A gesture that was intended as a way to thank veterans for their service and sacrifice has now reached from our small Caribbean Island of St Croix to New York business owners, Texas Veterans non-profit and the Sierra Club. Fish With A Vet inc. was born.
During our first tournament we managed to get six boats together with 21 veterans. They fished hard and long looking for that prize winning fish. This tournament raised enough money to send $1500 to Wounded Warriors.
The 2nd tournament was a much needed event. We were all recovering from two Cat 5 hurricanes 2 weeks apart. I was determined that we would not let the veterans and Captains be disappointed. There was little electricity on the island and little internet connection. Eleven boats and their Captains, proudly took 37 Veterans (including veteran relief workers) out fishing on Dec 3, 2017.
The Deep End Bar & Grille hosted the awards ceremony and Green Cay Marina hosted the tournament. R&B Connection rocked the venue as everyone danced and partied. Many veterans, Relief workers and grateful civilians joined together to not only thank our veterans, but to thank the relief workers. We raised over $3000 dollars to continue our work. We even had veterans come from St Thomas and the states.
This year I am hoping to get more than 15 boats and maybe 50 Veterans out on the water. For the first time we will be running a dual tournament, offshore and inshore. We have become a non-profit and are helping St Croix veterans in every way that we can. This year I have the support of a 3 person Board and members to make this our most successful tournament ever. Our website is fishwithavetusvi.com Please check us out and think about joining us next Nov. 16, 2019 as a veteran angler or a Captain that wants to show their appreciation for US Veterans.
Respectfully yours,
Barbara Peel – Founder and President of Fish With A Vet USVI,inc.