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29th annual Souris and Area Wildlife Branch's Dinner was sold-out affair

Waldron Leard, left, contest coordinator, David Perry
representing MacPhee's Home Building Supplies,
middle, and Jim Cheverie of Souris accepting the
grand prize on behalf of his cousin Donald Cheverie of
Sydney, Nova Scotia for the 3rd annual Souris &
Area Branch of the PEIvWildlife Federation photo
contest. Awards were presented and winners were
announced at the recent Souris & Area Wildlife
Branch's 29th Annual Dinner which was held at St
Mary's Hall in Souris.
Photo by Loretta Campbell

St. Mary’s Hall in Souris was filled with smiling faces recently as a sold-out crowd enjoyed the Souris & Area Wildlife Branch's 29th Annual Dinner.
A hot meal of roast buffalo was prepared by Chef Pedro Perraro and Atlantic Salmon was prepared by Rita Carter. There were also Hors d’oeuvres which included steaming mussels, oysters, smoked fish and various game birds.
The crowd was welcomed by Souris & Area Wildlife Branch president Steve Cheverie with Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay, PEI Tourism minister Valerie Docherty, and minister of Innovation Allan Campbell also in attendance.
Each year a mystery dish is prepared for those who dare to explore the unknown. This year the dish was Rock Crab.
Waldron Leard was awarded the Souris & Area Branch 2009 Sportsman Conservation Award. This honour was bestowed on him for his "dedication to hunting with a camera and then posting it on their website."
Jim Cheverie and Don Humphrey of the Souris Hospital Foundation accepted a Habitat Canada print from Branch president Steve Cheverie.
A live auction concluded the evening with Robbie Barry as auctioneer as many people purchased items to support the efforts of the environmental work of the Souris & Area Wildlife Branch.

Souris and area digital photo contest 2009
The Souris and area digital photo contest 2009, which continues to grow closed on November 15, 2009.
In 2007, there were 472 entries and in its second year in 2008 a total of 1,493 photos were adjudicated. In 2009 that number jumped to 2,100 photos and 31 videos submitted by 517 individuals.
In 2009, besides area residents and Islanders, photographers visiting from all Canadian provinces and territories except Nunavut, Belgium, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, and 32 states from the United States shared their work. The primary requirement is all entries must be taken in a specified geographical area: Goose River, Five Houses, Forest Hill and Primrose are the western boundaries and all points east.
There were five divisions: Adult, University/College, High School and Elementary School in still photography. New for 2009, was a video (open) category. Videos were not eligible for the Grand Prize. There is a special judge’s prize to be presented to the Most Promising Youth photographer. Awards are presented through the support of MacPhee’s Home Hardware Building Supplies, Ducks Unlimited and the Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation. The entries are adjudicated by experts in the field on-line using the services of http://www.flickr.com/.
This year's judges were Dr. Hajnii Bahasara al Assad, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies based in Copenhagen. She describes herself as a serious amateur photographer. A world traveler, Dr. al Assad said Eastern Kings as the only locale she has had the urge to visit on multiple occasions. Dwayne MacGregor is a widely published professional photographer. Based in Canton, Ohio, he has enjoyed many summers at his in-law’s cottage in Darnley. Mr MacGregor describes his favourite Canadian location to be the Priest Pond area. Ana Kuzmik is finishing her Arts degree majoring in photography, at a university in Los Angeles. She is excited to sign contracts to photograph the Vancouver Olympics, World Cup in South Africa and prepare an article for National Geographic. Ms Kuzmik describes her visits to the Fortune River and resulting photographs as magical. Judging is subjective. The choices are the panel’s alone.
Their decisions are final.
The winners were: Adult - 1st prize - Melissa MacInnis; +Adult - 2nd prize - Carolyn Gallant; Adult - 3rd prize - Joanne Dunphy.
University - 1st prize - Laura O'Connor; University - 2nd prize - Jocelyn Bridges; University - 3rd prize - Michelle Vekasey.
High School - 1st prize - Mari Humphrey; High School - 2nd. prize - Carolyn MacDonald; High School - 3rd. prize - Jane Hanlon.
Elementary - 1st. prize - Jayne Robertson; Elementary - 2nd. prize - Kaitlyn Cole; Elementary - 3rd. prize - D. D. McSween.
Honourable Mentions went to: Tara Stewart, Fiona Drummond, Shane MacClure, Nancy Eveson, Willy Wozniak, Florence Sutherland, Shelley O'Connor, Brenda Young, Albert Lewis, Johanna Van Beek, Hildamay Humphrey and Celie O'Neill.
To view the entries go to From the http://www.souriswl.ca/contests.html .
From the Eastern Graphic December 30, 2009
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Souris Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation
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