Updated Release – Sunday, August 24, 2003
Media contact: 740-435-3335

FIRST DEERASSIC CLASSIC ON AUGUST 23 DRAWS INCREDIBLE CROWD OF 11,500 PEOPLE … MAKES $3.7 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT

CAMBRIDGE, OH – The first Deerassic Classic, the premier fund raising event of the year for the non-profit, independent National Whitetail Deer Education Foundation, got off to a spectacular start on Saturday with 11,500 people transforming scenic rural fields into a festive tent city.

The attendance far exceeded expectations at the day long event near Salt Fork State Park. The gathering was equal or exceeded the entire population of nearby Cambridge, the county seat in Guernsey County. The Foundation raised approximately half a million dollars that will lead to eventual ground breaking for a national shrine to salute the heritage, the history, and the social and economic impact of the whitetail deer.

The August 23 event made a $3.7 million economic impact on a wide area of central and southeastern Ohio based on the attendance and each visitor spending at least $325 on tickets, overnight lodging, food, gas and other expenses during the weekend. Spectators from all corners of Ohio and from more than 30 other states attended one of Ohio’s if not America’s largest outdoor fund raising events. Law enforcement and food service professionals confirmed the attendance totals. There were no arrests or related problems despite the size of the crowd.

The grand prize of $50,000 cash was won by a Cambridge resident and the second most valuable prize, a premium Hummer vehicle, was won by another Ohio resident from the Zoar/Bolivar area. Foundation leadership members will surprise both grand prize winners, in person, with the prizes at Deerassic Park this Wednesday at 6 p.m..

More than 250 other valuable prizes were also awarded as the huge, festive crowd consumed more than 8,000 ice cream bars, 20,000 barbecue meals, and more than 35,000 Pepsi drink products. All food and drinks were free for the spectators. More than 250 volunteers provided services at the Deerassic Park location where there were no first-time event problems other than a long line of cars streaming east on Route 22 throughout the day. Traffic at one point was bumper to bumper from the Deerassic Park gate to the Interstate 77 exit located six miles west of the Park.

Visitors were transported from packed parking lots in nearby fields to the Classic tents and entertainment areas by several horse-drawn, vintage wagons. For some veteran observers, the festive scene on Saturday was something like the mystique of how the legendary music festival, Woodstock in upstate New York, grew to immense size in 1969. The 2003 Classic was an "event" far above an attraction for merely deer hunters.

Decades of dreams are indeed coming true for Dean Ziegler and the small group of National Whitetail Deer Education Foundation leadership. "The Classic was everything we hoped it would be, mostly that a huge group of people from all walks of life would come here and enjoy a celebration of the whitetail deer and our outdoor heritage," Ziegler said. "The success of the Classic puts us a giant step forward toward the realization of what I am confident will be the finest museum, park, and shrine to whitetail deer in the entire world."

 Deerassic Park presently consists of two large holding pens where Ziegler is studying the genetics and other aspects of whitetail deer. He also has collected what experts say is the largest collection of whitetail deer trophies in the nation

At least 2,000 people on Saturday at the Classic visited the Education & Information Station tent led by Outdoor Legacy presenters Mike Brown, Bonnie Baker and Beth Deering from Licking County. The Education Station featured information and conversation about whitetails and outdoor adventure, samples of the Deerassic collection, as well as artists’ renditions of a new museum and tourism facility concept.

One of the primary mission statements of the Foundation project is "promoting respect, compassion, and education for the continued enjoyment of nature by sportsmen, families, and our children and grandchildren, centered around Ohio’s official state animal, the whitetail deer."

Ziegler has been developing the overall concept for decades. "Beyond the financial success of making the Classic a major event in its first year," Ziegler said, "the other strong theme of our effort is convincing more people that Ohio is right now the best place in the nation for huge, trophy whitetail bucks. This factor is just one of the reasons why the Foundation believes that our location, our timing, and our message of respect and compassion for the world’s most incredible game animal, the whitetail, is finally getting the attention it rightfully has earned."

"The planned museum and related facilities here will be the centerpiece of national outreach to youngsters, parents, schools and other groups.," Ziegler said.

Likely next steps for the Foundation include development of an educational outreach program and perhaps creating a two-day Deerassic Classic event next August that could possibly attract nearly double the 2003 attendance. The grand prize list of 200 luxury items could also be greatly increased beyond this year’s phenomenal first effort.

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