By Cheryl Kehrmeyer
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s are proud of their mission to inspire everyone to love, enjoy and conserve the great outdoors, and that pride was shown on June 6 during their National Donation Day which kicked off the annual Gone Fishing Event.
This local event held at Bass Pro Shops, located at 10501 Palm River Rd. in Tampa, was part of the company’s nationwide event in which over 55,000 fishing rods and reels were donated to nonprofit youth groups in each store’s local community.
This year, more than 500 rods and reels were donated to two organizations—the Tampa Bay Junior Bass Club and the Scouts of America Timucua District of the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council. The equipment is part of a customer trade-in program held during the Spring Fishing Classic in February, and much of the equipment is new or gently-used high-quality rods and reels.
Ronnie Cheeks, Bass Pro Shops general manager, spoke enthusiastically about the event’s focus. “The Gone Fishing Event and the National Donation Day are so important to our company and to our founder, Johnny Morris. We want to challenge kids and families to put down the phones and video games, pick up a fishing pole and enjoy making some memories together in the great outdoors.”
For more information on Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, call 655-2400 or visit https://stores.basspro.com/us/fl/tampa/10501-palm-river-rd.html.
