Recently, the Bulloch County Recreation and Parks Department hosted its beloved annual ‘Fishing Rodeo’ for Bulloch County children with special needs to fish and enjoy other activities on a beautiful spring day. This year, the 2-day event, filled with anticipation and FUN, was held at the Fletcher Memorial Park pond in Statesboro on Thursday March 14 and Friday, March 15 from 9:00 am to 1:00pm each day.
Elementary, middle, and high school students attended. Approximately 100 enthusiastic children participated, eager to win the treasured trophies and ribbons for their remarkable catches.
“This Rodeo is a ‘hands-on’ event,” said Tiffany Burgess, Program Supervisor at BCRP. "It is made-up of staff of the community recreation division for Recreation and Parks, along with volunteers including Georgia Southern students, friends, and part-time staff. BCRP's staff are the judges.”
The Bulloch County Recreation and Parks maintenance team plays a key role in the success of the rodeo. They help with much of the food preparation (bagged lunches, thanks to the Splash staff) and various fishing needs like the rods, tackle, and trophies.
Trophies are awarded to children for various categories (3 in each class) including: ‘Biggest Catch,’ ‘Smallest Catch,’ ‘Most Fish Caught,’ and sometimes the most ‘Unusual Catch’ -- a fan favorite!! Turtles or t-shirts caught instead of fish are always a source of laughter at the rodeo. ALL treasures are awarded!
After a few hours of fishing, the children enjoyed lunch with refreshments and excitedly awaited for the WINNERS to be announced.
Alex Estrada, Aquatic Division Manager shared, “It truly is a great honor to be able to participate in such an amazing event, to see the excitement on the children's faces is priceless and heartwarming. Just baiting a fishing pole or measuring a fish that was caught is one of the most memorable experiences a child will have.”
This Fishing Rodeo is definitely one to look forward to every year. So many lasting happy times to share and enjoy! This very special ‘worth remembering’ event will go down in history again!
Don and Karen Garrick shared some history and highlights of the Fishing Rodeo.
“Both my wife and I taught special needs students in Bulloch County for 30 years," Don said. "One of the highlights of each school year was being able to participate in the fishing rodeo whether it was held at Hodges-Yawn pond house, Mill Creek Park, or Fletcher Park. It was always a fun day for the students, teachers and volunteers. The Bulloch County Recreation and Parks Department is to be commended for making this event possible for Bulloch County Special Needs students. They have always done a fantastic job, and we hope that they know how much they appreciated.”
For more information on the Bulloch County Recreation and Parks Department, visit their website at bullochrec.com.
