MOULTRIE, Ga. — After being named the number one single event highest earner in the country, the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation hopes Thursday night’s annual banquet repeats last year’s success.

The local NWTF chapter, the Double Gobbler chapter ,held its annual conservation banquet Thursday night at Spence Field. The aim of the event is to help raise money for the national organization, which is dedicated to land conservation, generational hunting methods and introducing and teaching hunters about turkey hunting.

Last year, the event was the single highest earning event of any NWTF chapter in the country. The Double Gobbler was recognized for it last month at the national convention in Tennessee, according to chapter president Ronnie Reagin. 

The chapter received the L.A. Dixon, Jr. Memorial Highest Single Event (Net) first place award as well as the World Slam Club award at the 46th annual convention in Nashville. 

“It’s something we’re very proud of,” Reagin said in an interview preceding the event.

Members of the Double Gobbler raise money through a variety of ways at the event. Tickets, sponsorships and a silent and live auction all contribute to the fund raising. This year, the chapter hoped to encourage more families to attend and help raise money, according to Double Gobbler Committee Member Keith Wisham. 

“In years past, this has been a mostly guys event but we are hoping to encourage more families,” Wisham said in an interview at the event. “This year they have included two women’s packages to raffle off and at least a quarter of the firearms raffled off are youth/women’s sizes.”

They also included two Jake’s hunts.

The Jake program is for hunters aged 16 and under. The NWTF holds these hunts and other Jake programs to “teach the younger kids how to hunt turkey, how to preserve the land and help foster the next generation of turkey enthusiasts,” Wisham said. 

They hope to continue encouraging youth participation next year, according to Committee Member Sean Sauls.

“We want to continue expanding youth and family participation. Like next year we want to get some games for the kids to play and maybe even have the (Department of Natural Resources) to come out and do a demonstration,” Sauls said.

Aside from items that were provided by the Double Gobbler chapter, all auctioned or raffled items were donated by members of the community, according to Wisham. Some of these items included firearms, knife sets, hunting equipment, art pieces, special liquor sets, national and international hunts and more.

Exact numbers of the event’s success won’t be available for about “two to three weeks,” according to Wisham.

If you would like to get involved with the NWTF, you can contact Reagin at 229-891-6838 or Wisham at 229-881-2251.