For the City-Times

Howard L. Hetzer has been a member of the Bill Cook Chapter of the Izaak Walton League since 1963. He was one of the league’s longtime members and served as chair of the annual fisheree from its humble beginning over 50 years ago through 1990. Everyone in the league was saddened to hear of his recent passing.

“He was always known as the fix-it guy, there wasn’t much he couldn’t fix, and probably kept us in our old clubhouse much longer because of him,” said league member Jim Feigleson.

Because of Howard’s love for conservation and the Izaak Walton League, his daughters Nancy Westenberger and Suzi Curler presented the club with a memorial donation of $1250 in his name on July 2nd.

“Dad had a lot of good friends here,” said Nancy, whose was accompanied by her husband, Jim Westenberger. Suzi was also joined by her husband Ray Curler.

“We’d like you to use it for scholarships…or anything the group deems worthy,” Suzi said.

The ceremonial check was surrounded by Howard’s club membership cards and accepted by club secretary, Pete Thiesen.

“Howard was a great guy and we’ll miss him. This donation will honor his work here for years to come,” Thiesen said.

The Izaak Walton League was formed in 1922 to save outdoor America for future generations. The League’s 54 founders, who were avid anglers, named the organization after Mr. Izaak Walton, the 17th century author of The Compleat Angler, a classic book about the art and spirit of fishing.

Stevens Point will be hosting the Izaak Walton League Nation Convention in 2016. The convention will bring thousands of people to Stevens Point and showcase the outdoor recreational activities we have to offer.

Their work is guided entirely by grassroots volunteers. Throughout more than 240 communities, our chapters advance the mission of the Izaak Walton League – restoring watersheds, reducing air pollution, fighting litter, protecting wildlife habitat and open spaces, and instilling conservation ethics in outdoor recreationists.

Their mission is to conserve, restore, and promote the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters, and wildlife.

The Bill Cook Chapter meets the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm at the clubhouse, located off Highway 66 just past the airport.

More information can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/billcookchapter/ or by contacting Mike Wiza at 715-341-1136.