General Tire Kicks Off Week of Recognition of MLF Officials at Heavy Hitters
RALEIGH, N.C. – As they filtered into the meeting room at tournament headquarters in Raleigh for their pre-event briefing the day before General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops, the crew of 28 MLF officials working the event was greeted with a pleasant surprise: representatives from General Tire were in attendance, and they came bearing gifts.
Each MLF official working at Heavy Hitters was given a tool kit, lunch box, mobile charger and buff from General Tire as a display of appreciation for the long hours and effort they’ll put into the six-day event. But to sweeten the pot even more, General Tire will draw one official’s name each morning of Heavy Hitters for a set of four GT tires of the winner’s choosing.
General Tire will also be at the Heavy Hitters boat yard bright and early all six competition days, providing breakfast and coffee for the competition crew before they head to Jordan, Falls and Shearon Harris Reservoir.
“We recognize all the hard work and dedication the Major League Fishing officials puts into executing each tournament,” said Travis Roffler, Director of Marketing at General Tire. “They’re the behind-the-scenes heroes, and we wanted to find a way to show them that their efforts do not go unnoticed.”
“Tournament days can be long, and they start early. There’s not always time for the staff and officials to grab a good breakfast, so providing a hot meal and some fuel for the day is just one way for us to show our appreciation for what they do.”
Recognizing the Behind-The-Scenes Heroes
General Tire’s generosity is part of a week of recognition and appreciation of the men and women who officiate Bass Pro Tour and MLF Cup competitions. The 28-person Heavy Hitters officials roster kicked off the week on April 6 with the first-ever MLF Officials Tournament on Kerr Lake north of Raleigh, putting the event’s 20 competition boats through the paces while fishing one of the best lakes in the Carolinas.
Mike Ketcher from Stillwell, Oklahoma put 16 pounds, 6 ounces on the MLF scale to claim the first Officials Tournament trophy. Sterling Bougher caught the biggest fish, a 3-14 largemouth.
“Every one of these officials is a hard-core fisherman,” said MLF Tournament Director Aaron Beshears, who served as an official for several years before accepting the TD position. “They fish BFLs, some fish the Toyota Series, and they’ve been itching to fish against each other. Our schedule at these events just doesn’t allow the time to do that. They’ve had their own little derbies in the offseason, but they’ve always wanted to have a bigger tournament.
“But because we brought 30 league boats to Heavy Hitters, it was the perfect opportunity to bring the officials in a day early to fish and run these boats hard before official competition. It allowed our service crews to be at Kerr to help work out any bugs or kinks, and make sure the boats are all up to par to compete.”
All 28 officials will also leave Raleigh with a YETI Hopper Flip 18 cooler, to add to their quiver of 2021 “thank yous” from MLF sponsors that include swag from Wiley X, Barbasol and Star brite, and additional displays of gratitude from Favorite Fishing, Duckett Fishing, Onyx, Power-Pole and frogg toggs.
“It’s really encouraging that these companies recognize how hard our officials work, and how much of themselves they put into their jobs,” said MLF Assistant Tournament Director Mike Jinkins, who is in charge of day-to-day management of the MLF officials corps. “Their day starts at 3:30 a.m., they’re at the tournament staging area by 4:30, and by the time we’re at lines out and off the water, they get back to the hotel around 7 p.m. They work a 13- to 15-hour day, rain, shine, wind, cold or hot.
“They spend a full day calling the game as well – I can tell you from experience, that’s mentally and physically stressful. I know they all appreciate what General Tire and the rest of the sponsors are doing for them.”