Catching A Special Thrill at Strawberry Reservoir
By: Art Pasley
We had a very successful event this year with 31 participant groups showing up from several organizations, including the Utah Downs Syndrome Foundation, Hillcrest Elementary School, Children with Special Health Care Needs, and the Utah Parent Center. With the volunteers and all of the other family members, we had close to 200 people at lunch. One young man caught a 25" cutthroat trout, but had to let it go because it was over the size limit of those fish they can keep!
One family, in particular, I think should be mentioned with honor. It is the Alva and Christi Jameson family. This dedicated couple have adopted and fostered special needs children throughout their married lives (I believe they've raised or are in the process of raising a total of 37 kids). They brought 12 of the younger children to the event with older, grown siblings helping out the younger ones. These kids have disabilities ranging from mild Downs Syndrome to severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy. If anyone deserves some special recognition, it is them. We were able to get this entire family on two pontoon boats, courtesy of Robertson's Marine and the Utah BASS Federation*.
We would like to thank all of the volunteers and sponsors, including the Utah BASS Federation; Robertson's Marine; SS Marine; Tracker Boats; Weber Basin Job Corps; BYU Outdoors Unlimited; the Bureau of Reclamation Employees' Association; Wildlife Memories; Wildlife Creations; Utah Grizzlies Childrens Charities; Utah Forestry, Fire, and State Lands; Fish Tech Outfitters; Pure Fishing; Uinta National Forest; Mountain Campground Management; and many, many others who either helped with donations of items for the fun packs or with their time to help the families have an enjoyable day.
*Please see photo of the pontoon boat below.
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(Click on a picture to enlarge)
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