A Free Kids Fishing Tournament was held at the 3 Golden Era Golf Course lakes (stocked with blue gill, bass and catfish) on Saturday the 13^TH of April.  There were over 225 kids (ages 6 to 15 years old) and they caught 165 fish.

There was an outpouring of community support to make this happen which shows how much people care to maintain a friendly, family oriented event for our children.

The Rotary Club cooked breakfast pancakes for everyone, the Hemet Kiwanis Club BBQ’ed the hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, Cal Fire station 25 was on hand with their fire truck and mascot, Captain Cal, American Medical Response (AMR) was there for the kids, the Hemet Police Department had their vintage car on display, the Police Explorers monitors all parking and kept everyone safe, the Hemet Police Chief and assistants tabulated the winners, Grandfathers for Golf and Jeep Club members were helping the kids around the lake with many other volunteers.

This fishing tournament gave some of the children their first opportunity to fish and actually catch a fish! 

To kick off the tournament a spectacular aerobatic show was performed by Doug Medore and Dave Mundwiler in their Pitts Special planes during the National Anthem which was sung by Linda Greilich from Golden Era Productions.  

The tournament’s official Bass Master, Albert Kissinger issued the tournament rules and San Jacinto Mayor Pro Tem, Valerie Vandever acted as MC and gave the official start for the tournament.

Jace Glover won the grand prize (four tickets to Disneyland!) by catching the largest fish which was a 7.1 pound catfish.  

In the senior division the top ten runners up were presented with trophies and or medallions: 1^st place Hailey Irwin with a 5.82 pound fish, 2^nd place Nathan Williams with a 5.26 pound fish, 3^rd place Katie Irwin with a 5.07 pound fish, 4^th place Emily Frank with a 5.04 pound fish, 5^th place was Nathan Glover with a 4.9 pound fish, 6^th place was William Rathbone with a 4.9 pound fish, 7^th place was Mathew Williams with a 4.4 pound fish, 8^th place was Joey Frank with a 4.02 pound fish, 9^th place was Daniel Jaime with a 3.54 pound fish and 10^th place was Bailey Richardson with 3.29 pound fish.

In the junior division the 10 runner ups were: 1^st place Adriana Lopez  with a 5.67 pound fish; 2^nd place James Irwin with a 5.38 pound fish, 3^rd place Grace Rathbone a 5.24 pound fish, 4^th place Kenzley Rathbone with a 4.92 pound fish, 5^th place Ryleigh Nassar  with a 4.84 pound fish, 6^th place Audriana Alvarez with a 4.7 pound fish, 7^th place Devon Doty with a 4.67 pound fish, 8^th place Biagio Simioli with a 4.63 pound fish, 9^th place Giuliana Simioli  with a 4.6 pound fish and 10^th place Leighton Jordon with a 4.17 pound fish. They all received either a trophy or a medallion. 

Thanks to all of the generous support from our sponsors each kid received a t-shirt, snacks, opportunity for a raffle prize, fishing pole if needed and of course breakfast and lunch.  

Gold Sponsors:

• American Legion Post 53
• Golden Era Productions
• My City Youth
• Soboba Foundation
• Steve Di Memmo & Dr. Kristi Di Memmo.

Silver Sponsors:

• Agri-Empire Corp
• Domenigoni Brothers Ranch
• Cops 4 Kids & Communities
• HCN Bank
• Hemet Jeep Club
• Hemet Police Officers’ Association
• Hemet Valley Kiwanis Club
• Rotary Club of Hemet
• Shea Properties
• Snap On Tools
• Sysco Foods
• VJ Graphics.

Bronze Sponsors: A&S Diesel, Back’s Automotive, County Auto Machinery, Dr. Raja, Hemet Valley Recovery Center & Sage Retreat, Inland Foundation Engineering, Larry Soares Appliances, Michelle Meade Realtor, Stadium Pizza, The Thomsen Company Inc., Toliver’s Tax Service and Ur Nxt Barber Shop.

Due to popular demand a fall tournament is scheduled for Saturday the 28^th of September. 

One parent said, “Thank you for doing this for the kids in our community!”

A mother commented, “Thank you for hosting this youth tournament and providing a positive outdoor experience!”

A father said, “Sincerely, thank you guys for doing this.  Really.  It was excellent.  We all enjoyed it.  Very appreciated.  We will be back next year!”

A family commented on their way out, “We had so much fun.  We will be back in the fall for the next tournament.”

A grandfather said, “It was great to have a tournament for the kids!”

There will be another fishing tournament in the fall and the date will be announced so you sign up your children to participate in fishing plus enjoy even more activities and prizes.

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