KF&WA's annual Bob Kotowski Fish Outing for under-privileged children was held this year at Wildcat Park in Ludlow, PA. We had about 50 kids participating this year, and fun was had by all. The weather held out for us, it was a beautiful day. I'd be surprised if anybody went home empty handed. The children learned a valuable lesson in "catch and release", and they practiced it very well.
By 11 am, everybody had worked up an appetite, so lunch was served. Then it was time for some more fishing, playing in the playground, and finally a presentation by Deputy WCO Gary Howes from the Pennsylvania Game Commission on the furs of different animals. Gary and WCO Rose Luciane both attended our event.
Before we get on to the pictures, we have a list of people and businesses we need to give a big thank you to, for without their help and donations, this might not be an annual event.
Bradford Era-
A big thank you to the crew at the Era for the publicity, before and after our
fish outing, and for sending photographer Wade Aiken to take pictures for the
paper.
Farnsworth Trout Hatchery- These people gave us a
great deal on the trout we needed to make this day happen.
Fresh Water Ice of Bradford- Ron & Anne Smith of
Fresh Water Ice donated all of the ice we needed for food, bait, etc.
Ludlow Community Association- Thank you to the BOD of
this association for letting us hold this event in your beautiful park. For any
of you who have never visited Wildcat Park, you should. It is truly a beautiful
park. Many thanks to Catherine and John, and to Ted for helping us set
everything up.
Paul's Trading Post- Earl Duffy of Paul's Trading
Post, located at the bottom of Bliss Hill near Red Bridge, gave us a great deal
on the bait.
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission- A big thank
you to Pete Mader of the PFBC for all the help he gave us in looking for a spot
to hold our outing this year and helping us fill out and receive the permit we
needed for this event.
Pennsylvania Game Commission- Many thanks to Rose
Luciane and Gary Howes for taking time out from their busy schedule to put on a
wonderful presentation for the kids.
Richgas Inc.- Richgas gave us a very generous
donation towards expenses we encountered putting this whole event together.
WLMI-FM- Many thanks to the crew of WLMI-FM of Kane
for publicizing our event. These guys always do a great job for KF&WA, and we
really appreciate it.
Wal-Mart of Bradford- Wal-Mart supplied us with the
hooks, sinkers and bobbers we needed to get 55 fishing poles ready for a tough
day of fishing.
While I'm thanking businesses for making donations, I have to include 2 people here that made a very generous donation, and took us all by surprise. The night before the fish outing, I got a call from Mike and Terry Snyder of Kane, asking what this event was all about. Mike wondered if they could make a donation to help us out. He asked how much the fish would cost, and after I told him, he asked if he could buy them for us. To use his words, "anything for the kids". Not only did he buy our fish, but he also paid for the fish that the Ludlow Community Association was purchasing for their fishing derby on Sunday! Mike made me promise no fanfare, no big deal, he wasn't interested in who knew what he and Terry were doing. Well, sorry Mike and Terry, but the word is out. And we thank you.
Now for a list of individuals who
contributed so much time and effort to make this event run as smoothly as it
did:
Bob Wallin, Bob and Nikki O'Rourke, Howard and Toni Kane, Joe Wolfe, Steve
Morgan and all of his helpers from Beacon Light, Tom Rich, Mel Durnell. The
women who prepared and/or served lunch to about 90 people were Linda Lorenzo,
Marian Waldman, Deb Durnell, Marilyn Durnell, Georgie Homa, Mollie Rich, Mary
Boyer, Joanne Dyne, and Nancy Barr, and Toni Kane.
Many thanks also to Jack Guntrum and his helper for hauling our fish.
Finally, a big thank you to all of the board members of KF&WA for putting in so much time to pull this all together. It requires countless phone calls, and just an awful lot of time coordinating so many different things that all have to come together just right if we are to be successful on this busy day. I don't think it could have gone any better.
If anybody would like to help out for next years fish outing, whether it be with time, or a sponsorship, please drop us an email and let us know. We can always use the help. You can email us at info@kfwa.org .
Now on to the pictures!
