NEW ORLEANS, La. (August 3, 2001)-In a land where the salmon is king, the Washington State B.A.S.S. Federation, a grass-roots network of statewide bass clubs, earned two top awards from the world's largest fishing organization at the BASS Masters Classic.
Civic service and conservation awareness using bass fishing as the common theme are missions of the Federation, which has 2,800 bass clubs throughout the U.S., Canada, Italy, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Japan.
"Our bass clubs are sometimes misidentified as a circle of weekend warriors who fish in tournaments," said Al Smith, national director of the B.A.S.S. Federation. "That couldn't be farther from the truth. In reality, they spend countless hours volunteering and rolling up their sleeves for good causes in support of their local communities." The Washington federation was honored as B.A.S.S. Federation of the Year, and it also won the organization's Federation Community Service/Public Relations Award. It is the second consecutive year the state's clubs have received the federation-of-the-year award from B.A.S.S.
In particular, state clubs were recognized for promoting fishing to youths through four Kids Klassic Fishing Derbies held statewide. More than 3,500 youths participated, with another 1,000 reached through 20 BASSMASTER CastingKids presented by Chevy Trucks events held in the state. Other fishing-related projects included four events held to introduce some 200 children and their families to fishing.
The outreach efforts benefited other worthy causes as well. Clubs sponsored the Ronald McDonald House Charity Bass Tournament and the Long Lake Charity Tournament, the latter event benefiting sick, homeless and at-risk children.
Fish and the environment benefited from this tireless group of anglers as well. The federation continued its tradition of developing and implementing the state's largest lake-enhancement program in history. The Banks Lake Recovery Plan creates fish habitat, replants shorelines with aquatic vegetation for protecting newborn fish, and establishes zones for various species of wildlife. The first phase of the five-year project involved planting some 30,000 trees along the lake's shoreline.
Mark Rolsing, president of the Washington federation, accepted the awards during a ceremony held during the BASS Masters Classic, underway through Saturday in New Orleans. Rolsing was also honored as B.A.S.S. Federation Member of the Year.