Contacts: Daniel Johnson daniel@kids-fishing.com, HOFI, (918) 459-9529 Gary Dollahon gary@dollahonpr.com , toll free (866) 907-1605
Six more youth anglers awarded $5,000 scholarships for leadership
It isn't the Olympic torch being passed from one team to the next, but fishing poles, as the 2006 Kids All-American Fishing (KAAF) Team wraps up its title reign and the 2007 team is named and prepares to take over.
The unique Hooked On Fishing International (HOFI) program annually recognizes six exemplary youngsters between the ages of 8 and 14 for their outstanding involvement in community and school. The youth are selected as KAAF ambassadors through a formal national application process, and their prize package begins with the presentation of a $5,000 scholarship and concludes with a trip to Tulsa, Okla., to compete in the Kids All-American Fishing Challenge.
The latter took place the end of August, and 15-year-old Nicholas Barr from Lacy, Wash., took home the Challenge trophy.
Making the 2007 team are Justin Bucholz, 11, of Watauga, Texas; Richard DeMarte, 13, of White Plains, N.Y.; Angelica Heggem, 8, of Beaver Creek, Ohio; Michael Lipinski, 9, of Roseville, Mich.; Ty Nordby, 10, of Amidon, N.D.; and Landon Wilcox, 13, of Elizabethtown, Ky.
Selection to the KAAF team is based on a youngster's leadership and citizenship examples in community and school. The fact they all enjoy fishing is the common bond that brought the group together.
"Anyone who doubts the quality time that today's youth contribute to society should take note of the accomplishments of this outstanding group," said Daniel Johnson, HOFI president. "We all can learn from their unselfish efforts of involvement in things that make a difference in the lives of others. These youngsters really are role models for all kids in America and they deserve to be recognized in this manner."
Bucholz stays busy in Scouts, 4-H and church functions, plus a variety of school activities. Among his long list of volunteer projects are Operation Christmas Child, canned food drives for local shelters and toy and sock drives for the needy. He has served as a council delegate for 4-H and as master of ceremonies at camp.
DeMarte is a honor roll student at Highlands Middle School and serves as a "peer mediator," yet still finds time to play Little League Baseball and on a school baseball team. He is also a volunteer instructor at junior baseball clinics held in his community. He takes his love for fishing as a way to do good things for others and is actively involved in the "Take a Vet fishing" program. DeMarte is one of the youngest contributing writers to a number of fishing reports.
Heggem is the 2007 recipient of the Beavercreek Education Foundation and Fairbrook Elementary School award for effort and citizenship in the classroom. The scholastic achiever knows a lot about giving back because she regularly volunteers to help at food giveaways and festivals for less fortunate children. She is also active in organized sports activities for basketball, soccer and swimming.
Lapinski is a regular recipient of attendance awards, scholastic achievements and reading honors. With his parents he helped form Alexander's Quest for a Cure, a non-profit organization to benefit research on behalf of Spinal Muscular Atrophy in honor of a brother he lost to the condition. He also volunteers time to other fundraisers and the children s hospital, yet still participates in soccer. Of course, he also loves to fish.
Nordby is always taking on extra school work, including flag duty, trash cleanup, computer sign-off and line leader. He's helped raise money for the Southwest Healthcare Nursing Home and the Badlands Bible Camp, washed fire trucks for the Amidon Fire Department, and used his stage skills to entertain groups of all ages in various plays and performances. Nordby is also an active 4-H member.
Wilcox is a member of the Junior Optimist Octagon Club that regularly visits nursing homes, packs backpacks of food for needy school children and serves other charitable causes in his community. He has also organized and collected items to send to active duty marine, and with his family, hosted soldiers from Fort Knox on Christmas Day. The student excels in scholastic achievements and enjoys stage and music roles at his school.
The Kids All-American Fishing Team Scholarship and Ambassador Program is in its third year as a HOFI program.
HOFI, Inc., a Tulsa, Okla., company, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Since its inception, more than eight million youngsters and their families have participated in the program at events held throughout all 50 states and at U.S. military bases as far away as England, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. For more information about the organization and the KAAF team program, visit
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