Photo by Dwayne Black Johnny Blowers, the emcee at Saturday’s Lyon County Pheasants Forever banquet, holds up “the Goofy Rooster” for the crowd. The taxidermy pheasant is “kind of a gag gift,” explained LCPF member Ron Prorok. The person who wins the rooster each year gets to choose where it gets displayed, he said.

MARSHALL — It’s an event that’s become a tradition for members of the Lyon County chapter of Pheasants Forever. And the 31st annual Pheasants Forever banquet in Marshall was a success this weekend, chapter members said.

Ron Prorok, treasurer of the Lyon County Pheasants Forever, estimated that more than 250 people attended the banquet on Saturday evening. It was also the banquet’s first time being held at a new venue, the 5 Family Ranch just outside Marshall.

“It was very successful. 5 Family Ranch worked out very well for us,” Prorok said.

Prorok said the venue’s size worked well for the banquet, plus it had extra balcony space for crafts and kids’ activities.

“It made it a bit of a family event,” he said.

Turnout at the banquet has been growing slowly over the years, Prorok said.

The event included games, door prizes, and both a silent auction and a live auction by Deutz Auctions. Auction and giveaway prizes included more than 30 guns, Prorok said.

Humor was part of the banquet too, as people tried to take home a taxidermy pheasant called “the Goofy Rooster.”

“The Goofy Rooster is kind of a gag gift,” Prorok explained. It’s meant to be the one rooster that anyone could bag, regardless of skill. “Whoever wins it gets to choose where it goes.”

The annual banquet makes a difference for the habitat, wildlife and water conservation projects that Pheasants Forever supports.

“This is our main fundraising event. Everything we raise stays in the area,” Prorok said. The work the chapter does to encourage hunting and improve pheasant habitat also has wider benefits. What’s good for the birds is also good for water quality, other wildlife, and pollinators, he said.