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The Sgt. Thomas M. Gilbert Memorial Kids Fishing Day
By Mike Clifford | Watch the YouTube video
On August 11, 2007 something very special took place at Herrick Lake Forest Preserve in Wheaton, IL. After 7 months of organizing, a dream for many finally came to fruition with the (First Annual) Sgt. Thomas M. Gilbert Memorial Kids Fishing Day.
"Tommy" Gilbert grew up in the Downers Grove area an avid outdoorsman. Fishing, hunting and camping were passions of his passed down to him from his grandfather, and nurtured even further by his father, Mike Gilbert. When he was just 5, Tommy Gilbert proudly hooked his first fish, a good-looking bass out of Herrick Lake."He was all smiles: 'I caught a fish! I caught a fish!'" Mike Gilbert said with a dad's proud smile. "He was breathless."
Sadly, Tom paid the ultimate sacrifice in October of 2006 at the hands of insurgents while fighting in Iraq. We wanted to make sure his legacy was not overlooked, and his enthusiasm for kids and the outdoors was not wasted. Everyone involved worked tremendously hard to make this happen.
Our "team" worked as a group consisting of the Gilbert family, Operation Homefront, the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance and local sponsors to bring nearly 200 kids of military a fishing event unlike any that have come before.
Bass Pro Shops of Bollingbrook supplied each and every child with their very own rod and reel to use and then take home with them when the event was over.
The Illinois Smallmouth Alliance provided a "Kids Casting" area where the kids learned to cast, and also provided them with all kinds of fun prizes, courtesy of the Chicago Wolves hockey team.
The Dog Stop was responsible for providing everyone present with free lunch, while the Forest Preserve District of Du Page County assisted with the fishing portion of the event and provided law enforcement personnel for help with traffic detail.
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The Du Page County Marines kept the corn-on-the-cob hot and buttery all afternoon as well. A local radio station (9FM) came out and gave us a live remote for the day. Former Bear Dennis McKinnon was on hand as a very special guest.
There is nothing quite like the look on a child's face when they receive their goodie bags and proceed to get started for the day. A huge Prize Raffle concluded the event, with more smiling faces yet.
Nearly half of all registrants had never fished before, so we consider our work a remarkable success as we were able to introduce the sport to kids that may not have experienced fishing otherwise- and that was essentially our goal from the start.
While many have mothers, fathers, brothers or uncles serving abroad we felt it was important that we enable them to enjoy what so many of us sometimes take for granted.
Many use the term "Take a Kid Fishing", but few understand the importance of actually doing it. Take a kid fishing, but at the same time instill the same values in them that you exhibit out on the water, and they will in turn learn to appreciate our rivers and streams and protect them in kind for the next generation.
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