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Date: 4/20/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – On April 16, the East Longmeadow Lions Club welcomed a record number of 300 children to Heritage Park for their Spring Fishing Derby. The club brought the derby back for 2022 after two years off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
President Roland Bolduc said, “I see this personally as one of the largest unity events that we do in East Longmeadow. When we started doing the fishing derby back in 2019, we saw this as a great event that needed to come back, so our community can come together.”
He continued, “We want kids to get out and experience fishing if they haven’t experienced it already and maybe it will open their eyes that they want to be outdoors fishing a little bit more.”
Founded in 1943, the East Longmeadow Lions Club is a service-based organization that sponsors annual events such as the Picnic for the Blind, Children’s Halloween Party, the Christmas tree lighting in the center of town and the Distinguished Citizen Award. Their fundraisers include an annual golf tournament in the summer and a pancake breakfast and beer dinners in the spring and fall. Lions Clubs are in over 200 countries and geographical areas with 1.4 million members, men and women.
Originally, the East Longmeadow Jaycees ran the fishing derby for about 55 years. When the Jaycees disbanded, the derby did not take place for a number of years until the Lions Club was asked to bring it back in 2019. This year, the club made sure that every child that registered received a gift bag put together based on the community’s donations.
Treasurer Bob Adams explained, “We had some great companies that have donated, so we were able to give each kid some Legos. Lego made a big donation to the East Longmeadow Lions for this derby. Fenway Golf, the Apple Place, the Depot at Graham Central, Rice Fruit Farm – all of these companies just donated very generously. Our goal is to have the derby annually moving forward.”
Secretary Scott Grabowski added, “It was a fun day for families, especially the kids. This is another way for the club to serve the community and see the town come together fishing.”
The East Longmeadow Lions Club wants to thank the committee, volunteers, sponsors and community support. Special thanks was extended to East Longmeadow Fire, Police, the Recreation Departments and the Department of Public Works. The club also thanks: the Apple Place, the Depot at Graham Central Station, Fenway Golf, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pip Printing, LEGO, Reminder Publishing and local news outlets for publicity, Mass Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Game, Rent-a-tent, Mario’s Café Ambiance, Hooksett Hoodlums, Stretching Lines, Rice Fruit Farm, PEOPLES Bank and Rocky’s Ace Hardware.