Park Falls, WI (May 18, 2020) – One of the country’s most popular fishing-related events, St. Croix Rod Customer Appreciation Day, is fast approaching, bringing one-of-a-kind opportunities, unique product discounts, seminars, and a whole lot more. And, this year, St. Croix customers and staff can look forward to twice the fun.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve moved the first phase of the event to a virtual format,” says St. Croix Product Manager, Ryan Teach. “That will take place during the event’s traditional timeframe, but it will span three days… Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 18th through the 20th… and people can come and go as their time allows. The virtual event will include all the same great deals on rods, reels, combos, accessories and apparel our customers have come to expect from CAD, along with interactive webinars with St. Croix pros, instructional video content, free prize drawings, video messages from St. Croix staff, a virtual tour of the Park Falls factory and more,” Teach continues. “And the best part about this year’s event is that we still plan to hold a more traditional, in-person Customer Appreciation Day like we’ve had in years past later in the summer!”
St. Croix will announce details on the in-person phase of Customer Appreciation Day soon and are excited to be able to use an otherwise gloomy situation as a way to expand its much-anticipated fishing event into something even bigger and more novel than ever.
“People have endured enough disappointment in their lives lately,” says St. Croix Director of Marketing, Jesse Simpkins. “We care about our anglers, so even with last week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on the state’s Safer at Home Order, we decided we could not risk anyone’s physical health by moving forward with a live event in Park Falls next month. But we couldn’t fathom taking this cherished event away from anglers either. So, we decided to turn it into a two-phase event that will allow more anglers to participate than ever before.”
St. Croix Rod Customer Appreciation Day has turned into one of the country’s premier fishing events in recent years. The 2018 event attracted some 2,700 participants – despite rain and stormy weather – with visitors commuting from as far as Croatia. Tent space was tripled in 2019, and attendance topped 3,000.
So what is it that draws anglers from all points on the globe to Northern Wisconsin for St. Croix Rod Customer Appreciation Day? The first is the atmosphere, a celebration of fishing with fellow St. Croix enthusiasts from around the world. Each person who attends is drawn into the St. Croix family and gets to experience something no other rod manufacturer offers on such a personal level. In addition, there’s also the fair-like atmosphere with free prize drawings every hour, free lunch for all attendees, plus unbeatable discounts and sales on all things St. Croix, from rods to apparel and more.
“None of that changes this year… well, except maybe the free lunch during the virtual event,” kids Simpkins. “We’re committed to really making the virtual event something that’s both exciting and adds new value to the overall event for our customers. And while details of the live portion later this summer are still forthcoming, we’re going to pull out all the stops then, too, just like we always have to make sure our customers know how much they are appreciated.
“It’s been a challenging few months – not just for St. Croix, but for nearly every business and most individuals,” Simpkins continues. “Appreciation is in the name of this event because it exists to celebrate the fact that it’s our customers who have kept our company afloat and in business for over 70 years now. We’re feeling the love and appreciate it now more than ever.”
Anglers can learn more and stay up to date with planning for this year’s expanded Customer Appreciation Day events by following St. Croix on Facebook and Instagram, by subscribing to the St. Croix Enewsletter, or by checking back regularly at stcroixrods.com.