Last year Ralph Philips approached me about the idea of starting a saltwater fishing club in Summerville. As he often does, Ralph had a vision for a family oriented club that promoted fishing and learning about fishing as a family activity. I told him I thought it would be a great idea and I thought he would have plenty of interest. Sure enough about a week later Ralph told me he was starting the club and asked if I would help. He set up a meeting to find out how many would be interested and through word of mouth and a posting on our site, about 60 people showed up to find out what this club was all about.
There was a great deal of excitement about among the people who attended and the club was born. Several great guys in attendance that night volunteered their time and efforts to be a part of the board that would help direct and shape the club, based on Ralphs vision. The board members put in a great effort with an incredible amount of enthusiasm and the club had over 100 members in a matter of weeks. The club also had several l local businesses that offered to work with the club and lend their assistance. During the year we had several really good fishing seminars and some great fellowship. I had many members talk to me and tell me how much they had learned throughout the year and were actually catching more fish as a result of what they had learned. The club held monthly fishing tournaments and offered awards for top anglers and also offered awards for youth anglers at each tournament. Seeing the kids smile as they received awards and their excitement about fishing was something you cannot even put into words.
This past Friday we held our end of the year get together. We had oysters, fish stew, and chili, all were delicious by the way. We used our end of the year get together to give out our angler and youth angler of the year awards and we also used this time to raise money for a local charity, complete with raffles and a silent auction. The club was able to raise over $1,000 and it w