WAUSA – Several Wausa area entities recently benefited from monetary donations given by a regional organization.
The Northeast Nebraska Whitetails Unlimited Chapter contributed funds to the following: Wausa Public Schools, $500 for vaping prevention; Wausa Future Business Leaders of America, $500; Wausa girls basketball, $500; Wausa Play Production, $500; Lied Lincoln Township Library, $500; and Rolling Hills Country Club, $1,000 for new trees.
The regional Whitetails Unlimited Chapter also recently donated $1,500 to Knox County 4-H Shooting Sports and $2,300 to Cedar County 4-H Shooting Sports.
“These were requests made by these chapters to help support our local communities, schools and youth,” said Chris Carlson, a board member for the Northeast Nebraska Whitetails Unlimited Chapter. “Each year from our annual banquet that is held in March, 50 percent of the net proceeds are given back to our chapter to spend.”
He noted the regional Whitetails Unlimited Chapter has donated more than $100,000 back to organizations in the Wausa area and the surrounding northeast Nebraska region.
“This year alone, we will be giving back close to $20,000 locally,” Carlson said. “Our goal from the board is to support the youth anyway we can, to promote the outdoors and being active.”
He noted 2025 will mark the Northeast Nebraska Whitetails Unlimited Chapter’s 20th year in existence from when it first started in Wausa. The organization usually hosts an annual banquet every March.
“We started our first year with 54 people at our banquet,” Carlson said. “We now have grown to a sellout crowd every year and will have 450 folks at our banquet.”
Each year at the regional Whitetails Unlimited Chapter’s annual banquet, the organization wants to make sure that the youth who attend walk out of the event with something.
“We will have over 125 youth, 13 and under,” Carlson said. “This year, they all received a Whitetails Unlimited hoodie, and there were 43 lucky winners of a shotgun and six (lucky winners) of a lifetime hunting permit.”
Founded in 1982, Whitetails Unlimited is a national nonprofit conservation organization that has remained true to its mission and has made great strides in the field of conservation.
Whitetails Unlimited, based in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has gained the reputation of being the nation’s premier organization dedicating its resources to the betterment of the white-tailed deer and its environment.
The organization’s mission is to raise funds in support of educational programs, wildlife habitat enhancement and acquisition, and the preservation of the shooting sports and hunting tradition for future generations.
For more information on Whitetails Unlimited, people may visit the organization’s website at www. whitetailsunlimited.com.
