ALPENA — Presque Isle Turkey Trackers will host their 2026 banquet to support youth interested in shooting sports, the outdoors, and the trades on Feb. 28 at the Posen Community Center.

The Presque Isle Turkey Trackers chapter is a nonprofit based in Posen, which champions and encourages youth to participate in outdoor activities such as hunting and conservation work. Michael Romanowski, the Presque Isle chapter president, said that the group’s goal is to get Northeast Michigan youth back interested in the outdoors and to support them in higher education.

“Our main goals are getting kids back into the outdoors, getting them off electronics, and enjoying nature,” Romanowski said. “And also conservation is our main focus.”

Romanowski said that their annual banquet helps to foot the bill for scholarships that support local youths’ higher education goals.

This year, the group will shift their scholarship focus to include youth who are interested in the trades and those that want to enter the workforce right out of high school. Romanowski said that he believes that kids who want to pursue a career in the trades are often overlooked.

“Talking to some of these kids they’re like, ‘Well, we weren’t even going to apply … nobody ever helps us anyway. So we didn’t think we were going to get anything …'” Jason Atwell, Turkey Trackers board member, said.

“I had one kid raise his hand when I was talking to him. He said, ‘Thank you for thinking about us because nobody thinks about us.’ And I have a soft spot for kids going in the trades,” Romanowski added.

Atwell explained that the banquet will consist of a wild game dinner, games, raffles, and an auction.

“We’ve designed the banquet to be an experience, too,” Atwell said. “So people feel that they’re getting the best bang for their buck, so to speak.”

Atwell and Romanowski said that they’re capping the number of people who can attend so as to keep the event atmosphere comfortable.

“So people are able to eat and they’re not having to wait an hour and a half in a line … they’re able to get up and go play the games without bumping into people,” Atwell added.

Some items that the Turkey Trackers will auction off include a signed bow from Ted Nugent, a signed guitar from Morgan Wallen, and signed memorabilia from Fred Bear. Atwell and Romanowski also said that they will auction off an “1883” script signed by most of the cast members.

Atwell and Romanowski said that 100% of the proceeds from the banquet go to the group’s scholarship fund and supporting the Thunder Bay Junior Air Rifle Team.

Atwell explained that the Thunder Bay Junior Air Rifle Team, which makes up local youth of 10 to 18 years old, is in need of better equipment and a stable practice location. He said that the Turkey Trackers reached out to Ted Nugent and shared how well the team did, placing third in the state and moving on to the national finals.

Atwell added that the team competed against competitors who competed in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. A few went on to qualify for the National Rifle Association (NRA) finals, as well.

“So that’s part of why we reached out to Ted Nugent and some of these others and said, ‘Look, these kids are really good. But they’re being bounced around and they could be better if they had a good training facility and they had all the proper practice equipment and all that kind of stuff,'” Atwell said. “And so that’s one reason that a lot of these folks jumped on.”

Other notable figures who have sent items to auction off in support of the Turkey Trackers include Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Tim Allen and Richard Carne from “Home Improvement,” and the cast of “Forged in Fire” from the History Channel.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.