Congrats to Isaac on his hang and hunt doe kill on public land last Friday afternoon! Pretty cool to see some guys walking into some new land and hanging a stand and able to actually get something. Way to go Isaac on your doe and helping thin the herd on the eastern part of the state in Brown County!
Category: Buck Pool
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Greg Wierzba Idaho Elk
Greg was able to land this giant 6×6 elk on a trip to Idaho with his buddies. His group was able to go 4 out of 5 which is unbelievable! Greg also said that this brute is pushing 300” which is a giant in my books! Maybe we can get Greg on our TG Podcast to tell us the story himself! Congrats!!
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Week 1 Raffle Prize
We’re starting out the sixth year of the TG Buck Pool with a bang…or a snap? What sound does a bow string make? Camden Whitaker of Michel Sales has gone way above and beyond for us, donating a Mathews V3X bow. Initially we were thinking about making it a grand prize drawing at the end of the season. Then I was driving down the road the night Jeff told me about this amazing prize and I thought to myself, “Why would we wait until January when someone could be using this bow right now?” When I texted Jeff his response was, “I actually said the same thing today. I think it’s a great idea.” So, we rounded up a few people this morning and did the official drawing for the bow. Here’s how it went down:
If you haven’t listened to the podcast or watched the video I’m going to drag out the drama for a bit longer. This year we’re using a website called Wheel of Names to randomly select the raffle winners. It gives the drawing more of a game show feel and the wheel looks ridiculous with 168 names on it.
OK, enough playing. The winner of the Mathews Bow was Jay Richer! Jay is a plumber from the UP and he has historically done a lot of work with our Green Bay Accounts Team. Congratulations, Jay! Thanks again to Camden Whitaker and Michel Sales Agency for the incredible donation. What a way to kick off the 2022 season.
By the way, Camden is no stranger to big bucks himself. Here’s a look at the buck he took down last year.
Good luck to all of you hunters out there this weekend!
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Tanner Veeser Buck
There isn’t a buck on the board yet, but at least one member of the TG Family had success on opening weekend. Tanner Veeser, son of Green Bay Account Manager Cory Veeser, took down this brute on opening day. I don’t know much more about the hunt than that, but you can hear more about it on this week’s episode of the TG Buck Pool Podcast. Congrats, Tanner, on setting a high bar early for everyone else in the pool this year.
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2022 Results Page
The 2022 Results page is ready. You can view the entire list of participants in this year’s pool there. As we start adding bucks and giving away prizes you’ll see them listed on that page as well. You can view the 2022 Results anytime by clicking the 2022 Results link in the menu above. You can also click here.
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Final Headcount
When Jeff and I started talking about the 2022 TG Buck Pool in July we tried to guess how many people would participate. In 2021 we had 114 people which exceeded our wildest guesses and was easily the most we’ve ever had. I said I was hoping for 130. Jeff said 150. I thought he was crazy. When the poll finally closed Friday night and I gathered all of the signup information we had our final number. The number of participants in the 2022 TG Buck Pool is…
*drumroll*
168
This is not open to family and friends, so that’s 168 TG employees. Actually, we’re lucky to have a few of our beloved retirees among the 168 as well. Regardless, that’s 24% of the company. Well done, everyone. Here’s the final list of participants in this year’s pool:
Adam Baumgart
Adam Stankevich
Adam Zehren
AJ Simonar
Alan Van Mun
Alex Forrest
Andrew Gussert
Andrew Nimmer
Andy Boylan
Andy Goetz
Anthony Culver
Andy Mankiewicz
Austin Martinson
Ben Delcore
Ben Mleziva
Brad Davister
Brad Duchateau
Brady Weidman
Brandon Blaney
Brandon Kahler
Brandon Lehmann
Brandon Paye
Brett Hornseth
Brian Barth
Brian Mier
Brody Bazile
Casey Liegeois
Chad Heise
Chad Wehmeyer
Charlie Brawner
Chris Engelien
Chris Hronek
Chris “Iggy” Ignatowski
Chuck Haase
Clint Gressler
Cody Zwick
Cooper Jacobs
Cory Veeser
Dan Ebert
Dan Loritz
Dan Rehbein
Dave Vaughan
Davey Delcore
David Brazzale
Derrick Joosten
Devin Evers
Doug Wilmet
Dylan Golik
Dylan Mercier
Ethan Wall
Evan Wood
Frank Ujazdowski
Grant Vander Loop
Greg Blazer
Greg Sikorski
Greg Utter
Greg Weinfurter
Greg Wierzba
Hayden Splan
Heath Hagedorn
Hunter Tingley
Isaac Blohowiak
Jacob Firgens
Jake Harrison
Jake Reiter
Jason Burdick
Jason Everard
Jason Gerend
Jason Jandrain
Jason LaBIne
Jason Przybylski
Jason Waligursky
Jay Richer
Jeff Blohowiak
Jeff Harrison
Jeremy Jacobs
Jeremy Vetrone
Jerry Zelten
Jess Coisman
Jesse Jeanquart
Jesse Peterson
Jesse Van Laanen
Jesus Guzman
Jim Vitort
Joe Delebreau
Joe Herman
Joe Kapla
Joe Radtke
John Brendemihl
John Buresh
John Deering
Jon Braun
Jon Frank
Josh Andrews
Josh Jeanquart
Josh LeMere
Josh Marino
Josh Skogg
Justin Beck
Justin Johnson
Justin Van Meter
Keith Agamaite
Kevin Bahr
Kevin Duquaine
Kevin Gagnon
Kip Zilisch
Kirk Altergott
Kraig Kinnard
Kyle Cichanofsky
Lane Solberg
Larry Robenhorst
Lee Zellner
Logan Jeanquart
Louie Wessel
Luke DuBois
Luke Elliott
Luke Laperriere
Luke Miller
Matt Schmidt
Matt Uelmen
Michael Langenhorst
Mick Ashbeck
Mike Augustian
Mike Bruggink
Mike Kranzush
Mike Labine
Mike Lund
Mike Paulsen
Mike Podnar
Mike Weinfurter
Mike Weiting
Miles Cornell
Milt Blazer
Mitch Dequaine
Nate Brawner
Nate Winzenried
Nic Sturdivant
Nick Coe
Nick Follen
Paul Bertrand
Rich Manhardt
Rob Worachek
Rob Yaeger
Rod Dax
Rod Jones
Rod LeFevre
Ryan Sustman
Scott Green
Scott Vannieuwenhoven
Shawn Thomas
Stefan Chitko
Steve Dalebroux
Steve Sondelski
Steve Van Hemelryk
Tanner Schmidt
Tanner Weise
Terry Radtke
TJ Agamaite
Toby Goetz
Todd Nicholas
Tom Sawyer
Tom Willquette
Travis Tlachac
Trent Gagnon
Tyler Lindsley
Wayne Glen
Zach Gronski
Zeke Peters
Good luck, everyone. Start sending in those success stories.
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Podcast Episode 1
The first episode of the TG Buck Pool Podcast just went live. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Audible. If you prefer just listening to it in your browser on your computer, here’s a link. We plan on doing this every week throughout the season, so if you have ideas for topics, feedback, or would like to be a guest on the podcast let us know.
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The TG Buck Pool Podcast Has Launched
The TG Buck Pool podcast is here (sort of). A 45-second teaser episode has been posted so the podcast feed would go live and I could send out links before Jeff and I officially record and post the first episode. The podcast is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Audible. If you have another preferred method of listening to podcasts (Stitcher?) please let me know and I’ll see what I can do to set it up. If you’re not familiar with podcast apps and prefer to listen using your browser you can use this link to listen on Anchor.fm.
If you have any questions or suggestions for podcast content of you’d like to join Jeff and I on an episode, let me know. Go easy on me. This is my first real attempt at a podcast and I’m not sure how to make it look and sound professional just yet. We’ll have Casey Liegeois join us soon and show us the ropes. Until then, we’ll start working on our first real episode so we can post it next week.
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Welcome to the 2022 TG Buck Pool
The TG Buck Pool is back by popular demand in 2022. Jeff Blohowiak has been working hard behind the scenes to prepare everything for the new season and we’re ready to get started. Most of the pool will remain the same this year, but there are a few changes. If you want to view the rules you can click here, otherwise I’m going to summarize the changes now.
Entry: The entry fee is still $20. However, chasing down entrant information and money is damn near a full-time job for Jeff every deer season, so we’re going to try to simplify it this year. Click here to enter the 2022 Buck Pool. It’s a brief form simply requiring your name and e-mail address. It’s also asking for your work location and role/title. That’s not required if you don’t want to share it, but it would help Jeff and me. Unfortunately, we don’t know everyone who enters the pool and when we’re writing up posts for the site or distributing prizes it will save us a few minutes trying to chase down information. The pool is open to Tweet Garot employees and retirees only, so please don’t sign up your family members or hunting buddies…unless they work at TG. We will be sending a QR code out to anyone who wants one for jobsites so anyone who wants to sign up can easily access the online form with their phone. You can also direct them to tgbuckpool.com.
Once you’ve signed up you have three options to pay your entry fee. If you use Venmo you can send it directly to @chabrawner. When/if you do, please just leave a note stating that it’s for the buck pool. If you prefer to pay cash you can bring it to Shelly Murphy in our DePere office or Iggy in Central Wisconsin/Tomahawk. The sign-up form closes at midnight on Friday, September 16 and entry fees are due at that time as well.
Payout: The payout will remain exactly the same as last year but the prize structure will change slightly. We used to put 50% of the entry fee toward more prizes. However, as the pool has grown over the years and we’ve gotten so many generous donations from vendors, we’re going to take the 50% that went to raffle prizes and donate it. We haven’t chosen our recipient(s) yet, but Jeff and Greg Wierzba are already considering many worthy hunting-related causes. More to come on that.
The remaining half is then awarded to the top 3 finishers as it has been for years: 70% for 1st place, 20% for 2nd place, and 10% for 3rd place.
Scoring: The other change from previous years is the scoring. When the pool was 20-30 people it was easier for Jeff to score bucks himself. The growth of the pool has made it more exciting and fun, but Jeff has really struggled to past few years to score deer that are hours away. We have other willing scorers here, but the scoring and measurements are inconsistent. So, we’re asking that anyone who gets a buck that they want to enter contact a scorer and get the deer officially scored. We will post this on the main page, but here are links to e-mail or call official scorers in your area:
We realize that this could be an inconvenience, but we also know that many of you are getting your racks officially scored anyway. It’s become more than a one-man job, and these scorers don’t charge you to get your deer scored, so we might as well take advantage and give Jeff a break, although I know that he will miss his
drinkingscoring sessions with everyone.Jeff and I plan on talking about all of this soon when we launch our new TG Buck Pool podcast. Keep your eyes on your e-mail for more information on that in the near future.
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TG Buck Pool Party
Mark your calendar for February 24th as this year’s Buck Pool party for the De Pere/Green Bay area will be at The Black Sheep, 2638 Bay Settlement Rd. Green Bay, WI 54311. Please RSVP back to me if you are able to attend so I have an idea of how many are coming. The Tomahawk and Wisconsin Rapids locations are also welcome to attend. I have to organize something for those locations yet so stay tuned. Thank you all for participating this year and for everyone who helped with running the pool. Special thank you to Charlie Brawner as he does most of the write-ups and the website! Again, there was some special deer taken this year and the scores prove it. Congrats to Mike Weinferter on taking first place, Justin Beck for 2nd, and Shawn Thomas for third. I put my order into the shop to get your custom plaques made and below is an example of what they look like for anyone that hasn’t seen them yet. The final scores are as follows:
- Mike Weinferter- 153 7/8”
- Justin Beck- 148 1/8”
- Shawn Thomas- 143 4/8”
Mike Weinferter was able to have his buck done by an official scorer and it ended up being first place on the all-time list by an 1/8”!!! Thanks again to everyone and looking forward to the upcoming parties!
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Monday Information Drop
As Jeff continues to wrap up the 2021 season we have a few updates for you. We’ll get the most important stuff out of the way first. Jeff was able to get to Wisconsin Rapids last week to score a few bucks and they had a major effect on the standings. Before I reveal the updated and likely final standings, there is one big asterisk, so I’ll explain that first:
Mike Weinfurter’s buck is at the taxidermist making it difficult to confirm the score. Mike is still getting it scored by an official scorer. However, Justin Beck scored the buck and he is our official TG Buck Pool scorer in the Wisconsin Rapids area. Unless something changes drastically Mike Weinfurter has won the 2021 TG Buck Pool. We will keep you updated on the “second opinion” score of Mike’s buck.
Until then, these are the official final standings in the pool:
1. Mike Weinfurter (WI Gun) 154 2/8″
2. Justin Beck (WI Gun) 148 1/8″
3. Shawn Thomas (WI Bow) 143 4/8″
4. Jeff Darnell (WI Gun) 136 4/8″
5. Justin Beck (WI Bow) 127″
6. Shawn Thomas (WI Gun) 125 4/8″
7. Mitch Dequaine (WI Bow) 118 1/8″
8. Jake Harrison (WI Gun) 117 7/8″
9. Casey Liegeois (WI Bow) 116 6/8″
10. TJ Agamaite (WI Gun) 115 4/8″
11. Jeff Blohowiak (WI Gun) 110 5/8″
12. Zeke Peters (WI Gun) 110 3/8″
13. Brad Davister (WI Gun) 96 3/8″14 other bucks were harvested but were not scored. Payout goes to the top three. We had 114 people entered in the pool. Entry was $20, and $10 of that goes toward payout, so we have $1,140 to pay out to our winners. Here’s the breakdown:
$798 to Mike Weinfurter
$228 to Justin Beck
$114 to Shawn ThomasCongrats to Mike, Justin, Shawn, and everyone who got their bucks in 2021!
A few other fun items from Jeff in the past week:
Justin Beck’s Unique Buck
Jeff noticed something different about Justin’s buck when he was scoring it last week. Take a look:
One of the antlers had a hole straight through it with velvet still on the inside. Jeff had never seen this before, and I certainly never have either. Anyone else out there ever have this happen with a deer? We thought this was cool and worthy of sharing.
Doug Wilmet Buck
Apparently Doug Wilmet got a buck and didn’t share it with the buck pool. I got a picture of a deer texted to me out of the blue last week that said, “Doug Wilmet. He never told me about it. Add it to the list.” Here’s a look at Doug’s mystery buck:
I’ve been given no details so I don’t know if this is a gun or archery buck, but since this is the internet I’m going to float a theory with zero evidence to back it up: Doug hit this thing with his car. I don’t see a bullet or arrow wound on him. The deer gamely made its way to the edge of the woods before dying. That’s why you don’t see the road in the picture. I’m 98% certain none of that is true, but it would explain why Doug didn’t send it in. Regardless, a belated congratulations to Doug on a great buck that’s worthy of entry into the pool. Doug is a Multi-Trade Assembly Foreman at our Wrightstown Fabrication facility. Great job, Doug!
Kenny Thompson Last-Minute Buck
Here’s the tale of persistence I’ve been waiting a month for. Greg Blazer’s son-in-law (Ashley’s husband, for those of you who know Ashley) dropped this guy on the final day of bow season:
Here’s Kenny Thompson with his buck, taken on Sunday, January 9. The final day of archery season in Wisconsin. Kenny, I barely know you and you’re probably not reading this, but you are now an inspiration to me. For the rest of my life, when I’m ready to call it quits early I’m going to remember your name and this picture. Congrats on a great buck and a job well done. Persistence pays off.
That is all we have today.
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January 7 Raffle
My apologies. I had this post ready on Friday morning but must’ve hit “Save” instead of “Publish” because it did not post this weekend but instead sat in my Drafts folder all weekend.
For the final raffle drawing of the year we have an amazing pair of prizes. We have a Bushnell Engage 1300 laser range finder purchased using pool entry money. We also have a Blackstone griddle courtesy of Tyler Redling from HSA.
Congrats to JESS COISMAN for winning the range finder and BRANDON BLANEY for winning the Blackstone griddle! Jess is a virtual designer for our Custom Equipment team. Brandon is an Account Manager working in our De Pere Office.
Congrats again to Jess and Brandon, and thanks once again to Tyler from HSA for the generous donation!
That’s it for raffle prizes this season. Jeff is busy getting the last few bucks scored so we can wrap up the season. Casey Liegeois’s buck scored 116 6/8″, which was good for 5th place. Quality competition this year as only 3″ separate 3rd and 6th place. There are still a few deer left to be scored before we can officially announce the winners.
Stay tuned to the site for updates, final results, and a season wrap-up.