It’s been mentioned a great deal and I’m going to do it again. Anglers as Role Models is a nonprofit organization that is holding its second annual outing with Big Brothers and Big Sisters this year. The dates are August 9 and 10 and we expect to be hosting 40 Big/Little Brother and Sister teams from both Minnesota and Wisconsin on EACH day for that event.
This is an exciting event! The intent is to give some kids a little bit of the fishing bug and also provide them with some good solid, very positive experience on the water. Last year’s event was fabulous. In fact, the response was overwhelming. Some of the littles from that event are returning, but we’re also adding a lot of new ones.
This not constitutes a call for volunteers. We need as much help as possible. Every forum participant is invited down to Everts and we would like to get at least a partial list of all of those folks that can come down as soon as possible.
The event works like this. We pair a boat and fisherman with a Big/Little Brother or Sister combo and send the three of you out on the water for a day. It’s a challenge to everyone, but it is great fun and a very relaxed situation. There is absolutely no pressure on you to catch or locate eatable fish, but we’ll also be hoping to improve everyone’s skills in that regard.
We also need shore help in the cooking, entertaining and instruction areas. Every skill, from boat handling to knot tying is necessary. At present, we have a good number of the EFN Pro Staff participating and hope to get others from outside our small group to join in.
We have contacted Gander Mountain’s staff and hope to have at least a couple of their own Pros with us. We are also going to be in touch with several other groups and companies.
Steve Vick at Everts has very kindly agreed to provide us with space for 40 people (pretty much the entire resort) for the weekend. We may be charging a nominal fee for staying there, through ARM, but overall will keep a few spaces open for celebrities as well. Not to say that need will also be a factor. So please contact me or leave a note on this list if you require overnight sleeping arrangements. Camping out space is large, too, and we’ll provide a good hot shower for anyone who wishes to do a little bit of that as well.
This is an important event! It’s a good opportunity to spend a little time fishing, get some free food and even a lot of pleasure from having taken a couple of deserving folks out for a day. That is reward enough, mind you.
August is a great time to go do this. We hope that you’ll reserve a couple of days for this wonderful event and help out.
What I’d like is for anyone who is interested to let me know, either via this forum, a private pm or a phone call. Give me your name, address and whether you’d like to bring a boat or volunteer from shore. We’ll be keeping track as we go. If you have a boat and might like to attend, but aren’t sure of the logistics (rods, reels, lack of fishing time on the river or so forth), we’ll work something out. A lot of that stuff can be shared and we’re counting on having plenty of everything for the event. It’s about the experience, anyway. And it’s also about the looks on the kids’ faces when they get to see the water from a slightly different vantage point, maybe catch a fish and just plain ride around. All of this makes for the day that you’ll remember as a wonderful and exciting one.
We are also looking for donations and contributions if you have any ideas. Last year, we gave away a tackle box and let the kids load up with all sorts of goodies from different companies. This year should be no different. We do need a little bit of cash, so contributions can be sent as well. But mostly, we’re looking for participation, your support and a good time on the water.
I look forward to hearing from anyone interested and am certain that we will have at least as good a time as we had last year.
Mike Little
ARM Board of Directors
[email protected]
952-890-6620
1-866-866-2837 (toll free outside Minnesota)
. I’ll be there both days with my boat. Last year was a blast, this year can only be better! 
