Major Gifts and Gift Planning
Georgia Ducks Unlimited Honors The Sea Island Company
On September 26, 2003, Georgia Ducks Unlimited paid tribute to a well-respected friend and conservation partner, The Sea Island Company. Since the early 20th century, The Sea Island Company, under the direction of the Jones family, has been known for creating a variety of coastal resorts that incorporate and support surrounding natural habitats. Sea Island has long been popular with visitors seeking the amenities of both a seaside resort and a natural preserve.
Committee members included DU volunteers from St. Simons, Columbus, Atlanta, and Thomasville. The venue was originally to be outdoors at the home of PGA professional and DU Major Donor Davis and Robin Love, but rain drove the more than 150 people who attended into the elegant Cloister Hotel. The successful event, which raised more than $350,000 for DU’s conservation mission, paid fitting tribute to the efforts of The Sea Island Company and the commitment of the company’s founding family. Alfred W. (Bill) Jones III accepted a unique bronze sculpture that recognized the company’s contributions to the outdoor heritage of the region.
David Flygare, Devoted DU Volunteer, Remembered at Dedication and Marsh Lake Event
David Flygare was remembered at a dedication held September 17, 2003, on the Bradshaw Lake Wildlife Management Area in Minnesota, as a committed DU volunteer who worked tirelessly for conservation. The Marsh Lake Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, Safari International, and David’s friends and family joined the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to dedicate several parcels of land on Bradshaw Lake in his memory.
During his 22 years as a volunteer, David Flygare helped raise more than $1.5 million for Ducks Unlimited. Most recently he served as co-chairman of Minnesota’s Marsh Lake Committee, which has recruited more than 80 Major Sponsors since 1982. This year’s Marsh Lake event, held September 9, 2003, at the Marsh Lake Hunting Club near Victoria, Minnesota, raised more than $200,000 in David’s memory. Contributors to the event this year included two new Life Sponsors—Ben Duininck and Roger Halverson—and 10 Major Sponsor upgrades: Diamond Life Sponsors—Gary M. Aulik, Todd Elftmann and Chris and Marna Bame; Sponsors in Perpetuity—Jerry and Kim Adams and Timothy D. Foster; Diamond Sponsors in Perpetuity—Joel A. Elftmann and Robert Midness; Diamond Heritage—Kristi and Andy Anderson Jr. and Rodney P. Burwell; and Benefactor—Lee R. Anderson Sr.
The 600-acre Bradshaw Lake Wildlife Management Area was selected by David’s family as his living legacy. Oak savannahs, freshwater marshes, and tallgrass native prairie are being restored as habitat for many species of wildlife, including mallards, wood ducks, blue-winged teal, and Canada geese, as well as shorebirds, greater sandhill cranes, and bald eagles.
Donald D. “Bud” Ozmun Farmington Bay Wetland Dedicated
More than 40 friends and colleagues gathered on May 15, 2003, to dedicate a wetland restoration project in memory of local conservationist Donald D. “Bud” Ozmun.
Bud was known as “a sportsman’s sportsman.” An Illinois native, his love of wildlife and wild areas led him to Utah, where he was dedicated to bettering the land. He was a strong supporter of DU, serving as an active volunteer and a Sponsor in Perpetuity.
The project on Utah’s Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, just north of Salt Lake City, was funded in his memory. A generous $300,000 gift from the Crescere Foundation of Las Vegas, Nevada, received matching funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and Ducks Unlimited.
This important project enhances and perpetuates more than 6,000 prime wetland acres essential to the many species of waterfowl and waterbirds that use the area. A bypass canal was built to divert surplus runoff water that could adversely impact marsh-nesting birds. A recent count by DU biologists numbered more than 50,000 birds near the bypass, including mallards, pintails, redheads, and green-wing and cinnamon teal. His friends agreed that Bud would have approved of this successful project.
Supporters Dedicate 328-acre Weis Lake Project on the Cameron Unit of the Illinois River National Wildlife Refuge
Peter Nolan (left), president of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, and Hunt Eldridge (center), treasurer of The Buchanan Family Foundation, received commemorative decoys from Jim Wildman (right), senior DU vice president for the Great Lakes region, at the dedication of the Weis Lake Restoration Project. The dedication was held on September 5, 2003, at the Swan Lake Duck Club near Henry, Illinois.
The 328-acre Weis Lake Restoration Project was made possible by the generous support of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, The Buchanan Family Foundation, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Fund. Additional funding was provided by the Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Fund, Miles C. Hauter Foundation, Bruce Evans, Jim Bodtke, George Piasecki, and the DU Lacon Lifers. Weis Lake, a partnership of Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, showcases a unique, cost-effective approach to restoring backwater lake habitats along the Illinois River.
North Dakota Major Donors Dedicate the Restored G-12 Marsh
A group of Ducks Unlimited volunteers gathered near Moffit, North Dakota, on September 3, 2003, to dedicate the G-12 Marsh at the Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This previously drained 89-acre wetland has been improved with the construction of two earthen dams and a new water-control structure, and now attracts mallards, pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, northern shovelers, blue-winged teal, and Canada geese.
Major Sponsors pictured at the dedication are: (left to right) Charles F. Iten, Dr. Thomas P. Hutchens, Dr. Joseph W. Carlson, Caitlyn and Andrew Carlson, and Torri Carlson. Major Sponsors who supported the restoration but were unable to attend include: John and Linda Erickson, Dr. John and Barbara Hipp, Katie Hutchens, Carol Iten, Bernie and Jackie Meier, and Dr. William F. and Carol McCullough.
DU Receives $150,000 Bequest from William A. Walker of Evansville, Indiana
William A. Walker was an outdoorsman who loved wildlife, hunting, and fishing. When he expressed an interest in leaving a gift to acquire additional wetlands for the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge, William McCoy, property manager for the refuge, directed him to DU. Mr. McCoy explained that DU was known for leveraging gifts to do even more for conservation.
DU staff are now working with William McCoy to identify property to purchase with William Walker’s generous conservation-minded gift.