OWL awareness banquet set for Thursday

Published 11:00 pm Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Outdoors Without Limits Pike County Chapter will host its annual “Awareness Benefit and Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Cattleman Park on Highway 231 south of Troy.

Terry McPherson, Pike County Chapter president, said everyone who is interested in supporting OWL, an organization that promotes outdoor awareness and team work between disabled and non-disabled individuals through outdoor recreational events, is encouraged to attend.

“The outdoors is powerful medicine and a dynamic reprieve that should be enjoyed by everyone,” McPherson said. “Through its offerings OWL helps people learn about, and use, their inner resources. Simply put, we help individuals find joy in the outdoors and make new and lasting friendships.”

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McPherson said the success of OWL largely relies on the efforts of its community-based chapter program.

“OWL chapters promote national and local goals and opportunities by involving local community participation,” he said. “The Owl organization and its chapters raise much needed funding for chapter events during their annual ‘Awareness Benefit and Dinner.”

McPherson said the OWL Pike County Chapter hosts an annual deer hunt, which is the largest of its kind, and a professional bass anglers tournament in the early summer.

“These are tremendously popular events for people will disabilities and attract people from the area and from all across the country,” he said.

The “Awareness Benefit and Dinner Thursday night will help raise funds to support the events of the OWL Pike County Chapter.

“Community involvement and partnerships are our lifeline,” McPherson said. “OWL is an organization that is committed to creating totally unique and enriching experiences by reducing the barriers that preventing disabled people from enjoying the great outdoors.

“We have an abundance of partnering opportunities available and strongly encourage anyone who would like to be a part of our faith-based, emotionally powerful, non-profit chapter to join us Thursday night.”

Tickets for the OWL Pike County Chapter “Awareness Banquet and Dinner” are $30 for individuals, $40 for couples and $5 for ages 13-17. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Tickets will be available at the door.

The dinner will be catered by Hook’s Barbecue of Troy.

A variety of really great prizes will be offered through drawings and silent and live auctions.

“We have prizes for the outdoorsmen as well as prizes for the entire family,” McPherson said. “We have several NASCAR prizes including four tickets to the Talladega 500 in October. The prize package includes four tickets to the Saturday and Sunday races and pit passes.”

Also in the NASCAR line, will be a bottle of wine from the Richard Childress Winery, autographed by Childress.

“We also have a pheasant hunt on the Thursday before the Talladega race,” McPherson said. “Mike Helton and Richard Childress will be at the hunt so this will be a really great prize. We also have several quail hunts, guns and a variety of other prizes for the outdoorsman.”

Other prizes include a 32-inch flat-screen television and an iPad and other computing devices.