I pray and hope everyone survived the Oklahoma Blizzard of 2009 that hit us on December 23 and 24. As I write this article (1-12-10) there is still snow on the ground and piles still on the edge of the road and parking lots. Until a few days ago temperatures had not risen above 32 so there had been little melting, thank God the roads were cleared so if you could get out you could go. Again, I pray and hope everyone made it through unharmed.

In my last newsletter article I neglected to report on the Annual Awards Banquet and Installation of Officers. The MAPVA Board of Directors remains the same as it was in 2008-2009 as all positions were unopposed. The slate of Officers and Board of Director is as follows: President, Bill Kokendoffer; Vice-President, Larry Clolinger; Secretary, Ivenhoe T. Richey; Treasurer, Richard Harrell; Board of Director, Daniel Petersen; Board of Director, Robert Lesage; Board of Director Doug Conley; Board of Director, Wayne Wells; Board of Director, William H. Wood; Board of Director, Alphonso Lopez and Immediate Past President, Robert Cornsilk. I have enjoyed serving with these men for these many years and assure you, the members, that this Board is committed to serve the best interest of the membership and this chapter. I look forward to this new year, serving again with these men. We also elected or should I say re-elected Ivenhoe T. Richey to serve another three year term as National Director.

I want to congratulate Tim Lowery for winning the Elk Hunt raffle and Eddie Camara for selling the most tickets. I have not heard from Tim Lowery to see how his hunt went but know that Eddie was able to harvest a nice bull at Headhunters Exotics. I want to thank Shawn Winchester for making these hunts possible and treating our hunters like royalty. Eddie I will be looking forward to having an Elk steak ;-).

We were lucky to get our Chapter and Green Country Christmas parties in before bad weather set in. We enjoyed good food, good friends and always the highlight, playing Dirty Santa. I am always amazed at the giving spirit and selfless giving of our members. Again this past Christmas we were able to help two families with food, gifts and even paying a few bills. We wish the best for these families in this upcoming year and I thank all our members who gave and collected donation for these families.