Clint Bentley, from left, Cindy Alexander and Kelly Alexander greet arriving members and guests at the annual Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn Sheep fundraiser. Photos by MARIAN UMFOEFFER/REVIEW-JOURNAL Cindy and Larry Pendleton look over one of the donated silent auction items during the annual Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn Sheep party on Saturday at the Stardust. Charles Musser, from left, Don Turner, Art Dixon, TawnyLyn Goodweiler-Green and Paul Valintine chat during the party. Participating in the Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn Sheep charity fundraiser are Bob Orgill, from left, Diane Orgill, Mike Meyer and Ron Lurie.

The Fraternity of Desert Bighorn Sheep had their annual benefit on Saturday at the Stardust.

The fraternity was established in 1965 by Ed Pribyl as a means to aid the majestic bighorn sheep, which is the state animal.

The fraternity has grown to a board of directors with 16 members and it garners large community support, as evidenced by 500 guests attending the annual banquet.

This conservation organization has assisted state and federal agencies on habitat improvement, and has actively built water projects through the years.

Their mission is to construct water stations and to renovate and maintain the water stations for the sheep throughout the state.

There are 115 major big-game guzzlers in Southern Nevada. Many of the guzzlers are located high atop mountains, so helicopters are used to check the trough's condition. If the troughs are dry because of a lack of rain, water is flown in. Recent fires have damaged projects in the Delamar and the Meadow Valley Range, therefore, 2005 funds raised at this banquet will go toward their repair and the building of three new projects.

Guests, including Ron Lurie, Marilyn and Michael Kirkpatrick, County Commissioner Tom Collins, Cindy Alexander and shooting park administrator Don Turner, checked out jewelry, golf bags and various bronzes in the silent auction.

For the raffle, tickets could also be purchased and then deposited in front of the desired item, which included a DVD player, Bighorn artwork, one-of-kind rifles, a slot machine and gourmet dinners.

A ladies raffle offered silk floral arrangements, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, and gift certificates. There was also a youth raffle for prizes such as radio-controlled jeeps, an Indian doll, sleeping bags, backpacks and games.

The masters of ceremonies for the evening were Bill Vasconi and Clint Bentley.

Special recognition plaques were given to Jelindo Tiberti and Craig Stevenson for their commitment to wildlife, and the young people were invited to the stage and thanked for their early involvement in learning about the bighorns.

Tommy Ford gave new .22-caliber rifles to the 17 young people present.

All enjoyed the three-entr e dinner, including Charles Musser, Tawny and Art Dixon, Ken Williams, Gary Sproul, T.K. Crabb and Judge Donald Mosley. Neil Kornze of Elko, who is currently living in Washington, D.C., represented Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada and John Lopez of Reno, represented Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada.

Gary Manning conducted the live auction for 41 big items, including a lamb coat, which went to high bidder Assemblyman Richard Perkins., D-Henderson. Tommy Ford spent $8,000 to name and construct another water project.

The auction raised $65,000, and a highlight of the evening was a check received from the Lied Foundation for $100,000.

Farewell dinner: CHOICE Humanitarian's Las Vegas affiliate had a farewell dinner for Dale Erquiaga at Sensi in the Bellagio.

Erquiaga, who is with R&R Partners, is relocating to Phoenix. He has worked closely with the Las Vegas affiliate.

The private dining room was the location for the dinner attended by Sharon McNair, Carlos Collado (who made all the arrangements for the evening), Mark Ricciardi, Donna Schick, Philip Young, Cindy Doumani, Rose McKinney James, State Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, and his wife, Lisa, Angie Wallin and Mitchell Wade, CHOICE Humanitarian executive director from Utah.

A handcrafted piece of ebony from a recent CHOICE Humanitarian expedition to Kenya was presented to Erquiaga.

The pending Playhouse benefit in October was the topic of conversation, with the Hecks announcing they would be building a playhouse army barrack, complete with fold-down bunks. Uniforms would be specially designed for the event's auction, which will benefit CHOICE Humanitarian.