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Great
Day had by all at the
2nd Annual
Wounded Warrior Fall Bass Classic.
Written By Ken Kirk/ Photos by Ashley Griesmeyer
More than 40 boats showed up at Anna Point Marina on Lake
Anna, to take out our Nations Heroes last Sunday to show them
how much we appreciate what they have done. Service Members from
Ft. Mead, MD, Walter Reed, Army Hospital and MCB Quantico, VA
Showed up to participate in this event.
"After Months of preparation, It
is nice to see
everyone show up, "said Ken Kirk, the tournament director
for the event.
Every Warrior that showed up to the event received a
Tackle Bag provided by www.BustinBass.com
and it was filled with a nice tackle assortment box that was
donated by Bass Pro Shops, Ashland, VA., as well as other
goodies from various sponsors. A new Fishing rod was also
provided along with shirts and hats. Over $30,000 in Sponsorship
was raised for this one event and all donations were put into a
fund with the PVA- Outdoor Recreation Heritage Fund that will be
helping provide administrative support for these events. PVA is
a non- profit organization that has been helping veterans for
some time now.
At 7:30am, Just after the Nations Colors were presented by
the Orange County High School, Jr. ROTC, the teams blasted off
from the marina in search of the biggest five Bass in the lake.
With the Warriors off, the work continued. The Red Cross of
Central VA, helped set up and serve the food that was provided
by Wally’s Homemade Ice Cream out of Fredericksburg, VA.
A Kid’s fishing derby was conducted by Sharron
Greismeyer while the anglers were out on the water. Sharron and
her husband, Bill drove from Ohio just to Volunteer for the
event. "My Husband and I made the prizes ourselves for the
Kids." Sharron explained." We loved doing this for
them."
At 1:00pm the boats began to arrive back at the marina to
weigh in their catch. As Steve Camp of Fishers of Men National
Tournament Trail weighed the bags in, it was clear how tough the
fishing was. Kevin Beasley (Orange) and Austin Henry (Frederick)
headed up the teams from Orange and Frederick Counties Jr. BASS
Anglers that assisted with the weigh in. As the winners were
being determined, the warriors and their families dug in to the
food and ice cream.
The Winners were brought on stage where they received
their prizes. Some of the prizes included new Castaway fishing
rods, as well as lures; rods socks, lure covers, and gift
certificates. The top 20 received Hunting trips from Mattaponi
Hunt Club out of Caroline County. The first place team received
a Hunting trip that they will go on together to LEEK Preserve in
Pennsylvania. LEEK Preserve provides outdoor opportunities for
our nations veterans.
These kinds of events have a direct impact on the quality
of life for our Warriors and their families. "With a bad
economy, Companies are still willing to give for these events,
we have Sponsors from all over the United States as well as
local business that helped us out", Kirk stated. "As
long as we have Wounded Warriors there will be a need for
communities to pull together and offer things to provide them
with fellowship and fun in the outdoors
.
David Allan and Dylan Wolanski took 1st place with a
weight of 10.3 lbs.
Jeremy Ryan and Elizabeth Juarez came in 2nd
with 9lbs
even while Kenny Brown and Rodjean Thorman rounded out the top
3.
Truly a great time was had by all and everyone is looking
forwarded to the next event.
Thanks to all of the sponsors that donated and thanks to
all of the volunteers’ that worked hard to pull this off. God
Bless and I will see you at the next event.
Sincerely,
Ken Kirk
www.k2guideservice.com
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