Chardon – On Thursday May 18, 2023, the Rotary Clubs of Geauga County; Burton-Middlefield, Chagrin Valley, Chardon and Geauga West; put on the seventh annual Special Needs Fishing Tournament at the Walter C. Best Wildlife preserve in Chardon. Children with special needs and with their care givers from all over Geauga County were invited to come to the park and spend the day fishing in the lake and hopefully snag a “whopper” on their line.
The young fishermen and ladies are transported around the lake to the fishing piers by golf carts provided by Pleasant Hills Golf Course in Claridon. The carts are generously transported to the park by employees of O’Reilly Trailer Sales in Newbury. This event provides a tremendously exciting and fun time for all the contestants as they look forward to an outdoor event in the spring each year. Their care givers are always amazed at how meaningful this special event is to their students. Rotarians from all four of the Rotary clubs in Geauga County staff the fishing piers, bait the hooks, remove the catches and generally provide support for the student fishermen and ladies. The event concludes with the students having lunch and snacks and then returning to their buses and home.
This event marks another youth program put on by the Rotary Clubs. Other programs are, youth exchange which is a yearlong international exchange of high school students, Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly (RYLA) held yearly at Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, World Community Service Conference held yearly in Wisconsin, scholarships for local students, support of scouting projects and many other youth-specific programs as one part of the five avenues of service that Rotary supports in their worldwide humanitarian efforts.
