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Corner: Articles: 2004 |
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Lend a helping hand
[December 7, 2004 - By Dion Bright, WVBF Youth Director]
For some people, volunteering is a way of life that they cannot just sit around and wonder why something is not
being accomplished. These types of people take the "bull by the horns" so to speak. They are just natural
born leaders. They may own their own business, or be managers of a large business, but they have chosen to use
their natural talent for even a better purpose. They volunteer. Now volunteering isn't that scary. Anyone can be
a volunteer. It doesn't matter whether you're a school student, factory worker, or a farmer. Volunteering your
time is for everyone. It is a great way of expressing your care and concern and learn something new at the same
time. Volunteering isn't expensive and not very time consuming. The benefits a person gets in return from volunteering
far outweigh the investment a person makes.
The West Virginia BASS Federation is built and ran on volunteers. Without volunteers in this organization, there
would not be one. I know I stated earlier that volunteering is not time consuming, but I am not speaking of being
a President of the WVBF or being Conservation Director or Youth Director, I am speaking of taking a couple hours
out of your time to lend a helping hand. There have been many occasions that we have made phone call after phone
call and posted messages on the message board trying to get help for a function that the WVBF is doing or helping
with. The results may or may not surprise you. Of the 3 to 4 posts I have posted for help with various events,
the most responses I received from any one post was "ONE". That's right, only one. These posts also had
over 150 hits on each. Also, during last year's CastingKids state finals, I stood up in front of the general meeting
and asked the membership if we could have a few volunteers to stay for an hour to help out. Guess how many volunteered?
"ZERO" I don't mean to sound too negative, but that is not very impressive with a federation of over
800 members. The majority of the events the WVBF needs volunteering at least on my end is for the youth. We hold
several CastingKids events throughout the year which only require a couple hours of a person's time. These events
don't require a lot of time, or even money, they just require a little care and concern for our youth. It can be
something as simple as signing kids up for CastingKids competitions, help weigh fish at a fishing derby, help putting
boats in and out of the water during a youth tournament, or even helping with our annual outdoor show. These types
of activities will bring you in contact with people that you may not have otherwise known. You get the honor of
being a part in a child's life in a way that will make a difference. You can see it their eyes and you will see
them telling you in their own way how much they appreciate your help. Take a look into the youth's eyes and you
will see they are really paying attention to you as you are teaching them something to carry on to their own children.
Just think how much better fishermen we would be if we had the opportunities we are giving the youths today. We
will continue to call for help on activities and post messages asking for help, but we cannot be successful without
the help of volunteers. There are many federations that mandate their clubs to participate in a certain number
of youth and conservation projects during the year. Fishing, Conservation, and Youth is what the WVBF is all about.
As long as we have volunteers to help out with our projects and activities, the WVBF should not have to come to
mandating it for all clubs.
I would also like to take this time to congratulate the WVBF Junior State Team for a 7th place finish at the Jr.
Eastern Divisional at Lake Champlaign. From this tournament, we qualified our next two participates for the 2005
Bassmaster Junior World Championship. Adam Nelson of Central Junior Bassmasters was the high finisher in the 11-14
age group and Codie Nettles of Hawks Nest Junior Bassmasters in the 15-18 age group will compete in his second
consecutive Bassmaster World Championship. A big congratulation also goes out to J.C. Christopher of Roadhouse
Junior Bassmasters for his fourth place finish at the 2004 Bassmaster Junior World Championship in Charlotte. J.C.
earned a $1000.00 scholarship. |
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