By Staff
LOWRY CITY—Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, and a past president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), will be the guest speaker Oct. 8 at a free wild game banquet being put on at nearby Lakeland High School by First Baptist Church, Lowry City.
The banquet will start at 6:00 p.m. and will lead into Patterson’s presentation of “Experience Africa” at 7 p.m. when he will talk about his 30 African game kills. The safari master will relate his African big game hunting experiences to issues facing men and boys today.
Patterson has traveled in more than 120 countries and holds membership in Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association. Besides being an avid hunter, Patterson is also an expert scuba diver and has dived the Red Sea, the Great Barrier Reef, the Andaman Sea near Thailand, and off the coast of Belize.
The first annual “Sportsman’s Extravaganza” will last from 4-9 p.m. and will feature a wild game dinner, several hunting and fishing clinics, a barbecue contest, a trophy mount contest, special children’s outdoor activities, and numerous door prizes.
Sportsmen can choose from a variety of helpful 30-minute clinics on topics including: “Preparing For Turkey Season;” “Youth Hunt Safety;” “Improve Your Duck Calling;” “Deer Processing Made Easy;” “Crappie Secrets;” “On Target Archery Skills;” “Arrowhead Flinting;” and “Camouflage That Works.” The hunting and fishing clinics will run from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.
The Kid’s Kountry will feature a casting contest, moon bounce, and life-like video hunting games on the Wii. The first 50 children 8 and under will be able to build their very own cork safari pop gun. Numerous door prizes will be awarded throughout the event with the grand prize announced at the end of the night.
The barbecue contest will begin at 4 p.m. with judging at 5:30 p.m. Judging for the trophy mount contest will be done in the gym at 5:45 p.m. Contest categories include: “Largest Mount;” “Smallest Mount;” “Most Realistic Mount;” “Most Unusual Mount;” and “Ugliest Mount.” Mark Brownlee of Gallinipper Creek Taxidermy will oversee displaying the mounts and can be contacted at (417) 644-2923 for further information.
The banquet will feature exotic wild game such as zebra, alligator and kangaroo, as well as local game including venison and area fish such as crappie, bass, and catfish. Chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs will be available for the less adventurous.
“Being near Truman Lake, we have a very large population of unchurched sportsmen and women,” said Jeff Ferguson, pastor, First Lowry City. “We wanted to reach them with the Gospel where they are. We will be giving them an evangelistic hunting DVD, outdoorsman-themed Gospel tracts and of course, Dr. Patterson will fire with both barrels of the Gospel with his Bible message.”
The clinics, barbecue contest, and children’s activities will be held outdoors. In case of inclement weather, these events will be moved indoors.
Lakeland High School is located on Highway 13 just south of Deepwater. For event information contact Ferguson at (660) 525-4022.