Raffle, Online Auction, and Wildlife Books for the Next Generation of Wildlifers

All raffle ticket sales and auction purchases will be donated to support Western Section student and early career professionals  

The raffle will be a Bucket raffle which will be held at the end of the Wednesday evening banquet. Place tickets in the buckets for the prizes you hope to win. This banquet raffle is a lot of fun, and there will be some amazing prizes, including some new super surprises! Raffle items will be displayed in the Exhibit Hall Tuesday and Wednesday. Due to state laws we can only sell raffle tickets in-person in Riverside at the meeting. Raffle tickets will be sold starting Tuesday night at the Welcome Reception, and a last call for raffle tickets will be announced on Wednesday evening just before the start of the raffle. We encourage everyone to purchase raffle tickets, which are available at the Registration Desk or from Western Section Executive Board members and volunteers.  Consider buying some raffle tickets at the registration table when you pick up your reg packet!

An online auction will also be held this year. This is the place to bid on some one-of-a-kind items!  (See below for information on  how you can donate cool things to the auction.) The auction will close at 1pm on Thursday, February 9th.  Link to 2023 Online Auction: http://www.biddingowl.com/TWSWesternSection

New this year — Book Sales and Gift Baskets.  We are excited to announce that this year we will sell curated, wildlife themed baskets in the Exhibit Hall using items that are donated by our members and meeting attendees.  And we’re asking everyone attending the meeting in Riverside to go through your book shelves and donate any wildlife books you no longer need to the Western Section.  We will sell them at the meeting, and 100% of the funds will sponsor student and early career professional programs.

Please contact Raffle and Gift Basket Chair Susanne Marczak if you are able to donate something special to any of these programs.  communication@tws-west.org

This Year, Donate You

Every year, we reach out to supportive individuals and organizations like you in search of auction/raffle donors to support our annual meeting. In the past, generous donations to the Western Section raffle and auction have allowed us to help support the educational and professional development of the next generation of wildlife biologists and managers. This year we are excited to announce that we are expanding the scope of our auction to include member-donated experiences and items for our auction.

If you are an illustrator, a painter, a knitter, an author, an outdoors person, or simply a Western Section member with something unique to offer your fellow wildlifers, we are reaching out to *you* to see if you would be interested in donating an experience or item. Maybe you are an avid birder who can share the art of birding by ear, or an outdoors person who can lead a guided hunt. Perhaps you can offer a weekend getaway in your family’s summer cabin or a chartered flight to an out-of-the-way fly-fishing destination. Paintings, signed books, a wildlife-themed knitted beanie, and a locally-gathered and home-cooked meal are examples of “hand-made” items that members would love to have. Goods crafted by hand with love and experiences to share with fellow wildlifers not only can help support the Western Section, but also can help forge new friendships between members along the way.

Please contact Raffle and Auction Chair Susanne Marczak if you have any questions or would like to donate an item to the raffle and/or auction.  communication@tws-west.or