WA BRANCH HUNTER’S WINTER DINNER AND INAUGURAL RICK MAZZA AWARD

Members enjoyed a wide variety of meals, from baked brie and pork belly bites to braised lamb shanks with the odd chicken parmi thrown in for good measure.

The Hunter’s Winter Dinner provides a great atmosphere for all members to catch up and relive the past year’s hunts as well as plan a few new hunts. Our Branch covers all of Western Australia, so it was great to see members face to face again. There was plenty of discussion around the current deer program, with the spring operation having been open for only a few days. The challenges of accessibility with the high amount of water in blocks being a popular topic of conversation.

This year was the announcement and inaugural presentation of the Rick Mazza Award. The award is named in honour of Rick Mazza, our first President and founding member of the WA Branch. Over the years Rick has contributed to the Branch in many ways, both in a personal role as well as a Member of Parliament. His achievements, which have benefited the Branch, range from organising the first Hunter’s Winter Dinner through to representing firearms owners in Parliament and getting the various agencies of government to agree to MOUs allowing the WA Branch to participate in Deer Management Programs in WA. The latter is where most members would recognise Rick’s contributions as he is currently our Deer Management Coordinator, which is quite a challenging role as the branch grows year on year with new members.

The Rick Mazza Award is open to all members not currently in a Committee role, hence why I stepped down from the Committee this year. Ha ha . The award recognises a member on a yearly basis that has advanced deer hunting and contributed to the WA Branch. This year’s recipient was Jamie (Christopher James Carle). Jamie has mentored many members of the Branch, teaching them how to track deer, roar in stags and field dress game, essentially giving up his limited hunting time to help others. Some of those hunters have now gone on to share those skills with other new hunters, which has benefited both individuals and the Branch as a whole. The Committee unanimously agreed he would be a worthy recipient.

The individual award is a bronze statue and there is also a perpetual trophy to recognise all winners. The engraving and the perpetual trophy were supplied by longtime supporters of the Branch, Steelo’s Guns and Outdoors in Narrogin WA . A big thank you to Bevan Steele and Heidi Melia for organising this.

After the award presentation, there was an informal auction of donated hunting gear from our members. There was a night vision scope, waders, reloading powder measure and a hunting knife to name a few things. There was some spirited bidding drummed up by Rick and his auctioneering assistant Tegan who almost sold an item to the gentleman in the adjoining dining room. These donated items raised $1,000 for the Branch. Thank you to all the members who donated items, and thank you to all who purchased an item; this money will help with the running of the Branch.

It was another great evening, made all the better by the members who were able to attend. Like me, I’m sure they’re looking forward to the next Hunter’s Winter Dinner and Rick Mazza Award night.