46th Annual Sportsmen Feed aims to build camaraderie

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jose L. Hernandez
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The 46th Annual Team Minot Sportsmen Feed, designed to bring service and community members together, was held at the Jimmy Doolittle Center here Jan. 23.

Air Force Global Strike Command and Team Minot Airmen from all ranks had the opportunity to interact with their fellow community members all while enjoying exquisite wild game dishes ranging from Arctic salmon to oven-roasted mallard duck.

The Sportsmen Feed also gave attendees an opportunity to win door prizes and other neat rewards by competing in a game of Bingo, among other sets of games.

Col. Douglas Cox, 5th Bomb Wing commander, expressed the importance of maintaining an open dialogue with the Minot community through events such as this one.

"The Sportsmen Feed represents almost five decades of outreach our base has had with the local community," he added. "It also goes to show how the local community is always engaged in helping take care of our Airmen"

Betty Fedorchak, business owner and member of the Minot Chamber of Commerce expressed that the Minot community has done its best to engage with base personnel and build better relationships.

"The City of Minot has absolutely enjoyed having Minot AFB in our community," she said. "Our community members have such respect for our uniformed servicemembers and this event offers an opportunity for us to give back to the base."

Ms. Fedorchak said the long hours volunteers put into making this event possible is testament to the community's desire to show their support for base personnel.

"The Sportsmen Feed brings out the best from both our community members as well as Airmen on base," said Ms. Fedorchak. "The volunteer efforts that go into making this event possible is astounding."

John MacMartin, Minot Chamber of Commerce president, added none of this would have been possible without the support of leadership on base.

"This whole event is a combined effort," said Mr. MacMartin. "We do our part downtown in gathering volunteers and the base does its part in spreading the word as well."

First sergeants play a key role in this event because they are the ones who bring the enthusiasm to Airmen and invite them to come see what the event is all about said Mr. MacMartin.

He explained it was exciting to see the event unfold and witness a diverse group of people come together.

"Base personnel come from all across the country," he said. "Those who come from distinct areas perhaps have not had a chance to sample some of the native dishes North Dakota has to offer."

Chief Master Sgt. Martin K. Smith, 5th BW command chief, agreed with Mr. MacMartin in that many Airmen come from different backgrounds and this event gives them an opportunity to taste the various wild game ND has to offer.

"It was a neat weekend to come out and enjoy some of ND's best dishes," said Chief Smith.

He expressed his gratitude to the Minot COC, Military Affairs Committee as well as all others involved in managing and sponsoring the event.

"This is really a great opportunity for our AF community come together with those in the Minot community and get to know one another," said Chief Smith.

Mr. MacMartin said overall main goal was to increase participation between base personnel and community members.

"We think it's important we interact with servicemembers because it builds good camaraderie," continued Mr. MacMartin. "The Sportsmen Feed has been going on for a very long time and we want to keep the tradition going."

Mr. MacMartin said at the end of the day, leftover food would be packaged in trays and sent over to shift workers on base who were unable to attend due to the requirements of the 24-hour mission.