It’s been an entire year since the last Sportsmen’s banquet at Hope Community Church in Weisenberg Township.

In one year’s time, many hunting and fishing stories have developed.

This year’s banquet gave the opportunity for the sportsmen and ladies to swap tales about their adventures.

The food was excellent, as usual.

Dinner included different forms of venison, roast turkey, roast ham, duck soup, rabbit potpie, grouper, cheesy potatoes, green beans and coleslaw.

There was a bountiful array of desserts for after dinner eating (If you still had room).

Bill VanArtsdalen gave the introduction, while Pastor Ken Kalisz gave the invocation before eating.

This year’s guest speaker Andy Kozusko of Bethlehem, an avid angler who has won many fishing tournaments, had some tales of his own to tell.

He has won first place in a bass tournament and striped bass tournament along with trophies for largest fluke, bass, fish, and blue fish and many more.

He has since retired from tournament fishing, but his memories are still strong.

Along with his fishing stories, he spoke about his religious convictions and how they affected his life.

He was born into a fishing family and reared in the Catholic faith.

Kozusko admitted he was not a staunch believer of the Bible and did not relate to Jesus.

However, as he became older, certain things happened to him in his life that would change his attitude to the Christian faith.

He thinks of himself as more of an evangelist than anything else.

Kozusko is cognizant about certain things in his life and how they occurred.

Things happened that he could not explain. Was it a coincidence or did some higher power have a hand in the event? he asked himself.

Gradually, he began to see there was some other force involved and he changed his outlook on life.

There was, however, one thing that turned him to a believer.

With the passing of his mother, Kozusko was involved in settling her estate and taking care of her belongings.

While working in the garage, a butterfly landed on his leg.

He thought this was somewhat unusual but didn’t draw any significance to the event.

Later, when he was cleaning out her bedroom, under the bed was a box in which she had important papers stored.

Also in this box was a beautiful piece of jewelry in the shape of a butterfly. Was the landing of the butterfly on his leg a sign? Was it just coincidence?

Things like this happen for a reason, he explained.