On August 9th and 11th, the 24thAnnual Mark GerretsonMemorial Fishing Tournament(www.mgmft.net ) was held. The weather was nearly perfect and lots of fish were brought to the dock. After several year hiatuses, the Captains meeting was back at the Delray Beach Elks Lodge on Thursday the 9thto great approval. We look forward to holding the meeting there for many years into the future. The weigh-in was at Veterans Park, now that the seawall has been repaired. Everyone agreed it was great to be there so that Mark was back in the Park. At the 2 day event, many raffle prizes and fishing goodies were won, most donated by our fantastic supporters and sponsors. A few of the items included a bike from Richwagen’sBike & Sport, a high-grade set of binoculars from Delray Camera, a set of custom painted Adirondack chairs from local artist Tina Black, sunglasses from Eyes on Linton, and many other great gifts. A complete list of the prizes and sponsors can be found on our website (www.mgmft.net) and our Facebook page.
The tournament was started by Mark Gerretson as the Delray Beach Jaycees Fishing Tournament to raise money for the Delray Beach Kids and Cops program, among other worthy causes. Mark ran the tournament for 11 years before he passed in 2005. At that time, his friends and family made a promise to keep the tournament going, and to continue to raise money for a variety of charities that support the Delray Beach Community. The committee works throughout the year to plan the tournament, identify worthy causes, and disburse the money to those in need. Over the years the tournament has raised over $150,000 for local charities and provided help and hope to many children and families during tough times.
The committee members are: Gary (Falcon) Musial, (Chairman), Patricia Gerretson, (Marks mom), Tim Knapp, Jen Buce, Paul Shersty, Deena Chapman, Chris Reich, Jim Gerretson, and Brittany GerretsonRoberts.
This year’s winners of the MGMFT Tournament are:
Category Weight Angler
Overall Champion (Kingfish) 26.0 lbs. Carl Miller, Miller Time
Kingfish 22.7 lbs. Roy Krukowski, Direct Threat
Dolphin 9.5 lbs. Henry Dean
Wahoo 22.7 lbs. Kallam Futorwy
Mystery Fish (Mutton Snapper) 2.6 lbs. Mike Folsom
Lady Angler (Kingfish) 20.3 lbs. Roxana Castaneda
Family Fun Winner John Miller Family
Next year is the 25th Anniversaryof the tournaments founding and we’re already working on plans to make it the best tournament ever with bigger prizes and more boats entered. We are counting on the community to help spread the word and help us help the Delray Beach Community. We look forward to next year and seeing all of you at the tournament. Visit our website mgmft.net and friend us on Facebook atMark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament.