Veterans Day
On Friday, November 11, our nation will pause once again to pay tribute to the many men and women who have so bravely defended the freedoms we hold dear. Veterans Day represents the one official day each year when we recognize our veterans for their service to our nation. However, on this Veterans Day, I ask you to make a commitment to do more. I encourage you to honor these real life heroes each and every day of the year. Our state is home to more than 540,000 veterans. They are all around us. They are our family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Every day we encounter someone who has served our nation and every day we have the opportunity to say thank you for that service. We must always remember that freedom is never free. And, we must never forget our veterans are the ones who have paid the price to defend the freedoms we too often take for granted. On this Veterans Day, I ask that we all take time to pay our respects and show our gratitude to the many veterans who call Missouri home. I also ask that we all make a commitment to honoring these devoted Americans not just on Veterans Day, but each and every day of the year. They deserve no less.
IN THE DISTRICT
Share The HarvestOne program I hope local hunters will participate in this year is known as Share the Harvest. The Share the Harvest program provides a way for deer hunters to donate venison to the needy. Because many Missouri families are in need of a dependable source of protein in their diets, donated deer meat is a great way to provide this vital part of the daily diet.
Administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation, the program saw 5,731 hunters donate more than 305,643 pounds of venison during the 2010 deer seasons. This year we hope to see that total grow.
Donating is easy. Hunters who want to participate simply take their deer to an approved meat processor and let the processor know how much venison they wish to donate. The processor will package the meat, which will be picked up by the local sponsoring organization and taken to a participating charitable agency for distribution. The cost of processing the deer is the responsibility of the hunter. However, funds are available to help with processing cost when a whole deer is donated. The entire processing cost is paid by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and local sponsors during the urban zones portion of the firearms season for whole deer donations.
If you are an avid deer hunter and interested in helping those in need, please consider participating in this wonderful program. To learn more about the program or to find out how your organization can become involved, contact the Conservation Department at 573-522-4115 or the Conservation Federation of Missouri at 573-634-2322. For hunters interested in donating venison, there are two processors in Greene County ready to help - J&L Custom Processing in Walnut Grove and Turner Meat Processing in Fair Grove.
Interim Office Hours
Interim office hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Normal schedule will resume December 1, 2011. If you need to call me at home, my number is 417-887-3353.
I look forward to hearing from you. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Best wishes.
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