The Ike Foundation® Announce Pro Am Event and Scholarship Winners

July 6, 2021, Pittsgrove, NJ. The Ike Foundation® recently held its 6th Annual Ike’s Celebrity Pro-Am Bass Tournament on the Chesapeake Bay in North East Maryland. Anglers from all over the region came out to support The Ike Foundation® and their mission to get more kids fishing and in the outdoors. The day was an astounding success. The top five winners all had bags of over 17lbs. The winning bag of 17.9lbs was a father-daughter team of Mark Shafer and Sam Flynn from Williamstown, NJ. They took home a brand new BassCat boat with a Yamaha outboard motor as well as lots of other prizes generously donated by sponsors of The Ike Foundation®. Those sponsors include Flambeau, Abu Garcia, Mystery Tackle Box, Spike-It, RS Nets, The Bass University, Lowrance, Rod Warrior, RAM Mounts, Tackle Warehouse, Gerber Gear, TH Marine, Power-Pole and Rapala.

Ike Foundation® Celebrity Pro-Am Bass Tournament Winners and Weights:

1. Mark Shafer/Sam Flynn-17.9lbs
2. Mark Snyder/Donald Bridy-17.15lbs with the tie-breaking lunker of 5.5lbs
3. Reno Regalbuto/Troy Polhamus-17.12lbs
4. Michael Powers/Paul Badders-17.10lb
5. Jimmy Valentine/Connor Cahill-17.10lbs

Kids Fishing Event on the Chesapeake!

Not only was it an amazing day of fishing for the anglers competing in the Pro Am, it was really special to spend the day with kids at the Pro Am Kids event! We had 100 children from the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA of North East, Maryland join us and over 40 volunteers from NJ, PA and MD came to help us out! The kids caught a variety of species including bass, perch, blue gill, and even catfish. Many of these kids were introduced to fishing for the first time that day and it was amazing to see the joy it brought them! Each child at the event went home with a brand-new Flambeau tackle box, a rod and reel, an awesome bag of fishing goodies and hopefully, a new found love of fishing.

Big smiles and big bass can be found in the Ike's Celebrity Pro Am video. Many more can be found on The Ike Foundation® Facebook and Instagram pages!

The 2021 Ike Foundation® Scholarship Winners Have Been Announced!

High school seniors from across the country with an earned GPA of at least 3.0 and a proven contribution to outdoor conservation submitted applications. Students were required to submit letters of recommendation along with their transcript and an essay that answered the following question:

The COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly impacted most facets of our lives. Did the outdoors help you get through this difficult time? If yes, how so and, what did you learn about yourself from this experience? What have you taken away from this time that will help you grow as a citizen of the outdoors?

The Ike Foundation® trustees conducted a blind review of all applications and essays and scored submissions based on a pre-defined point system. The five winners, each receiving a $2,500 Ike Foundation® College Scholarship, are:

• Jacob Knutsen of Middle River, MN
• Jackson Temme of Larkspur, CO
• Nicholas Splain of Sellersville, PA
• Carter Coza of Marietta, GA
• Alexis Grandstaff of Headland, AL

Alexis is the recipient of the Brenda Butenewicz Purple Memorial Scholarship Award. Butenewicz was an original member of The Ike Foundation® who passed away in 2020. She shared the vision of engaging underprivileged youth in the sport of fishing and being in the outdoors. Butenewicz was a biology teacher and passionate photographer, taking many pictures at early Ike Foundation® events. The Ike Foundation® has created The Purple Memorial Scholarship in honor of Brenda Butenwicz and her passion for biology, the outdoors, photography and her favorite color, purple.

Please consider supporting the 5th Annual Scholarship Fund at the next event, Friday, January 28th, 2022 at The Grove at Centerton More information on this event can be found on our website https://theikefoundation.org/upcoming-events/ and on our social media pages in the coming months.

Upcoming Ike Foundation® Events:

Sept. 19th-Ike’s Celebrity Pro Am Kayak Bass Tournament

The kayak portion of Ike’s Celebrity Pro Am will be held at Lake Nockamixon, PA, on September 19th. Prizes will be awarded to the top five place winners with cash prizes for the top three. Registration is $125 per kayak with a 100 kayak cap. More information and registration

Fall 2021 (date TBD)-Ike’s Hook‘Em Early Kids Fishing Event

This is a fun filled kids fishing tournament for kids at a local lake! Prizes will be awarded to the winners. Registration will be required.