FLW Tour Championship came to fruition thanks to several key organizations
The FLW Tour Championship and Outdoor Show held on the banks of the James River in Richmond, Va., was a huge success. FLW Outdoors would like to thank the folks in Richmond for their help in making tournament bass-fishing history.
FLW Outdoors is grateful for all of the enthusiastic fishing fans that roared David Dudley to a $500,000 victory on Saturday and is especially indebted to a few entities in Virginia for their support.
“None of this would have happened without the help of the Virginia BASS Federation, the National Guard and their Virginia Commonwealth Challenge program, and Adams-Durvin Marine,” said FLW Tour Tournament Director Bill Taylor. “They have all been instrumental in making this event happen. We can’t thank them enough.”
The Virginia BASS Federation has been the eyes and ears for the FLW Tour Championship since January when FLW Outdoors began planning the event in Richmond.
“Whenever we look at an area to have an FLW event, especially one of this magnitude, the first people I call are local fishermen in the area,” Taylor said. “So we turned to the Virginia BASS Federation because they are so strong and well organized.”
Consistent with its sincere enthusiasm for promoting bass fishing, the Virginia BASS Federation jumped at the chance to help with the show.
Roger Fitchett, the president of the Virginia BASS Federation, said lending a hand for such a large production is actually old hat to the federation.
“Over the years we’ve probably helped with 20 or 25 major events like this,” Fitchett said. “We have helped with several Bassmaster Classics here. We have also helped with numerous other BASS events including the National Federation tournaments that have been held in Virginia. We help with Bassarama (one of the largest annual bass-fishing shows on the East Coast).”
“So we were glad to help FLW just like we help everybody else,” he continued. “I think it puts a feather in BASS’s cap, too, because it lets everybody know that we are willing to help anybody in the industry that needs it, no matter who it is.”
In addition to its aid in planning the logistics of the FLW Tour Championship, the Virginia BASS Federation supplied roughly 45 volunteers per day to run media boats, drive the official FLW Outdoors sponsor boats to the ramp and handle the release fish after they had been weighed in.
“All that may not sound like much to the average person, but believe me, it takes a tremendous load off my mind knowing those jobs will get done, and more importantly, get done right,” Taylor said.
In return for its help, the Virginia BASS Federation was given booth space to raffle off a Ranger boat.
“The boat raffle is one of our biggest fund raisers,” said Fitchett. “FLW supplied us with booth space to exhibit our BASS Federation material and display our prize boat, and we appreciate that.”
The National Guard was also a big help in putting on the FLW Tour Outdoor Show. The Virginia Commonwealth Challenge program supplied cadets to provide assistance.
Gary Moubray, an Enlisted Liaison from the National Guard Bureau, helped coordinate the cadets’ service at the show and weigh-ins.
“We bring 20 cadets per day over here from Virginia Beach, Va., to help with the show activities,” Moubray said. “They do everything from performing the Color Guard to assisting with give-a-ways to being the Energizer bunny.”
The Virginia Commonwealth Challenge program is a last-chance program for teenagers to get their lives back on track. The program is designed for teens between 16 and 18 who, for one reason or another, dropped out of school. The 22-week military-based program teaches the teens discipline and self-esteem while helping them study for a GED. The program touts a 94- to 97-percent pass rate for the cadets, and most of them continue on to higher education or military service.”
“Part of the program is 40 hours of community service,” Moubray said. “Their work here goes towards satisfying that requirement. It is important that these cadets get out in a public forum and utilize their communication skills. Interacting with the public is a fundamental part of the program, so this is a fantastic opportunity for them.”
The National Guard was also a big part of the final weigh-in show on Saturday. They provided soldiers to escort the final 12 anglers and their catches to their stage-side boats for weigh-in. The National Guard also provided the heart-pounding helicopter footage for the opening of the show.
Last, but not least, Adams-Durvin Marine was also a great help to FLW Outdoors.
“I’d like to make a special mention of Bill Bonesteel at Adams-Durvin Marine,” Taylor said. “They provided storage for all of our sponsor boats, trucks and all the semi-trucks that we had to stage here in Richmond. They offered to service our boats, motors and equipment every day. Those guys were top-notch.”
Then again, FLW Outdoors would expect nothing less from the hospitable folks in Virginia.
Thanks, Richmond.