BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship was an event filled with season standouts — the Top 50 pros in the 2015 Elite Series, the Rookie of the Year Brent Ehrler, the Angler of the Year Aaron Martens and the Fan Favorite Kevin VanDam.
“A huge highlight for me at the championship was getting voted fan favorite in a sweepstakes contest sponsored by Toyota,” said VanDam in his recent column on Bassmaster.com. “It’s extremely humbling and flattering, and I take the fans’ opinion of me very seriously. It’s not something I will ever take for granted.”
Each of the 50 Bassmaster Angler of the Year contenders were eligible to become the fan favorite, and fans could vote once a day for their preferred angler. Along with the fan favorite title, the angler with the most votes was given $5,000 to donate to his charity of choice.
“My wife Sherry and I decided to add $5,000 of our personal money and give it to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis,” VanDam said. “I’ve taken Make-A-Wish cancer-afflicted kids fishing, and we have friends who have been afflicted with the disease.
“My good friend Mike Auten, former Bassmaster pro, has a son Ryan getting treatment at St. Jude. I’ve visited him there along with other children and seen the amazing things that the hospital does for families and the progress they’ve made in cancer research.”
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tenn., is one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers. Its mission is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
The 2015 Angler of the Year Fan Favorite Sweepstakes gave bass fishing fans an opportunity to cast a vote for their favorite angler and enter for a chance to win a Toyota Tundra.
“I was so excited when I learned I had won the sweepstakes that I couldn’t sleep at night,” said Jason Rawlings of Riverside, Calif., winner of the Tundra. “I’ve never won anything before, but now, I’ve won a truck!
“It will be nice to have something that will make loading up for outdoor excursions with my kids so much easier,” Rawlings said. “And, the charity component to this sweepstakes is also great because a lot of people will be helped by this sweepstakes.”