By Paul K. Ketrick, Founder, FishingCommunity.Org
As I sat down to write this article, I began reminiscing of our inaugural event on October 12, 2015. We were so excited with all the support we received, the beautiful day, and all the fun everyone had. Here is an excerpt from that article:
“Open to all wounded, injured or ill heroes and their families, the event gave 65 anglers (many from West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, VA West Palm Beach Blind Rehabilitation Center, and the Salvation Army) an opportunity to fish, relax and enjoy camaraderie.”
Well here it is 3 years and a day later – October 13 2018 and we held the 4thAnnual Jupiter Inlet Veterans Family Fishing Classic. I have much the same thing to say except that I am more impressed with the local community, veterans, and their families. This year we had over 90 anglers and 50 volunteers! It was great to see the veterans, their families and the volunteers having a good time and enjoying the day. This event was for and about the veterans and their families. It was a success as seen with the many smiles of all participants, volunteers and partners. Lots of new friends were made and our community has grown stronger!
For the 5thAnnual Jupiter Inlet Veterans Family Fishing Classic, we are planning to do something special and would like community input. If you would like to participate, volunteer, sponsor or donate, contact FishingCommunity.Org at www. fishingcommunity.org, www.f4v.org or Paul K. Ketrick at paul@ketrick.org. We look forward to an event filled year next year. Please Join Us! You will regret it if you don’t…
A special thanks goes out to Tommy Bahamas for providing a wonderful lunch and YKNOT Rod Builders, West Palm Beach Fishing Club, The Rod Room, XGeneration Discount Tackle, and Davis Elkins Foundation for providing the free raffle prizes. A giant shout out to Fishing Headquarters for supporting us with tackle and bait for all 4 Jupiter Inlet Veterans Family Fishing Classics!
We have proved that working together as a community makes the difference. Saturday was a huge a success thanks to the non-profit FishingCommunity.Org (FCO), BLM, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps, Loxahatchee River Historical Society, the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, and multiple community sponsors working as one Community.
Until the next event, keep fishing, stay in touch, and let us know what you have been catching in the beautiful Jupiter Inlet, Florida.