The banquet is scheduled to take place Saturday, October 14, 2017 at the Ramkota Hotel in Casper, Wyoming.

Cash bar opens at 5:30 p.m. with dinner starting at 7:00 p.m.

This will allow time for all guests to peruse the tables scattered with silent auction items.  Raffle tickets will not be sold this fundraiser. We hope folks will enjoy the bidding process and we certainly expect the bidding to be fun and competitive.

Should you have a donation, please call Karen Anfang, 472-0278, or Jim Brown, 262-0158.

Dinner will feature a “South of the Border” buffet including tacos, fajitas, burritos (beef or chicken), Spanish rice ‘n beans, all the condiments and churros for dessert. Russell Hawley, Education Specialist at the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College will provide programing for the evening, “Birds of Extinction”.

Russell has worked at the museum since 1997 and spends his time guiding educational tours, create museum display artwork, and digging up fossils in Wyoming since 1990. His most recent project was illustrating “Islands in the Cosmos: the Evolution of Life on Land” by paleontologist Dr. Dale Russell. Hawley’s program will address birds, which like their mammalian counterparts, suffered a mega fauna mass extinction event during Quaternary. Unlike the mammalian extinction, the peak of the mega-bird extinction occurred not thousands nor tens of thousands of years ago, but mere hundreds. The largest birds that ever lived survived until the time of Marco Polo. This presentation will provide a brief overview of bird species that would have been extant during the Pleistocene, comparing two different intervals on five different continents. The causes for their extinction will be explored as well. Although most of these species have been extinct a relative short time, they can still teach us much about the origin and evolution of birds, and shed light on the mechanisms by which new bird species arise. MAS will appreciate your support and anticipate sharing an interesting and exciting evening. Tickets for the banquet are $35.00 each or a table of eight for $250.00. Tickets will be available for sale at the season’s first general MAS meeting, scheduled Friday, September 8th at the Oil and Gas Commission building, Amoco Parkway.

Tickets may also be purchased by contacting Zach Hutchinson, email: zhutchindon@audubon.org, by calling Karen Anfang, 472-0278, Jim Brown, 262-0158, or Linda Johnston, email: pawpaw299@hotamil.com. Ticket sales are final Wed., Oct. 11th!

Proceeds from the banquet will benefit the establishment of a bird blind, water feature, and feeders within Edness K. Wilkins State Park