Published: July 19, 2008 11:39 pm            

KITCHELL: It’s all about kids

Volunteers keep Kids Fishing Clinic going strong

Old-school Kokomo, that is those of us born and raised here, have a pretty good read on our community. We know tourists may snicker at our hot spots that they can view in a two-minute stopover at Highland Park — the bull, stump and now the cannon.

We know we have too many stop lights and that our version of fine dining may include wading through peanut shells to reach a table. Yes, we are pretty sure that even with our flashy new roundabout, no one would confuse Kokomo for Carmel.

But we make no apologies. There’s a reason many of us have never left Kokomo. It’s family, the people and our seemingly endless supply of donors and volunteers — those who improve the quality of life for others. And there are none finer than those who this week celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Jim “Moose” Carden Kids Fishing Clinic.

Clinic director John Martino has been around for all 25 events and he figures that during that time, some 3,300 kids, ages 6-15, have gone through the two-week fish festival whose crowning jewel is graduation day at the Kokomo Reservoir.

It is that final Saturday that is the payoff for the kids, but even more so for volunteers who over the years have unselfishly poured thousands of hours into the great metamorphosis — kids turning into anglers, outdoors enthusiasts and better citizens.

This Saturday at the Kokomo Reservoir, 65 boats will cast off at 8 a.m. Experienced anglers will head out, taking 130 young clinic participants out to test their fishing skills acquired from two weeks of hands-on instruction. By 11 a.m., boats will motor toward shore with, in some cases, bigger smiles than fish.

“Watching those kids come in for the weigh-in just makes the hair on my neck stand on end,” said Kokomo’s Jerry Rose, who has been a boat captain for about 20 years. “It doesn’t make any difference if a kid catches a 2-inch fish or a 14-pound carp, they’re happy. The kids’ smiles? I just don’t know of anything better.”

This wondrous event had its start here when in 1983, Carden served as a volunteer at a kids fishing clinic in Indianapolis. Carden liked what he saw and shared the idea with his fishing buddy Martino. From there, Kokomo’s version of the Kids Fishing Clinic, one that other communities have since copied, took shape and local businesses and organizations, national manufacturers and a host of volunteers have magnificently shaped.

Martino points to those volunteers as the backbone of the operation.

“Without a doubt, they make it all possible,” he said. “A lot of these [boat captains] are bass tournament fishermen and competitive by nature, but they put that aside to help kids learn to fish. I have a waiting list of people wanting to teach classes and I have people calling me to be boat captains. It’s pretty amazing.”

Martino said he is especially pleased with the “pass-it-on” attitude.

“In doing this for 25 years, we’re now getting young adults who went through the clinic as kids, returning to serve as volunteers and that’s really gratifying,” he said. “Greg Sullivan, Austin Price, Josh Whaley and Chuck McClish are just a few of our boat captains who are giving back to kids what they learned years ago. Of course the more years we do this, the number of participants and volunteers just multiplies.”

The clinic teaches more than fishing skills, according to Martino.

“The clinic teaches kids about life in general and fishing in particular,” he said. “We try to teach kids about the importance of taking care of our environment and respecting the outdoors.”

Greentown’s Larry Sullivan, a boat captain since the early years, concurs, noting that kids in the clinic have the opportunity to learn lessons that will make them better citizens in years ahead.

“I’ve always said that if you take your kid fishing or hunting, you won’t have to hunt for your kid later,” he said. “All the family time spent together will have a positive effect on everyone’s life. As for the Clinic, even if just a few kids benefited from it, it would be worth my time.”

Martino said the Clinic has been blessed by a host of local businesses and organizations who have donated money and fishing gear. Each child is asked to pay the modest fee of $20 for the two-week session. This year, however, an anonymous donor paid the $2,600 entry fee for the entire group in honor of former boat captain Gary Carden who died this past year. Martino said that kind of generosity is one of the special things about people living in this community.

“In 1999, the [Kids Fishing Clinic] was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame,” Martino said. “When Ted Dzialo came down to investigate our program to see if we were worthy of the award, he asked me what our workers were paid. I said nothing. He asked me what the boat captains were paid. I said we don’t pay them anything. He just shook his head and said that there are fishing tournaments that pay out a lot of money that can’t field 65 boats.

“Then [Dzialo] said something I’ll always remember,” Martino added. “He said, ‘You know, you must live in one fine community.’”

We certainly do, warts and all.

Dave Kitchell is the Tribune’s sports editor. He may be reached by e-mail at dave.kitchell@kokomotribune.com or by calling (765) 454-8574.

        

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