The Diamond in the Desert
By: Art Pasley
If Elephant Butte, New Mexico is known as the Diamond in the Desert, then this years C.A.S.T. event, hosted by the Elephant Butte Reclamation office, can only be described as one jewel of a C.A.S.T. event.
With 47 participants, all disabled and disadvantaged children from the surrounding area, Brent Tanzy and his faithful sidekick, Chris Bolen continued to raise the bar, as everyone enjoyed a fun filled day at Elephant Butte Reservoir. As the boaters began arriving, they were soon paired with their partners as each kid received a hat and t-shirt, rod & reel and a tackle box filled with everything they would need for a great fishing trip.
One advantage this year's program had over past events was Neal Brown, owner of the Marina Del Sur and event volunteer, providing the entire marina for the event. With the additional space, Brent and Chris, along with the help of their friends and families were able to provide additional activities for the kids. My favorite was the mystery wall. If the kids happened to open the wrong surprise door a blast of silly string would soon find its way to a very surprised kid. Needless to say, there was a lot of screaming at that game. I loved it!
As everyone returned to the Marina, a great lunch was ready and along with the games and fish stories it could only be described as one big family reunion. It just had that feel of good friends and families together for a common cause, to do something good for their community and the people they love. As Brent and his boater captains began handing out the plaques, the smiles on everyone's faces said it all.
As the day came to an end, Brent thanked all the volunteers and participants for spending the morning with him and the Reclamation staff. "We couldn't have done this event without NM State Park's Chris Bolen and his wife Helen, and Kevin Wilcox in addition to all the volunteers from the community" stated Tanzy. "Neal Brown, from Marina Del Sur, provided the entire marina as well as a pontoon boat. From the Reclamation office both current and former employees helped out; Don Haberkin, Ron Hoskins, Ben Kalminson and his wife Julia, Davonna Thomas and her mom Davonna Stoner (Big Davonna), Pat Finney and her husband Russ, James and Angelina Powell, Bill Neely and his son Billy, Klarene Rich along with her mother, Craig Weisner for his help as our photographer, Mary Wagner and my wife Debbie. Gary Sanders from Arrey cafe along with his sidekick Jerry did all the cooking with food donated from their vendors Albert Varela, F&R Produce and Baquera's store. We also had sizeable cash contributions from Sams Club, American Legion post 44 and the Albuquerque office of Parsons Brinckerhoff. Thank you all" he concluded. This truly was one "Jewel of an Event.
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