Continued tradition, shared fellowship focus of 44th Sportsmen Feed Published Jan. 20, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Stratton Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The 44th Annual Team Minot Sportsmen Feed was held at the Jimmy Doolittle Center here Jan. 18. The event was geared toward uniting the families from the base and downtown community. "This was two communities getting together," said Chief Master Sgt. John Hemmy, 5th Mission Group chief executive manager. "This event helps get Airmen out of their dorm rooms and intermingle with families of Team Minot." With many Warbirds and Rough Riders in attendance, the community members had a chance to get to know their brethren from the base community, especially young Airmen. "This was a great opportunity to venture out of my comfort zone," said Senior Airman Aaron Toledo, 5th Communications Squadron network infrastructure technician. "It was a great opportunity to try a whole array of new dishes native to North Dakota." Airman Toledo and Chief Hemmy, among many others, experienced a wide variety of foods from the area. These dishes ranged from creamed ring-neck pheasant to bison-roast au jus, from breaded walleye to breaded fowl gizzards. "I've been at this for more than 30 years," said Joe Quaglia, Sportsmen Feed chairman and retired chief master sergeant. "It's always exciting to build a close rapport with these young Airmen, who are most often young, single guys looking for weekend activities. This is just a small way we can give back to them for the sacrifices they make on a day-in, day-out basis." The food was not the only thing attendees had an opportunity to enjoy. There were also many games, such as corn hole and bingo, as well as an abundance of door prize give-a-ways. "My son, Zach, just turned six -years-old and the truck we won from the door prizes is the perfect birthday present," said Lt. Col. Greg Sava, 91st Maintenance Group chief of quality assurance. Another activity all in attendance looked forward to was the NFL's conference playoff games presented on two projectors in the main hall, as well as on all the television sets in the lounge area. Regardless of the results of the games or the good food, the main focus of this age-old tradition here was the fellowship shared between the two communities. "This event helps strength the good partnership between the base and community," said Master Sgt. Lowell Cormier, 5th Force Support Squadron first sergeant. "It's great to see all these folks out and enjoying themselves. This is the most people I've seen at one of these in a while, so it was really nice to see such an excellent turnout." The event was so popular among the Airmen ranks, the first sergeants had many calls to see if there were any extra tickets for the event said Sergeant Cormier. Event leftovers were boxed up and sent to the field for those shift workers who were unable to attend due to the requirements of the 24-hour mission, Chief Hemmy said. The Sportsmen Feed is co-sponsored by the Minot Chamber of Commerce, the Military Affairs Committee and the Minot AFB First Sergeant's Council. Prizes were donated by various downtown businesses. To find out how to get involved or for more information on next year's feed, contact your units' first sergeant.