Trout Derby

It couldn't have been a more beautiful morning for the fishermen on the Opening day of the 62nd Annual Trout Derby last Saturday! The early morning sunny skies and warm temperatures must have prompted those many anglers who showed up to catch a winning fish on this nice early April Day! There were fishermen of all ages ranging from age 4 (Graycen Moore) to up in the 80's! Sue claims that there were upwards of about 390 participants on Saturday, and they clustered in various groups throughout the village of Naples, as near to the Creek as they could get! Many thanks to Sue and Micah who spearheaded this year's Derby!

Thanks to Steve J., Clyde, Micah, and John Betrus who were in charge of the weighing and tabulation of each fish that was brought in! Sue and Sherry did a great job of packaging and preparing all the awesome prizes that were donated by the many local businesses. Many other Naples Rotarians were on hand to help with other tasks such as Registration, Collection of Raffle and Door Prize Tickets, and Clean-Up afterwards.

The Fire Hall was lined with tables of grape juice, wine, and "grab bags" for each fisherman to receive as he/she came in with a fish! Many, upon receiving these goodies were prompted to buy some Raffle Tickets too! Congratulations to Cindy, Laurie, and Bill G. on their each winning a Door Prize! Congratulations to the young man that won Albie's beautiful painting too!

A poignant moment was when the Jim Grove Trophy was awarded to Travis Rischpater! Doug Grove, with his family members surrounding him, did the honors, as he explained the history behind this special award. Congratulations to Travis!

A new award for this year was the Ryan and Rickey Award. Erica Reigelsberger won this award, which was introduced and presented by Doug Grove:

Micah diligently kept the Leader Board updated as each angler would bring in a fish that would surpass a previous one! The Trout Derby is one of Naples Rotary's most renowned events, having been in existence for 62 years! It is also special because it seems to usher in the Spring Season as well! Many thanks to all who who helped to make our Annual Event such a success!

Rose Ridge Cleanup

Welcome April! Today's Meeting was intended to be a Service Project for the Naples Community, and what better way would there be to usher in April, "Environmental Month", than to do something helpful for Naples and its residents! This noon, 17 Rotarians, plus Kaiden, gathered at Rose Ridge Cemetery to do a bit of "clean up", and clean up we did!

Flanked with our rakes, shovels, clippers, paint, and paintbrushes, we set about making some improvements to our local cemetery, Rose Ridge. Inspired by our sense of commitment to others, we set to work on the mission of "tidying up", and making our local cemetery look just a bit better. We worked in groups, as we picked up debris, raked, pruned, and groomed each gravesite. Paintbrushes were swooping, as some of the Members spruced up the Rose Ridge Sign, and the bench near the Cross.

A "Pizza Break" gave us some added energy and it inspired many of us to work a bit longer into the afternoon. Thanks so much to Jack for doing the "Pizza Run" and for providing us with a delicious lunch break! As we worked up and down the hills of Rose Ridge, the surroundings began to take on a more "manicured" look. By midafternoon, the grounds where our predecessors and loved ones lay, looked so beautiful and peaceful! Hopefully, this will be a project that the Naples NY Rotary will continue with for years to come!