COURTLAND—The Millswamp Longbeards Chapter of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation will host its annual fundraising dinner on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Southampton County Fairgrounds.

The event will include raffles for 12 to 14 guns, wildlife prints and statues, and more, said Larry Fowler, spokesman for the chapter.

Last year’s dinner resulted in the chapter sending $10,000 to the federation’s national headquarters in Edgefield, S.C., which since 1985 has spent $372 million to improve wildlife habitat on 17 million acres, said Public Relations Director Brent Lawrence.

“That’s bigger than West Virginia,” Lawrence said.

The money benefits more than wild turkeys.

“We help all upland wildlife, including deer, quail, ruffed grouse and songbirds,” Lawrence said.

Tickets for this year’s dinner are $55, $75 for a couple, $25 for anyone 17 and under and $265 for sponsors, Fowler said. A sponsor is included in an extra drawing for prizes, receives a gift and gets raffle tickets. Anyone who purchases a ticket also gets a one-year membership to the federation.

To buy a ticket, Fowler can be reached at 617-9187 or 654-6797. There may be some tickets available at the door.

The chapter hopes to sell 250 tickets for the dinner catered by Nixon’s Seafood, which will be served at 7:30 p.m. It will include roast beef, fish, fried and steamed shrimp, scallops and the trimmings.

Doors open at 6. Fried turkey and cheese appetizers will be served.

Some of the money raised stays here. The chapter at Thanksgiving donated 65 turkeys to families in Franklin and Southampton County, Fowler said. It also provided turkeys for 75 meals prepared by the youth group at Newsoms Baptist Church, which were served to the elderly and shut-ins at Thanksgiving.

Additional funds were used to host a deer hunt for the handicapped and veterans at the Newsoms Hunt Club.