It was gratifying to see about 550 people turn out to support the fifth-annual Wildlife Conservation Banquet and Auction presented by the Pamlico chapter of Hunters Helping Kids.

Although the financial support generated by the event is impressive, its what the local HHK chapter and national HHK organization will do with that financial support that matters. Hunters Helping Kids is more than taking children hunting.

With the $80,000 (gross) the event raised, the local chapter and national organization (which split the money on a 50-50 basis), will teach children the importance of being good stewards of the environment and how to hunt safely.

The Pamlico chapter of HHK, the largest chapter in the national group, is making a difference in the community, said Dale Dodson, HHK’s national director of operations, at the event.

“This committee is hard-working. They do a lot in the community, and that’s what we’re all about,” Dodson said in a brief interview.

Dodson said HHK is a nonprofit organization without a political agenda and whose only goal “is to take kids hunting.”

The Pamlico chapter’s efforts are worth supporting. Perhaps the community will see to it that next year’s banquet and auction brings in $100,000.