Campbell plantation to host ‘OWL’ tournament
Published 9:07 pm Monday, April 11, 2011
Outdoors Without Limits (OWL) and the Campbell Plantation are teaming up again to bring the 2nd Annual “Catch a Smile” Bass Fishing Tournament and “Bream Buster” to Pike County May 19-21.
This year’s event will feature professional anglers from the BASS and FLW organizations. Those familiar with professional bass fishing will recognize early-entry big names, Keith Poche, Jim Hardy, Greg Vinson, Aaron Martens, Pam Martin Wells and David Kilgore. Many more pros will test the waters at Campbell Plantation in an effort to land the big fish and take home the big prize.
“We’re super excited about teaming up with the OWL program and are looking forward to making this event an annual success,” said Christopher Campbell, Campbell Plantation. “We participated in the OWL Ultimate Adventure Deer Hunt the last two years and those events really opened our mind, eyes and hearts.”
OWL National Spokesman Hank Parker will attend the tournament and will be the featured speaker at the Welcome Party on May 20 at Cattleman Park.
Last year’s “Catch a Smile” Bass Fishing Tournament and “Bream Buster” was a tremendous success. Winning pro Greg Hackney said the Pike County tournament was, perhaps, the best tournament and event of its kind that he has ever attended.
“What makes this tournament different and very special is that each professional angler is paired with and fishing with a disabled participant,” said Kirk Thomas, CEO and founder of Outdoors Without Limits. “OWL is a very inclusive organization in that we recognize any and all types of disabilities. Our mission is to get the sun on people’s backs. The disability a person has does not matter. We let the partnering aspect of our program negate whatever type of disability our participants have.”
Thomas said the professional anglers who participate in the local bass tournament understand and support the mission of OWL.
“Being outdoors oriented, they understand how special it is to have the opportunity to do something you love,” he said. “The cool thing about the tournament is that the pro anglers will get to share some quality time educating and helping some very excited folks. And, as an added bonus, they’ll have the opportunity to change lives while doing what they love to do. This is immeasurable.”
The general public will have opportunities to be a part of this special bass fishing event. The Welcome Party on May 20 is open to the public. Tickets are $20 and will be available at the door.
There will be a designated tournament viewing area on Friday and Saturday where people can watch and cheer on their favorite team. Both tournament weigh-ins are open to the public with a $5 ticket.
Outdoors Without Limits is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting education and opportunity. Its goal is to educate those with disabilities about the possibilities for outdoor related opportunities while providing them the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities.
For more information, contact Terry McPherson, 334-332-1349 or Campbell at 334-372-7400.