Ladies Night Out
By Diane Niesen, Fox Valley Chapter
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s “Ladies Night Out” banquet in Appleton, Wisconsin, has now become an annual event for many women of the Fox Valley Chapter. The second banquet held November 5, 2009, saw a 30 percent increase in attendance and drew RMEF ladies from as far away as Arizona, Oklahoma and Florida.
Prizes and raffle items were plentiful, including diamond, ruby and emerald jewelry, a pink .22 rifle, a woman’s bow, spa packages, airline tickets to Orlando, and getaways to area vacation spots complete with dinner, overnight stays and even a guided sunset boating excursion.
Organizers treated guests to several surprises, including a raffle for one lucky lady to become the first “Ladies Night Out” Elk Queen for the night. Sheri Veley of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, was crowned the 2009 Fox Valley Elk Queen, and the other nine women at her table became her court. Veley wore a cape, sash and crown and received a nightshirt, flowers, cake, candy and a necklace. Her court received elk earrings and candy. Veley also received a squeeze elk call and picked one of the volunteers, Brad Gwidt, to be at the beck-and-call of the queen and her court for the rest of the night. Every time they squeezed the elk call, Gwidt came running. The ladies had fun and everyone hopes they get to be the Elk Queen at this year’s event.
Special thanks to men of the Fox Valley Chapter as well as Vicki Peltonen, Mary Petit and Fay Geenen for all their help in making this event a success. Thanks also to state chair Tim Pflieger, who returned to emcee the event and said that the ladies get rowdier every year.
All told, the 65 ladies who attended helped raise more than $5,600 for elk and other wildlife. In addition, the Fox Valley Chapter ladies also gave back to the community by bringing in food items and holding a charity raffle at the banquet. The proceeds went to three local needy families, the Salvation Army and Children’s Hospital of Neenah.
For more info on attending the 2010 event on November 4 or hosting a ladies-only banquet of your own, contact Diane Niesen at dniesen@sbcglobal.net.