FROM THE PRESIDENT
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HELPED WITH THE 57TH ANNUAL NAGS HEAD SURF FISHING CLUB TOURNAMENT, THE ANNUAL FRITZ BOYDEN MEMORIAL YOUTH TOURNAMENT, AND THE PIG PICKIN THIS YEAR. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK OUT NOMINATING COMMITTEE AND EVERYONE WHO IS RUNNING FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
I WOULD LIKE TO URGE ALL MEMBERS TO COME TO OUR NEXT MEMBERSHIP MEETING IN JANUARY. IN ADDITION TO THE ELECTION WE WILL PRESENT THE AWARDS FOR OUR CLUB FISHING TOURNAMENT.
SINCERELY,
PAT CAHILL, PRESIDENT
PLEASE NOTE
THE MAIL IN BALLOTS TO DECIDE WHETHER TO CHANGE THE CLUB STATUS TO CHARITABLE FAILED TO PRODUCE REQUIRED QUORUM SO THE ORGANIZATION WILL RETAIN CURRENT NON-PROFIT DESIGNATION.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Annual Summary of NHSFC Tournament by Tournament Director, Mike Clarkin
PLENTY OF FISH AND PLENTY OF FUN
The 57th ANNUAL NHSFC TOURNAMENT, held this past October 3rd, 4th, and 5th was another great success, in my somewhat biased opinion. This 2nd tourney under my directorship was blessed with great weather and great fishing, which certainly doesn’t hurt when it comes to achieving our primary goal…great fun with great friends. It is not lost on me however, that none of the above mentioned great things could come about without the diligence of some wonderful members who work behind the scenes to make the tournament go as smoothly as it does. I would like to mention a few of these people by name, speak of the daily events and fishing, honor the winners, and make a few apologies and suggestions for next years event.
Even though the tournament itself involves only a few days in October, because I have the joy and privilege of being married to Kathy, I get to participate in much of what precludes every tournament. I know most members are aware of what their officers and board of directors does for them, but I would like to begin this letter by saying once again how impressed I am by the copious amount of preparation and unselfish work that is donated by these people to insure the success of the event. My personal thanks goes out to each and every one whether member of the board, officer, volunteer, or member for all the support and help that I am given. Believe me, I need it and welcome it! I want to make special mention of Pat Cahill, President, and Mary Ann Maryott. Fellow members, please take time to thank these two especially, as I do, because believe me, without them none of what we enjoy would be possible. On that note, Mary Ann, thank you for taking up my slack…I promise to do better. Ronnie Scott, my thanks goes out to you as well. Your experience with this event handling the stations and judges makes it a piece of cake for this director. The other volunteers and committee members are too many to mention here, but from gathering up awards, trophies, and raffle prizes to working in the score room and selling tickets and t-shirts, the people involved in making it all happen are a joy to work with and without question make the NHSFC ANNUAL TOURNAMENT what it is: the most prestigious tournament of it’s kind on the Atlantic Coast!!
October 3rd finally arrived after another year of thought and preparation, and it was time to kick off another great tournament. For once, fishing had been steady, and there were rumors of some big fish in the surf. No matter, the weather promised to be balmy, so let the fishing take care of itself. Teams arrived from all North, West, and South [hard to arrive from the East here], to register, renew acquaintances, draw for those precious lucky stations, and celebrate the imminent fishing days at the first night’s kick-off dinner. The captain’s meeting went smoothly, as did the judges meeting. Spilling out of the meetings captains and members alike enjoyed great food and drinks prepared by the Ramada staff, and proceeded to purchase t-shirts, hats and raffle tickets in record numbers.
The rest, as they say, is history. The weather stayed balmy, the fishing stayed steady, and after two days of going hard at it, it was time to meet once again at the awards banquet to congratulate the winners. This year for the men COASTAL REDI-MIX carried off top honors jumping off to a strong start in session one and holding on to the lead all through the tournament. Chasing the lead hard all the way was the second place finishers THE BALD HOOTERS, making the leaders sweat a little with a strong third session win. First time contestants THE CONEHEADS showed that you can be new and have some beginner’s luck, too with third place finish for the men. Welcome aboard and congratulations, CONEHEADS!! For the women things got pretty close to home for me. New neighbor Jean Flanagan and wife Kathy Clarkin were on opposing teams vying for the lead in the early going. Jean’s team THE OUTCASTERS pulled ahead in the final session to squeeze out Kathy’s SHOW STOPPERS in a real nail-biter here on the home front. TEAM HATTERASKALS , a regular on the awards floor, pushed hard, but came up just short to finish third. Watch out guys….these ladies can fish, and they mean business !!! Congratulations to everyone who participated, and thanks for making it a wonderful event.
That about wraps it up for another year. I will finish with a couple of promises for the year to come. One, I will be proud and honored to be your director in next year’s tournament, and two, if I am so honored, I will do my best to make it even better if that is possible. I apologize for the problems we had with people not being able to hear during the awards, and I promise that next year we will have a PA SYSTEM that would rival a Rolling Stones Concert ! I have always enjoyed hearing myself talk, and next year I will personally guarantee it. Also, there will be a few tweaks in the awards ceremony that I think will please everyone. Other than that we can only say HAPPY NEW YEAR , stay healthy, stay happy, and we will see you next year.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Clarkin, Director, NHSFC ANNUAL TOURNAMENT