efficient and effective wildlife habitat conservation organization in the country is. It’s not the Sierra Club. It’s not even the World Wildlife Fund. It’s Pheasants Forever, and chances are, you’ve never heard of them. Those that have assumed you need to be a hunter in order to support them are wrong. I am no hunter, but am so glad and proud that I am a member.
I first heard about them from one of my good friends. She does come from a family of hunters and married into an even more avid group of sportsmen. She was telling me about a gala she had attended with her husband and how she, not only fell in love with the organization itself, but also with all the people she met that night. She then went on to convince me that my husband and I should attend the next big event in our area’s chapter.
She was right. We are obsessed with this organization, and the people we have met are some of the most down-to-earth individuals we have ever met. Some of our closest friends came into our lives through this wonderful organization. And yes, that’s great, but the cause itself is worthily equal in that regard.
In addition to the commonly held idea that only hunters are members of this organization is the delusion that no women are members. This is understandable as it is the same incorrect notion I once maintained. Because of this huge number of women members, which has grown exponentially in recent years. In fact, there are chapters solely made up of women. And every time I hear about the strides made by PF in bringing more women to the cause, I get really excited. I not a women's rights activist or anything, but it’s just fun to see women like me gravitate toward something like this. That is why I was so disheartened to learn that, like everything else, PF’s signature women’s event, Women, Wine and Wild Game, would be canceled due to the pandemic. That is... until they announced last week that they would still hold the event this year. It would just be virtual.
If I’ve even piqued the slightest bit of interest, you now have no excuse not to attend. Trust me... it will be the most entertaining Zoom call you’ve ever participated in. I genuinely believe you’ll fall in love with this the people and Pheasants Forever itself as well. And when this pandemic finally goes away and allows us to do this in person again, I hope that I will meet you at one of these amazing events for a remarkable organization.