The Central North Thompson (CNT) Rod and Gun Club held their annual year end awards banquet at the Royal Canadian Legion in Clearwater on March 1, and considered it a huge success.
Secretary treasurer and club registrar, Rachel Biagioni explained a few of the CNT Rod and Gun Club improvement projects during the evening to a packed house of approximately 130 members which included families with some youth and children attending the annual event. "We appreciate everyone supporting us by coming out this evening. Last year we installed a new roof on the rifle range as one of our club projects which we have dedicated in memory to one of our club founders, John Elliot, a long time dedicated member of the club and true gentleman of the sport," Biagoni told Black Press during the banquet.
Biagioni says the CNT Rod and Gun Club was founded in 1974 and is a non profit organization in the North Thompson Valley sponsoring events "for the community to attend" and that it is not necessary to hold a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) in order to become a member.
During the start of the evenings events following dinner, the youth and children of members are awarded special prizes, "The tradition of the kids getting prizes at the awards banquet is to promote the outdoors to children, keep them engaged with hunting, fishing, hiking or camping activities," said Biagioni.
The gun club raises money for club activities, grounds upkeep, and also offers a bursary each graduation to a student from Clearwater Secondary School entering the field of conservation, forestry, wildlife or parks management.
This year's banquet was catered by Salt Lick Catering and Barbecue from Darfield near Barriere with a wide array of roasted and barbecued meats and all of the fixings with dessert pastries to follow. Clearwater Secondary Grad students were the voluntary clean up crew.
Membership renewal is taking place in April and if you are interested in joining the CNT Rod and Gun Club or learning more about upcoming events, you can contact them at: cntrodandgun@gmail.com
