Special Olympic Fishing Tournament at Rotary Lake
The 7th Annual Rotary Marlin Harper Memorial Special Olympic Fishing Tournament took place on June 20 at the Barnesville Rotary Lake located in Memorial Park. Barnesville and Union Local Rotary clubs hosted the event.
On a sunny but cool morning, forty anglers from Belmont, Guernsey, Noble, Monroe and Tuscarawas Counties reported to the lake to try their hand catching the most or biggest fish.
However, the fish had a different plan that morning as anglers caught only 36 fish.
Regardless, participants, their families and volunteers had a wonderful morning. Barnesville Rotary Member, Brandi Little, shared what one participant said summing up the day with this quote:
“Even though I didn’t catch a lot of fish, I caught a lot of memories!”
Barnesville Rotary President Mary Sidwell welcomed and thanked everyone before the trophy presentation. Trophy winners were:
Biggest Fish
First Place — Brock Balgo with a 15-inch catfish
Second Place — David Bloom with a 7.75-inch fish
Most Caught Fish
First Place — Christen Staten with 16 fish
Second Place — Conner DeGenova with 14 fish
Spirit Award
Hayden Warnock won the Spirit Award, which is given in memory of Marlin J. Harper, who started the fishing tournament.
Barnesville Rotarian Marlin J. Harper (1949-2019) was an extremely active supporter of the Belmont County Department of Developmental Disabilities.
Christen Staten, who caught the most fish, shared a few words of wisdom at the contest. Christen does not like to touch the fish, so she delivered her catches to the check-in table wrapped in a flannel shirt.
As volunteers admired her fish during one of her trips to the table, Rotarian Brandi Little shared, “That sure is a little one.” Christen’s response, “A fish is a fish! They all count.”
During her last trip to the table, many of the volunteers asked Christen what her secret to catching so many fish was. “It is called: this girl grew up in the countryside,” remarked Christen. When the football players walked away, she shared with a smile on her face, “My dad found a great fishing spot.”
Belmont County Sheriff James G. Zusack has volunteered at this fishing tournament for three years. This year, he assembled all the complimentary participant fishing poles at his home. Sheriff Zusack said he really enjoys fishing with the participants.
A young man named Lucas has become Sheriff Zusack’s buddy. “When it starts getting close to the fishing tournament, Lucas begins texting me,” Zusack said. “We always do some fishing together at this event.”
Sponsors & Volunteers
The Rotary Marlin Harper Memorial Special Olympic Fishing Tournament is made possible through the many local businesses, organizations, and individuals that donate time, money or items to make it a success. They include:
- Barnesville VFW Post #2792
- Barnesville American Legion Post #168
- Union Local Rotary Club
- BHS Football Players & Coach Rogers
- United Dairy Company
- Belmont County Sheriff’s Office
- Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration
- Riesbeck’s Food Market
- Lakeland Foods
- Woodsfield Savings Bank
- Brenda Brown & Larry Lyons
Old Barn Bait Shop, owned by Richard Wells, donated worms used for the tournament.
Penny Crooks made the food, including homemade cupcakes with blue frosting and fish sprinkles.
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