February Chapter Meeting Surprises!

[KUP]

February Chapter Notes: Well, if you missed this one, you missed a doozy!
Lots of awards; lots of Surprises!
What a great meeting, lots of fun and surprises and good folks. We kept the business to a minimum for this, our first Awards Ceremony.

First off, 16 folks received a certificate and heavy metal “Catch & Release” pin for volunteering at the Chapter 57 Booth @ the Puyallup Sportsman Show. (For the few who were not present, you can pick up your pin at the March meeting!)

Next came Sportsman of the Year, presented by Chairman Bill Green. This Award is for the member who participates in at least 75% of club events, represents us as a family club, respects other anglers, regardless of how they feel about CPR and who “leads by example”. The 2007 Award went to Member Jani K.

Angler of the Year was presented by Mark Wells, Chairman. This award is given to the angler who has tallied the most inches in muskies (over 30 inches) caught and released. 2007 winner was Michael Floyd with a total of 583 inches, the longest being 46 inches and a grand total of 14 tiger muskies!! Even more impressive: this was Michael’s FIRST YEAR targeting tiger muskies! Looks like he will be the angler to catch in 2008 and his son says he will be giving chase! Congratulations, Michael, they are not easy to catch and 14 is quite a feat!

Last event of the evening was speaker Jack Tipping, WFDW, retired. Or at least he THOUGHT he was going to speak. 5 minutes into his presentation, Jack was interrupted by a very loud FedEx courier who “claimed” he had an important document for a Mr. Jack Tipping from a Mr. Doug Fletcher from Weippe, Idaho (Jack’s former boss and mentor when he stocked the first tiger, 20 years ago in Mayfield Lake.) After presenting his ID (!) Courier Rick instructed Jack to read the document to the Chapter members. It was a surprise letter and a great, funny, moving tribute to the Father of Tiger Muskies in WA.
But the surprise did not end there; Perry Peterson, President, presented Jack with a plaque honoring all his dedication to the project along with a framed, beautiful, underwater photo of a tiger in the weeds and sunlight.
A generous, anonymous donor has also purchased Jack a 10 year membership in Muskies Inc.!
And last but not least, Jani played a video the Chapter put together (with the help of Jack’s wife, Sharon, who was in on the surprise) complete with archived photos and some great pictures of Jack and some of his big fish. But mostly in includes our gratitude and appreciation. Want to see it, again? Go here:

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And pass it on!