MARIETTA, Ohio — For more than 120 young anglers, Saturday, September 16, was a day full of hot dogs, Capri Sun, and lots of night crawlers, crappie, bass and bluegill thanks to a free Take Kids Fishing Day event at Buckeye Park in Marietta, Ohio. Hosted by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and IBEW Local 972, the community event was sponsored by the Ohio AFL-CIO.
The goal of the event was to introduce local youths ages two to 15 to fishing and the great outdoors. On hand were volunteers from IBEW Local 972, who helped put together poles, cook hot dogs and hand out goodie bags.
This was the fourth year of the event, and the turnout was the best yet, according to Michael Haught, a volunteer and officer with Local 972. “There were lots of laughs and lots of fish this year,” Haught said. “This event is a way for the union to give back and engage with the community—to let them know we care about them and the community.”
The family-friendly event was part of a series of free, community-based Take Kids Fishing Day events, organized through the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground (WBG) program with support from USA national partners Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Union Plus and Humana as well as founding partners UIG, ULLICO, Bank of Labor, AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation and Buck Knives. WBG brings together union members willing to volunteer their time and expertise to complete conservation infrastructure projects and mentor youth in the outdoors.
Each youth participant received a rod and reel combo as well as a deer call to take home. Plenty of kids took home t-shirts and fishing memories, said volunteer Nicole Webster, an officer with IBEW Local 972. Webster says they advertised the event on social event and handed out flyers at schools and local Boys and Girls Clubs. “This is just a fun way to get people outside,” Webster said. “There are plenty of union and non-union folks there fishing. It’s an event for everyone and their families. We had a ton of people coming up to us to show us their fish.”
Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA): The USA is a union-dedicated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the union community through conservation to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage. For more information, visit unionsportsmen.org or connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Work Boots on the Ground (WBG): WBG is the USA’s flagship conservation program that brings together union members willing to volunteer their time and expertise to conservation projects that improve and enhance public access to the outdoors, conserve wildlife habitat, restore America’s parks and mentor youth in the outdoors. The USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program works closely with federal, state and local agencies and other conservation groups to provide manpower needed to complete critical projects that may otherwise go undone.
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