Home » Annual Convention & Competition » 2023 Taxidermy Show

2023 Convention & Competition Information

Thursday, March 30 – Sunday, April 2, 2023

Holiday Inn Auburn-Finger Lakes Region
75 North Street
Auburn, New York 13021
Call 315-253-4531 with code UTB or book directly online using the link below for a discounted room rate of $99 up to two weeks before the show. Book here: https://tinyurl.com/UTNYRoom2023

Download a copy of the 2023 Spring Newsletter here.
If you would like a hard copy mailed to your home, contact UTNY President, Jerry St.Pierre. 

Schedule of Events

Click to expand the schedule below. Access to seminars (except the all-day seminar) are included in your convention registration. You can visit this page for general information and FAQs related to UTNY’s annual convention and competition. Please note this schedule is subject to change, and there will be no day-long seminar on Thursday as in years’ past.

4–4:30 p.m. Board of Directors meeting
4:30 p.m. Set up competition and supply areas—everyone's help is appreciated!
6–9 p.m. Registration and competition pieces received

8 a.m.–12 p.m.

Walk-in and board member registration and competition pieces received

 

*All board members' pieces must be received by noon

8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.Pre-registered competition pieces received
9–11:30 a.m.

Seminar #1: Setting Up Gamehead Eyes, Ears, and Noses for Mounting with Tom Weickum

 

While not required to attend, you can bring a form, eyes, and earliners if you'd like hands-on practice during the seminar

10 a.m.Supply area opens
12 p.m.Judges' meeting; judging begins
1–4 p.m.Seminar #2: Setting up Turkeys and Mounting Techniques with Todd Capitano
5–6 p.m.Competition room open for viewing; voting for member-chosen awards
6–7 p.m.Warm-up party! Food and drink provided.
7–9 p.m.Seminar #3: Posing and Posturing Waterfowl for that Living Look with Josh Saville

8 a.m.–2:30 p.m.Supply area open
8:30–11 a.m.Seminar #4: Whitetail Deer Techniques with Dean Ursitti
Seminar #5: Airbrush and Painting Techniques with Tim Perkins
11 a.m.–4 p.m.Competition room open for ribbon viewing and judges' critiques
1–3 p.m.Kids Seminar
1–4 p.m.Seminar #6: Mounting a Corsican Sheep with Bob Coughlin
2:30–4 p.m.Supply area breakdown
6–6:30 p.m.Cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres, cash bar
6:30 p.m.UTNY banquet, auction, and awards ceremony; competition room re-opens after the banquet

9 a.m.UTNY membership meeting with voting for vacant board positions; all members should attend

Following the membership meeting, you may remove your competition pieces. Please bring your mount tickets! We'll break down the competition area—everyone's help is appreciated.

At the conclusion of the convention, the UTNY Board of Directors meeting will take place.

Information for 2023 Convention Attendees

  • Supplier Show
  • UTNY Banquet
  • Auction

Our suppliers are generous supporters of the United Taxidermists of New York—they help make our show a success every year! As part of your convention registration you'll have access to our friendly, expert supplier. Talk taxidermy and pick up some great discounts.

You may purchase banquet tickets for yourself and your guests when you register for the convention. Special awards are presented at the banquet. We hope you can join us on Saturday night for a delicious buffet and a good time!

Thanks to the donations of our suppliers, the community, and several individuals, we're able to host a lively auction each year. Proceeds benefit the United Taxidermists of New York and help to fund future conventions. Several items and experiences will be up for auction on Saturday night. 

2023 Competition Information

If you wish to enter a piece—or several pieces—in the 2023 competition, which occurs concurrently with the convention, be sure to review the rules and requirements so you can select the proper division and category of entry. Note that competition entires must be submitted IN ADDITION to your convention registration. Additional fees apply.

President's Challenge

The president’s challenge for the 2023 competition is any whitetail deer. The winner for this special award will be chosen by the president of the United Taxidermists of New York, Jerry St. Pierre. To be considered for this award, an additional entry fee of $10 is required.

Competition Judges

Learn more about the four judges who will score your pieces at the 2023 competition.

Dean Ursitti

This year’s whitetail deer judge will be Dean Ursitti from Laplata, Maryland. Dean is a World Class Whitetail taxidermist and has owned Creative Whitetails Taxidermy for over 30 years. As both a judge and a competitor, Dean has won many prestigious award at the State, National, and World level. These include the 2003 Third in the World Whitetail Award, 2001 National Champion, 2001 NTA Award of Excellence, three-time Eastern Regional Champion, two-time Breakthrough Award Winner, six Judges Choice Best of Show Awards, and many more.  

 

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from one of the best!      

Tim Perkins

Most people call me Perk or Perky. My wife Edna and I live in a cabin in the woods 12 miles outside of the little town of Bloomer in northern Wisconsin along with our two grouse dogs Brauny and Magnum and a Newfie named Echo. We have a son and daughter in law who live about 12 miles away in Chippewa Falls. 

I started dabbling in taxidermy when I got out of high school. A few years later I took some lessons from a taxidermist here in Wisconsin. I joined the WTA around 1990 and started competing. I went full  time in 1994 and never looked back. I do all phases of taxidermy, but a big part of my workload is skin mount and reproduction fish. I’ve been very fortunate to win many awards including North American Champion. I also sculpt fish forms for Matuska Taxidermy Supply in Iowa.

 

In my free time I chase ruffed grouse all over northern Wisconsin. I call it a hobby, but my wife calls it an obsession. I also enjoy duck and turkey hunting. Fishing is an addiction also: walleye, smallmouth, lake trout, salmon...I’m not too fussy.

I’m very honored to be judging the UTNY show this year and am looking forward to meeting all of you.

Cindy and Bob CoughlinBob has been doing taxidermy for 45 years. He was a member of both the New York Taxidermy Association and the Empire Taxidermy Association and played a role in the unification of the two associations into the UTNY. He also created the logo for the United Taxidermists of New York. Bob was one of the first UTNY board members under President Dennis Mortenson.
 
Bob is a six-time recipient of the Best All Around Taxidermist award. He has won awards in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Canada and at both the nationals and world show. Bob has judged many state shows, most recently the NJGSTA this past July. He lives in Binghamton, New York, with his wife of 29 years, Cindy.

Tom Weickum

World Champion Taxidermist Tom Weickum came from a hunting and fishing family. Tom’s interest in taxidermy started at the age of six when an ad in the back of Boys Life magazine sparked his imagination. Years later Tom recalls career days in elementary school where he took his class down the street to his local taxidermy shop. The taxidermists there were receptive to the interests of a young boy and it was there that Tom immersed himself in the art form that would later become his career. Tom worked at that shop after graduating high school in 1982. After nine years, he started Rocky Mountain Artworks. In 1995, Tom started sculpting forms, which took him in a different direction in his field. "God bless our troops and God bless America."

Special Awards

Each mount you enter in the competition will be scored based on the category and division for which it was entered. All entrants who score within certain point values will earn a ribbon. Special awards are sponsored by suppliers, organizations, taxidermists, and more, and winners are selected in a variety of ways—high scores, community voting, judges vote, etc. Your competition entry will automatically be considered for all special awards with the exception of those that require additional registration or entry fees. Be sure to check the registration table upon arrival, as we may have added more special awards that you are eligible for. Award winners are announced at the Saturday banquet.

The awards listed below are subject to change.

Judges' Choice Awards

  • Al Holmes Habitat Award 
    Best habitat among all entries
  • Breakthrough Award
    Overall best of show
  • Jordan’s Wild Turkey Award
    Best turkey in the Professional or Masters division
  • Mounted in Alaska Award
    Best large species life-size or gamehead
  • Research Manikins Best Small Mammal Award (2)
    One Professional division winner and one Amateur division winner
  • Tru Bond Trappers Award
    Best indigenous New York small mammal
  • Sivko Fur Best of Show, Commercial Division
    Winner chosen from Commercial division blue ribbon awardees
  • UTNY Best of Show, Youth Division
    Winner chosen from Best of Category awardees across the Youth division
  • UTNY Best of Show, Amateur Division
    Winner chosen from Best of Category awardees across the Amateur division
  • UTNY Best of Show, Professional Division
    Winner chosen from Best of Category awardees across the Professional Division
  • UTNY Best of Show, Masters Division
    Winner chosen from Best of Category awardees across the Masters division
  • UTNY Habitat Award
    Best habitat across all entries
  • UTNY Joseph Bruchac Memorial Award
    Best whitetail deer across all divisions
  • UTNY Upland Gamebird Award
    Best upland bird in the Professional or Masters divisions
  • UTNY Waterfowl Habitat Award 
    Best waterfowl habitat
  • Van Dyke Award
    Most creative entry in the Professional or Master divisions
  • Warren Hardendorf Memorial Award
    Best small mammal in the Masters division
  • WASCO Award
    Most artistic entry
  • Woody Award for Excellence in Taxidermy
    All pieces considered

Awards for Highest-Scoring Mounts

  • Best All Around Taxidermist ($25 entry fee)
    Highest total score (minimum 340) of mammal, bird, fish, and gamehead in all divisions
  • Buckshot Tannery Pro Life-Size Mammal Award
    Highest score for a life-size mammal
  • Jack Wilson Award
    Highest-scoring waterfowl in the Masters division
  • Larry Clingerman Award
    Highest-scoring waterfowl in the Professional division
  • Safari Club Adirondack – Catskill Chapter Non-North American Award
    Highest-scoring non-North American big game mount in the professional or masters divisions
  • Safari Club Adirondack – Catskill Chapter North American Award
    Highest-scoring North American big game mount in the professional or masters divisions
  • West Wind Taxidermy Gamehead Award
    Highest-scoring gamehead in the Amateur division
  • West Wind Taxidermy Life-Size Award
    Highest-scoring small or large mammal in the Amateur division
  • UTNY Best Non-Gamebird Award
    Highest score for non-gamebirds in the Professional or Masters divisions
  • UTNY Distinguished Taxidermist Award, Amateur or Professional Division ($25 entry fee)
    Highest total score (minimum 260) of three pieces in the Amateur or Professional divisions
  • UTNY Distinguished Taxidermist Award, Masters Division ($25 entry fee)
    Highest total score of three pieces (minimum 260) in the Masters division
  • Walnut Hollow Country Awards
    Five awards total; one for each of the highest-scoring mounts among birds, fish, turkeys, mammals, and whitetails
  • Whitetails Unlimited Awards
    Three awards total; one for each of the highest-scoring whitetail mounts across the Youth, Amateur, and Professional divisions
  • The Wildlife Gallery Best Gamehead Award
    Highest score among all gamehead entries

Taxidermists' Choice Awards

The following special awards are determined by taxidermists’ votes during the convention weekend.

  • McKenzie Bird Award
  • McKenzie Fish Award
  • McKenzie Mammal Award
  • McKenzie Whitetail Award
  • UTNY Gamehead Award
  • Gunner’s Turkey Award
  • UTA Artisan Award
    Most artistic entry

UTNY Board and President's Choice

The following special awards are voted on by the UTNY board or selected by the president.

  • McKenzie Distinguished Service Award
    As voted on by the UTNY board
  • UTNY Mike Rudzinis Memorial Award
    President’s choice
  • UTNY Dennis Mortenson’s President’s Challenge Award ($10 entry fee)
    Lynx mount

Product-Based Awards

To be eligible for these special awards, you must note product use at the time of registration.

  • LifeTone Award
    Judges’ choice from fish painted with LifeTone Hydromist products
  • PRO-1 Award
    Judges’ choice best entry for any mount using PRO-1 hide paste or tan
  • Polytranspar Award
    Judges’ choice for fish painted with Polytranspar paints