Editor, the VOICE:
This is a great BIG thank you to everyone who made the 15th annual Hooked On Fishing Derby a success! Thank you to the derby committee, all the volunteers, the sponsors, the donors, our event partners, and derby participants!
The success of this derby is a result of careful planning powered by the enthusiasm and passion of the derby committee: Dr. Ryan Bennion, (Maple Valley Vision Clinic); Giles Nelson (Maple Valley Rotary); Happy Camper Lucia Pearson (BECU); Fire Marshall Scott Webster (Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety); Anthony Heppersaria (Coast Guard Auxiliary, loaner life jacket program); Pat Anderson, Lake Wilderness Preservation Association; Al Frank, City of Maple Valley Parks; Maple Valley Police Greg Victor; Tanya Neilsen (Thrive Community Fitness); Amanda Gross (Edward Jones). And many thanks to the City of Maple Valley’s Park & Rec staff (Brian, Chris & Craig) for all their help throughout the weekend!
Sponsors definitely make the derby possible. Thank you to our ‘Big Fish’ sponsors: Curtis Lang Custom Homes, Fred Meyer and Johnson’s Home & Garden. The ‘specialty sponsors’ are: Fred Meyer – The Fish Pen & $2 Trout Derby; Spawnsor – Recology CleanScapes & Thrive Community Fitness; Re/Max Select Real Estate Tina McDonough & Cody McDonough – Fins & Grins; BECU – Camping In The Park; Maple Valley Vision Clinic – Fish School; Les Schwab of Maple Valley – Prize Sponsor; Black Diamond Maple Valley Kiwanis Club – Outdoor Movie; Tina McDonough RE/MAX Select – The Premier Campsite; Tahoma School District – The Weigh Station; Covington Copy It, Mail It, Junior Junction Day School and Thrive Community Fitness – Souvenir Bottled Water; Real Life Church – The Porta-Potties; Green City Pest Control – The Bait Station; Claffey’s – The Cleaning Station and Frankie’s Pizza – Explorer Scout Pizzas and the City of Maple Valley for the tagged fish “Gerry Day”, AKA “The Most Supreme High Head Weighmaster” AKA “Scooter”.
The event and campsite welcome sponsors are: BECU; Cayce | Grove Law Offices; Dr. Joel Rude; Flynn Development; Fred Meyer; Jennifer T. Karol, Cedar River Law; Johnson’s Home & Garden; Malone’s Landscape Design Build; Maple Valley Bar & Grill; Maple Valley Muffler and Auto Repair; Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra; Mitzel’s American Kitchen; Motorplex/PRO-TOW; Serendipity Day Spa; Tahoma Athletic Club; The Tamara Paul Group RE/MAX; UW Medicine Valley Medical Center; Valley Automotive Repair & Electric; and Windermere Real Estate – Maple Valley
So many other businesses and organizations contribute and are so supportive of this event: Able Embroidery, Maple Valley Signs, VOICE of the Valley, Shawn’s Quality Meats & Smokehouse; TRM; Johnsons Home & Garden, the Maple Valley and King County Explorer Scouts; City of Maple Valley Police, City of Maple Valley Parks, King County Marine Patrol, Lake Wilderness Preservation Association, Maple Valley CERT, Maple Valley-Covington Reporter, Maple Valley Fire Fighters Union, Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety, Real Life Church, The Water Distillery, US Coast Guard Auxiliary, AND all our prize donors (listed in the half page ad in this paper!). And Berthy Carson, you are THE BEST PRIZE SHOPPER EVER – thank you! Thank you Fire Chief Aaron Tyerman for sounding the siren at midnight to signal the start of the derby.
Thank you to all the Rotarians in the kitchen serving up hot dogs and hamburgers Friday night and the Fishermen’s Breakfast, beginning at midnight. Maple Valley Rotary contributes greatly to the success of this event and I just can’t thank them enough!
This was the sixth year the local Fred Meyer team held Kids’ Games at the park on Friday night. The games combined with the Real Life Church Choo Choo train and the new outdoor movie sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club kept kids entertained throughout the evening.
It takes many, many volunteers to make this a safe and successful event. Set up starts late Thursday night with the setting up of the fish pen. Thanks to our expert net-setters Phil & Lucia Pearson and Ryan Bennion. On Friday morning the fire fighters from Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety set up all the pop up tents and arranged the picnic tables. The highlight of the morning was when J & D Fisheries of Darrington arrived with the fish. They allowed the spectators to help bring the fish from the truck to the fish pen in 5-gallon buckets! Volunteers throughout the event manned the apparel and bait table; sold tickets, cleaned fish, weighed fish, and served as fish guides in the Fish School. Thank you to each and every one of you!
Claudia & Layne Barnes, Cindy Broome, Linda Johnson, Bob Castagna, Syd Dawson, Jeannine Day, Kim Emmons Mark Eugene, Joel & Mary Pricco, John Skinner, Jim Flynn, Amanda Gross, Mira Hoke, Brian Kelley, Charlie McCarthy and Jake, Renee Stouffer, Tom Mulvihill, Tanya Neilsen, Giles Nelson, Kevin Patterson, Lucia Pearson and her BECU team, Phil Pearson and his fishing group, Joel & Mary Pricco, Casey Serqunia and her crew from Trillium; Billy & Lucy VanRuff.
Thank you to the members of the Lake Wilderness Preservation Association who inspected boats at the boat launch and CERT for being on hand for first aid on Saturday and helping as guides on the dock!
The absence of our Most Supreme High Head Weighmaster, Gerry Day was felt by many. But I want to say THANK YOU to Brett Habenicht for stepping in to be our announcer during the awards ceremony. Your talent is so appreciated and you did an amazing job honoring Gerry. And last but not least, a huge thank you to Tanya Neilsen and Karen Studeman who kept derby headquarters up and running throughout the entire event. It’s a pleasure working with such amazing individuals!
Thank you to our event partners, The City of Maple Valley and Maple Valley Rotary, and everyone for being ‘Hooked On Fishing!’ Mark your calendars for next year, April 27th and 28th, 2018!
Please visit our website home page and click on 2017 Hooked On Fishing Photo Gallery and more photos in The VOICE and The Reporter for some great photo memories.
Erica Dial, CEO
Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce
