President Randy Roash opened our last meeting at the firehouse on September 12th with the flag salute. As summer has come to an end, we re-capped some of our events and talked about looking forward to fall fishing with the up-coming Glenn Cunningham Weakfish Tournament and the Two day Charity Surf Fishing Tournament.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT– Randy thanked Herb Hollinger Sr. for doing the annual financial audit of the club’s books and commended our Treasurer, Dick Shetler for the terrific work he does for the SFEC. He went on to thank the Walshs and others for the great job with Nightmare in Strathmere.
Randy informed the membership that donations were made to the Fire Department in memory of long time club member Joe Dawson and to “Breast Cancer Three Day” which is a 60 mile walk for cancer research and education through the Susan G Komen For The Cure and National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Colleen Gouza, wife of club member Jeff Gouza will be taking part in this event. Colleen has agreed to raise $2,300, but is hoping to raise more. If you would like to make a personal donation, you can go online at http://www.the3day.org/. Just click on DONATE NOW and search for her personal fund raising page or call 800-996-3day. Thanks for supporting Colleen in her fund raising efforts.
Randy announced that Dick Omrod, the Nomination Officer will be putting a list together to be presented at the November meeting of perspective candidates for the five open positions on the Executive Board for 2010. If you are interested in any position on the board or know of someone who is, please let Dick know.
KIDS’ SURF FISHING TOURNAMENT– Randy thanked Bob Adam, Kids’ Surf Fishing Tournament Chairperson and his committee for the outstanding job they did with this year’s tournament. We would also like to thank Kathy Adam, who works diligently side by side with Bob on this project. There are many to thank including the Yellow Shirt Staff of volunteers, that make this event a fun day for the children and their families and we apologize if we left anyone out. Special thanks to Mayor Palombo for presenting prizes and the help from the Strathmere Fire Dept, EMT’s, and the lifeguards for their assistance. We would like to thank all of those who generously gave donations of money, prizes, food, shirts, etc. Thanks to the following businesses – My Wife’s Rod & Reel Shop, UNO Chicago Grill, Frank’s Boats, The Shack, Whale Creek Marina, Mike’s Seafood, Apple Transportation, Frito Lay Inc., Coca Cola Marmora, RSA Distributors, Mildred’s, Pepsi, Aqua-Clear, Aquagy, Riordan Real Estate and the following Families – Dimarcantonio, Furey, Henry, Turner, Constantine, Hollinger, Roash, Massey, and Geib. Thanks to the following individuals – John Latwinas, Tom Starr, Joseph Boyle, Brian Francis, Alice Geib, Pat Mahon, Mike Mazzeo, Marty Otter, Bill Shillingford, and Patti Erickson.
A total of 130 kids were registered for the event, and about 25 fish were caught. New fishing poles were presented to the following winners-
Brendin Courant Flounder 14 inches
Tom Alexander Bluefish 14 inches
Tommy Boyle Shark 19 ½ inches
All Fish caught were measured and released.
TREASURER’S REPORT– Treasurer Dick Shetler gave the financial report which was approved.
SECRETARY’S REPORT– Rosemarie Whelan read the minutes from our last meeting and they were also approved.
ACTIVITIES OFFICER– Carole Jameson unveiled the new perpetual plaque for the Jane Shetler Tournament. It will be installed on our Wall of Honor at the Firehouse and each year a new name will be added. This year’s tournament supported H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Evolve), and Chairman of the Board Wayne Thomas sent a letter of thanks for our donation. We would like to thank Carole for taking care of getting the plaque and for the great job she did on the tournament and the raffle tickets for Nightmare in Strathmere.
WEBMASTER– Ken Weaver has the Kid’s Korner up and running on the club website; now he just needs some recent pictures of your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews etc that have caught a fish lately. We know that fishing hasn’t been great this summer, but there have to be some kids out there that would like to show off their catch. Please send a picture and the story behind the picture to Ken at sfec@comcast.net.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE– This newly formed committee headed up by Carol Ferguson presented their first committee report to the membership. Secretary Dave Ferguson outlined the committee’s tasks, their mission statement, and recommendations for the club which included Dune Grass Planting, Osprey Nest Construction, and the Terrapin Assistance Program. At the conclusion of the club meeting, Carole introduced her invited guest speaker, Roger Wood, the Director of Research at the Wetlands Institute. The Terrapin Conservation Program started in 1989. Mr. Wood and his group patrols roads, counts and picks up turtles that have been killed on the road. They are then able to harvest the eggs from the female turtles and through proper incubation procedures are able to get some of the eggs to hatch. After hatching they are sent to the Richard Stockton College Terrapin Farm where they are raised and then released into the area in which they were originally found. One of those areas is the Strathmere Boat Ramp. Mr. Wood stated three ways in which the SFEC could help the program: assist with road patrols, help with placement of terrapin barrier fences and with financial aid. We thank Roger Wood for his very educational and informative presentation. We learned a lot of things we didn’t know and we look forward to hearing from him again. Thanks Carol, for inviting him.
STRIPER BOARD– Thanks to Dick Omrod the Striper Board is up and ready at Whale Creek Marina. Using the honor system, if you are a member and you catch a nice striper, just go to the marina and write it on the board. This tournament runs from March 1 to Dec. 31st. Randy hands out awards at the Winter Social in February. Good Luck.
BOAT INSPECTIONS– Bob Babezki would like to offer any Fall Striper Fisherman that has not yet had their boat inspected by the Coast Guard Auxiliary an opportunity to do so. Please contact Bob if you would like to have your boat examined this fall to make sure you have all the necessary safety equipment. The inspection is free. You can contact Bob at- rbabezki@3bnetworks.com
UP-COMING TOURNAMENTS–
GLENN CUNNINGHAM WEAKFISH TOURNAMENT will be held on Oct. 3rd. Rain date is Oct. 4th. A Captain’s meeting will take place the night before- Oct. 2nd at Whale Creek Marina at 6:30 pm. There are some changes to this tournament this year. Stripers and Blues have been added to usual Weakfish haul due to recent fishing conditions. There will be hats for sale and the Award Dinner will take place that evening at the firehouse. Any questions contact LuAnn & Steve Burin at 856-461-4412.
SFEC ANNUAL CHARITY SURF FISHING TOURNAMENT is set to start on Oct. 9th at 3pm and runs until Oct. 10th at 3pm. This year’s tournament will benefit local Food Banks, so we ask that you bring a non-perishable food item or make a cash donation for the cause.
Awards will be held at the firehouse on Saturday, Oct. 10th at 5pm and food and beverages will be served, free. All fishermen and club members are invited. You can register at Whale Creek Marina or at My Wife’s Rod & Reel Shop. Any questions, call Randy at 263-5622.
UP-COMING EVENTS
Oct. 3 Glenn Cunningham Weakfish Tournament 6am
Oct. 3 Awards & BBQ – Firehouse – 5pm
Oct. 9 Surf Fishing Tournament begins at 3pm on the beach
Oct. 10 Tournament Ends at 3pm- Club Meeting / Awards/Food – Firehouse 5pm
Looking Ahead
Nov. 7 Club Meeting/ Nominations/ Firehouse 4pm
Nov. 27 Last Cast Tournament – begins 6am
Nov. 28 Tournament Ends at 4pm- Awards & Food Firehouse 5pm