Happy Holidays!
I find myself writing my last President’s Message from the confines of a hotel room in Taiwan. This will serve as my last official act as the President of the Gig Harbor Chapter. As I reflect back on the past couple years I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences and I am truly grateful for the opportunity. I learned a lot and met a lot of great people along the way. I would like to thank the various board members and all those who have volunteered their time, both in official and unofficial capacity. I also want to thank the many guest speakers that have given so freely of their time and talents. When I look back over the past 2 years, our guest speaker list reads like a “Who’s Who” of Northwest fishing. We have had fantastic opportunities to hear from some of the very best!
December was a busy month for our club. We started the month off with our annual Dick Smythe Derby on December 5th. There were about 18 club members who participated. While it did rain, the winds held off until later in the afternoon so fishing weather was actually very good in area 11. Unfortunately there were no blackmouth keepers caught, just a few shakers. Most everyone who participated met at the Tides Tavern for lunch afterwards. On December 8th, we held our annual Christmas Party. It was well attended, we had close to 120 members with their families present. This year we held our Christmas Party at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Tacoma. We appreciate them opening their doors to us. It was a great facility to host our event with plenty of space and a great kitchen. As is our custom, all the children received a gift from Santa. We had a special ladies raffle along with our biggest regular membership raffle of the year. There were a lot of great prizes won. Everyone seemed to have a great time and there was plenty of good food. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who volunteered and assisted with the cooking of turkeys and hams, the kitchen crew, and all those who helped setup and cleanup!
I now officially pass the baton to Bill Bregnman, our newly elected president, and to the newly elected board members to lead our club in 2016. I’m sure they will do a great job. Our next club meeting will be on January 12th. We hope to see all of our members in attendance. Our speaker will be Todd Girtz. Todd is one of the best fishermen around and always gives a phenomenal presentation. Our first club outing is on January 16th. We will be fishing Lake Washington for Cutthroat. Specific details about this outing are posted on our website (https://www.gigharborpsa.org). Now’s a great time to renew your membership or become a new member. Membership is a $30 donation and covers your family. You can do this at one of our upcoming meetings or sign-up/renew online at our website.
Checkout our website or Facebook page for the latest updates regarding our meetings and our club activities. We meet the second Tuesday of every month at the Tacoma Outboard Association (646 N Wilton Road, Tacoma, WA). Wear your lifejacket, be safe on the water, and good luck fishing…