Greater Bay Area Fundraiser in Foster City, CA, just south of San Francisco.
The event was hosted by the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay Area Chapters of SCI. The chapters raise funds for several big projects, including an endowment at UC Berkeley (now valued over $300,000) dedicated to supporting Wildlife Management studies with emphasis on the California big game species, hunts for wounded veterans, opportunities for kids to hunt, fish and target shoot and funding to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for mounted patrol training and various research projects.
California Fish and Game Commissioner Anthony Williams addressed the crowd and spoke about the influence his grandfather had on him by taking him hunting and fishing while growing up in Bakersfield, CA. Commissioner Williams knows that many of the groups that present before the Commission are well-funded, professional advocates and that most hunters are working class people who don’t have the time and resources to hire advocates, making events like SCI fundraisers so important for raising awareness.
Commissioner Williams talked about being committed to fair, thoughtful and proper consideration on the Commission and pledged to ensure that hunting and fishing continues in California.
Two other exciting events took place at the fundraiser with an eye toward the future of hunting. Every young person attending won an age-appropriate prize.
The California “Golden Opportunity Deer Tag” was on the auction block and fetched $33,000. This special tag is good from mid-July through Dec. 31 and allows for one buck deer in any open zone in California. The proceeds of the sale go to the CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and thanks to recent legislation in California supported by SCI, a 5 percent buyer’s premium is assessed and retained by the SCI Chapters to further their mission and that of SCI and SCI Foundation.
