Earlington, KY. — More than 170 youth and their families attended the first-ever Take Kids Fishing Day held on Lake Lockmary at the Earlington City Park, May 20. Hosted by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), IUE-CWA Local 83701 and the city of Earlington, the free event was designed to get local youngsters outdoors and learn about the sport of fishing.
“The turnout was incredible, especially for a first-time event,” says union member Loman Scarbrough, event organizer and President of the Hopkins County Sportsmen and Sportswomen Club. “All the kids had a wonderful time.”
Rain and cold weather in the days leading up to the event broke just in time to ensure a pleasant experience for the budding anglers, he added. “About a half hour after the rain stopped, cars started flooding into the park, and people kept arriving throughout the morning.”
More than 30 members of Local 83701 were on hand to help the young anglers rig fishing rods, bait hooks and catch catfish, bass and panfish from the lake. Overall, union members donated well over 500 hours of their time to plan and host the event in Earlington.
Fishing was followed by a free lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs for the children and their families, after which each participant took home a free rod-and-reel, courtesy of the USA.
Several city officials including Mayor Albert Jackson, also lent a hand, according to Scarbrough. “The city was behind this event one hundred percent,” he says, “It’s something our area needed very much.”
The people in and around Earlington, who share a rich history of union coal mining, are still recovering from a devastating tornado that took lives and destroyed homes in late 2021, Scarbrough explained. “They are strong, loving and supportive of one another,” he says, “and the Take Kids Fishing Day was a perfect opportunity for all of us to come together and put smiles on the children’s faces.”
In recent months Scarbrough and the city council had been discussing possibilities for a new community-based event when he learned about the USA’s Take Kids Fishing program.
“I sat down with a few of my union officers who showed me the USA website and we explored everything it has to offer—community outreach events, conservation projects and dinners and more,” he says. “They asked me to reach out to get more details, so I first made contact through Facebook, then followed up with a call to USA Conservation Coordinator Cody Campbell. He sent information right away, then helped with planning. Everything came together in a couple of months; it was so easy.”
“Seeing a union local, like IUE-CWA 83701, organize its first community outreach fishing event is exciting and heartwarming,” says Campbell. “It not only gives union members the opportunity to do something for their friends and neighbors, but more importantly it offers young people the chance to experience outdoor recreation in a way they may never had before.”
The Earlington event was part of a series of free, community-based Take Kids Fishing Day events, organized through the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program with support from USA national partners Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Union Plus, and Humana as well as founding partners UIG, ULLICO, Bank of Labor, AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation, and Buck Knives.
Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA): The USA is a union-dedicated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the union community through conservation to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage. For more information, visit www.unionsportsmen.org or connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Work Boots on the Ground (WBG): WBG is the USA’s flagship conservation program that brings together union members willing to volunteer their time and expertise to conservation projects that improve and enhance public access to the outdoors, conserve wildlife habitat, restore America’s parks and mentor youth in the outdoors. The USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program works closely with federal, state and local agencies and other conservation groups to provide manpower needed to complete critical projects that may otherwise go undone.
