The 2013 South Alabama Big Buck Contest—presented by Pepsi, New Breed Archery, and the Greater Brewton Area Chamber of Commerce—is underway again.

“We started the Big Buck Contest in 2011 as what we thought would be a fun community event for the people of Brewton,” Andrew Clark, coordinator of the event said. “Brewton is a community of hunters and we knew of other cities like Brewton doing something similar. As we began to discuss how we wanted our Big Buck Contest to be different we settled on two areas in which we thought we could set ourselves apart and that is the prizes and the cause.”

Clark said prizes from the Big Buck Contest are “top notch.”

“We give away two, three-day gun hunts in Pike County, Illinois with Eagle Lakes Outfitters (www.eaglelakesoutfitters.com),” Clark said. “One for the biggest buck and one which is randomly drawn from ticket purchasers. These hunts alone account for over $7,000 in prizes. In addition to the two hunts we also give away two New Breed Archery bows (www.newbreedarchery.com) for second and third place. Those to runner-ups will also receive two free European skull mounts from Cole’s Taxidermy in Milton FL. The second and third place prizes are valued at over $1,000 each.”

While those top prizes are very envious to hunters around, there is still another prize they can win.

“We understand that not everyone feels like they can kill the biggest buck, but we do want people to participate, so we created the Random Buck drawing,” Clark said. “The Random Buck is a great way to win a prize, all you have to do is turn in a buck to be measured. Once the winner is declared we will draw randomly from all of the other bucks turned into the contest and the hunter that is drawn will receive a new hunting rifle. Last year we had 15 bucks turned in so it made for pretty good odds at winning the Random Buck prize. We also have monthly prizes and a youth prize for hunters under the age of 16. Everyone involved in this contest has a chance to win. It really is one of a kind.”

Clarke said the cause of the event is the Catch-a-Dream Foundation (www.catchadream.org) and Alabama Hunters Helping the Hungry.

“Forty percent of our net profit from the contest will be distributed to the Catch a Dream Foundation and 10 percent will go to Alabama Hunters Helping the Hungry,” Clark said. “The Catch-a-Dream Foundation is a very special organization that is based out of Mississippi. CADF operates along the same lines as the Make-a-Wish Foundation except CADF specializes in taking young people on hunting and fishing trips. I encourage anyone who reads this article to go to the CADF website and look around, it is very inspiring and we are proud to be partnered with CADF.”

Clark said none of the contest could happen without their sponsors.

“Brewton has given us such great support since the inception of the contest in 2011,” he said. “Our title sponsors include: Pepsi Cola of Atmore and New Breed Archery of Birmingham. We are also sponsored by: Team Realtree Outdoor Energy Drinks, Trustmark National Bank, Cedar Creek Land & Timber Inc, Eagle Lakes Outfitters, Grede of Brewton, GoodWay Refining, Weaver’s Apparel and Fine Jewelry, Double M Farms, Cole’s Taxidermy in Milton FL, Okie Designs, The Brewton Standard and Brewton Feed and Hay. These sponsors make the contest possible and we want to thank them for what they do.”

If anyone would like to purchase a ticket for the Big Buck Contest, they can contact the Brewton Chamber of Commerce at 837-3224.