AWA News


AWA News!!!
After many years of trying, Scottsboro native wins the State Duck Calling Championship.....

Mr. David Womack of Scottsboro won the State Duck Calling Championship on Saturday, August 12, 2000.

Mr. Womack is a long time member of AWA and this win was made more sweet thanks to AWA donating a portion of the prize money which will be used to offset the cost of attending the
World Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
GOOD LUCK DAVID !!!!!!!!!

The other winners were:

(2) Shannon Crim Huntsville

(3) Mason Daniel Harvest

(4) Mark Moates, Birmingham

(5) Tommy Conaway, Birmingham

Juniors Were: 12 and Under

(1) Jeff Saxon Jr.

(2) Dylan Posey

(3) Kody Timmons

Intermediate Ages 13-16

(1) Ryan Crew

(2) Mark Whitworth

Hunters Division

(1) Ryan Crew

(2) Todd Norton and Tin Devaney

DUCK RELEASE 2000

Well, AWA did it again. . . We had a very successful Mallard Banding. We banded and released another group of young Mallards as part of the ongoing effort of the Mallard Stewardship Program. Several people came out to Caney Creek Farms on Saturday, June 17, 2000. We had more kids this year thanks to the efforts of Mike Crawford and his group, KWAC (Kids in Waterfowling and Conservation). Many of the children had never had the opportunity to see these wild ducks up close. We had children ranging in age from 2 to 15 years old. The young ducks were wiggly while the banding was going on, but the kids did a wonderful job of not dropping any. This year AWA broke from tradition and put two leg bands on the birds. The first was the traditional AWA leg band and the second band was one that was sponsored by a local Arab Alabama church, Lifegate Baptist Church.

mikeband.jpg (20884 bytes)

Mr. Mike King, a member of Lifegate, was responsible for getting this sponsorship. Mr. King, along with Anthony Hyatt and Glenn Capp, solicited the members of the church for this worthy cause. The members of Lifegate came through with a monetary donation for the purchase of the Christian oriented leg bands. The leg bands are numbered and have a partial Bible verse from John 3;7, "… Ye must be born again" and the phone number of the church.

AWA would like to thank all of the members, new and old, friends, and on-lookers who came out for this worthwhile cause. Without the support of the community, this type of release would not be possible. Again, a BIG THANKS to everybody!

AWA Receives a $2,000 Grant

AWA Receives a $2,000 Grant for a Handicap Blind and Hunting Area / This was from the Alabama Resource Conservation Districts with the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

April 1, 2000, Mr. John Brown with the Conservation Resource Districts and Jackson County State Representative, Honorable John Robinson, presented AWA a $2,000 grant check from the Alabama Resource Conservation Districts with the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Also, Representative Robinson toured the Phillips WDA and committed his support for conservation projects in his district. AWA greatly appreciates this grant and will construct a blind that can be used for physically challenged sportsmen at the Phillips WDA.

Representative John Robinson Presenting the $2,000 grant to Gary Benefield and

Jerry Davis in front of all the nesting boxes at the Phillips WDA.

KWAC's First Project of the New Millenium
The day got off to a great start with the kids and puppy running and playing in the mud; But soon it was time to get down to the work at hand.
Each kid grabbed his or her box and headed out with Mike close behind. The kids were much more interested in watching the ducks
take flight than in actually putting up the boxes. But the AWA members that were there, Mike Crawford, Marty Upton, Clark Sparks, Chris Black,
and Gary Benefield, soon explained what purpose the boxes would serve. Then the kids jumped at
the chance to make "homes" for the little ducks. The sun finally peeked through the clouds and the coats came off. After a fairly dry
morning, we had a few accidents where some of the kids decided to see just HOW DEEP the waterholes were. Dry clothes and
dry shoes/socks were dispersed as soon as the boxes were put up. The kids will go back in a few weeks to make final adjustments (such as
predator guards). All during the upcoming months, we will be checking on the progress of the new families.

Mike Crawford and his KWAC crew:


L to R
Jennifer Black, Kara Benefield, Hannah Neuffer, Sam Davis, Jessica Black, Mallory Crawford, and Avery McCarley
(and a little furry friend that will be given away April 15, 2000)
(Photos courtesy of Melissa Black)



Mike looks like he is having fun.




Trees Donated to AWA

Mead Paper Company has donated 3,000 oak trees to AWA for the Phillips Project. These are cherry bark, water, and pin oak trees. These trees should be planted the last of Feb. at 40 trees an acre.
TVA / AWA Work Hand And Hand

North Jackson and Brewer Schools are constructing appx. 300 woodduck nesting boxes for TVA / AWA.
AWA will get 100 of these boxes, and a few blue bird boxes are being built also. Some of the woodduck boxes
will be used at the Phillips Project.
TVA donated the cypress lumber for this project based on a deal that
AWA would furnish the hardware and build the boxes. In return,
AWA will receive 100 boxes and TVA will get 200. All of these will place in the TRV.