Milk River Gobblers Annual Banquet is back Feb. 5

After a year without it due to the pandemic, the Milk River Gobblers Annual Banquet will be held Feb. 5 at the Havre Eagles Club featuring games, raffles, a live auction, a silent auction and a dinner which will help fund the group's operation in the coming year.

The gobblers unofficial public relations officer Jeff Dibblee said his group is glad to be back after a year of the pandemic and they're hoping for a good turnout.

"It feels really good; we're all excited about it," Dibblee said.

He said the banquet, will include a prime rib and shrimp dinner with all the fixings, along with cocktails, raffles, poker and more prizes than their previous two dinners, for men, women and children.

The event began when the Milk River Gobblers broke away from the National Wild Turkey Federation four years ago, he said.

"We found that being involved in a federation like that, we weren't getting anything back to use," Dibblee said. "So we broke away and started our own."

Proceeds from the event will fund the group's activities in the area including offering scholarships, supporting local organizations like the Havre Eagles Club and bringing turkeys and other birds like pheasants and sharp-tailed grouse into the area to improve local hunting.

"(We want to) make it a little more enjoyable for the hunters and, of course, wildlife viewers," he said.

Dibblee said the banquet also funds their youth activity day in August, which features giveaways, games and educational talks including one from the Be Bear Aware campaign at last year's event which was very well attended.

Another big thing the organization does, he said, is help pay for turkeys for the Community Christmas Dinner, which they usually donate some turkeys to, and the banquet is one of the ways they pay for it.

"It's a fundraiser, it's a get-together for area hunters, wildlife enthusiast, anyone who wants to get out there and see the bird," he said.

Dibblee said the group has a lot of new members who are gung ho about the event and he expects the turnout to be as big or bigger than previous years.

"I think people are just tired of being cooped up," he said.

Despite not being able to have the event last year, he said, the group is still doing well financially and were able to hold events like a gun raffle to make some extra money so they could still help out with this year's Christmas dinner at the Eagles.

At the Feb. 5 banquet, cocktails start at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 sharp, he said, so people should probably show up early.

Dinner is $40 per person, and $75 for a couple, which will include $50 worth of general raffle tickets.

People 17 and younger only have to pay $20 but will need to buy tickets separately.

A table for eight people is $600 including $400 worth of tickets and a chance at winning the sponsor rifle.

The High-Roller Package gives attendees $300 in tickets and a chance to win three different firearms, a hat, and more but does not include the meal.

Dibblee said invites are trickling in, but they usually have tickets available at the door and they've never sold out.

More information on the event can be found by calling Lance Johnson at 406-390-1542.