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Posts: 135
| WOW!!!! What a weekend at the Milwaukee Muskie Expo... Thanks to Doug Reuter for allowing us to once again to be a part of his amazing show. Thanks to MuskieFIRST for continuing to support OM. Way too many companies and people to thank, but please know, you make all the difference and we could not do this without all the support you've given. The OM booth and auction were a huge success for us. Over the weekend, we raised nearly $6,000… enough to send 3 Veterans to Lake of the Woods to say welcome home from a combat deployment and thanks for your service. The generosity of the muskie community blows us away time and time again.
One story in particular we wanted to share as an example...
We had our live auction on Friday night. And it went GREAT. John Gillespie was once again our awesome guest star auctioneer. Thanks John for volunteering your time and making it a great night. A young fisherman was there to win a bid but was on a pretty limited budget of $30. But that didn't stop him from trying. He was bidding all night, but just kept getting out bid. As the night was coming to a close and our grand finale auction item was up last. A beautiful, custom made for us, red, white, and blue "Just Encase" tackle box. We jammed it packed full with the lures the OM guides donated. Then there was a a bidding war happening in the back of the room, and the item went for a real good amount of money....
The gentleman that won the item was brought on stage to say, but then he proceeded to make an announcement. He explained that the bidding war going on was with him and his buddies and that they wanted to help out Operation Muskie in a big way. Which they did. He then proceeded to call up the young fisherman that kept getting out bid. These 3 guys just up and gave the young fisherman the Just Encase box with all the lures. The young man (and everyone else that was there) couldn't believe it and was just floored.
But that's not the end of the story. The young muskie angler comes up to us after the show and proceeds to donate the $30 he had to OM. And while we of course tried to refuse it, he adamantly insisted.
I can honestly say I feel this kid and the three gentlemen that gave him the box is like the 50"er. It's an honor just to be in their presence once in a while.
Bottom line is, I know this is just one of the many powerful OM memories that I will never forget. We are humbled constantly by all the members of our great muskie community. Our mission is to serve Veterans… but over the years we have had the fortune to make many great friends and lasting memories. So to all those involved we simply say... Thank You & God Bless!
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Location: Ashland WI | Uplifting story. Thanks for sharing. |
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Location: Richland Center, WI. | Great story. |
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Location: Oconomowoc, WI | Fantastic! |
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| Awesome story! I am a firm believer in paying it forward. That kid will never forget the kindness and generosity. |
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Location: Land of the Musky | Wish I would have seen it. Great story and what a great bunch of guys (and kid)  |
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Location: Centeral Wisco | Great story thank you for your work and the great story. |
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| That just made my day! A little faith in humanity goes a long way! |
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| wow that's amazing. its truly great to see this story.. made my day congrats to all |
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| For every sick and twisted event that happens, you can still look over your shoulders and see human kindness. Cudos to the 3 gentlemen and hats off to the youth. |
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Posts: 135
| I refer to this as a "high impact moment". You never how moments or actions like this will shape someone else's lives.
Here is a VERY powerful story I would like to share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bwSLPE4ecU
We all have the opportunity to be part of something bigger... |
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Location: Warroad, Mn | Sounds like a great auction, with some great folks and younger people being involved. Hope the muskies are half as grateful this year as the Muskie community! Many thanks to all! Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 153
Location: MN | Lot of good people out there. Thanks for sharing. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | OpMuskie - 2/16/2015 9:45 PM
WOW!!!! What a weekend at the Milwaukee Muskie Expo... Thanks to Doug Reuter for allowing us to once again to be a part of his amazing show. Thanks to MuskieFIRST for continuing to support OM. Way too many companies and people to thank, but please know, you make all the difference and we could not do this without all the support you've given. The OM booth and auction were a huge success for us. Over the weekend, we raised nearly $6,000… enough to send 3 Veterans to Lake of the Woods to say welcome home from a combat deployment and thanks for your service. The generosity of the muskie community blows us away time and time again.
One story in particular we wanted to share as an example...
We had our live auction on Friday night. And it went GREAT. John Gillespie was once again our awesome guest star auctioneer. Thanks John for volunteering your time and making it a great night. A young fisherman was there to win a bid but was on a pretty limited budget of $30. But that didn't stop him from trying. He was bidding all night, but just kept getting out bid. As the night was coming to a close and our grand finale auction item was up last. A beautiful, custom made for us, red, white, and blue "Just Encase" tackle box. We jammed it packed full with the lures the OM guides donated. Then there was a a bidding war happening in the back of the room, and the item went for a real good amount of money....
The gentleman that won the item was brought on stage to say, but then he proceeded to make an announcement. He explained that the bidding war going on was with him and his buddies and that they wanted to help out Operation Muskie in a big way. Which they did. He then proceeded to call up the young fisherman that kept getting out bid. These 3 guys just up and gave the young fisherman the Just Encase box with all the lures. The young man (and everyone else that was there) couldn't believe it and was just floored.
But that's not the end of the story. The young muskie angler comes up to us after the show and proceeds to donate the $30 he had to OM. And while we of course tried to refuse it, he adamantly insisted.
I can honestly say I feel this kid and the three gentlemen that gave him the box is like the 50"er. It's an honor just to be in their presence once in a while.
Bottom line is, I know this is just one of the many powerful OM memories that I will never forget. We are humbled constantly by all the members of our great muskie community. Our mission is to serve Veterans… but over the years we have had the fortune to make many great friends and lasting memories. So to all those involved we simply say... Thank You & God Bless!
Can't say I've ever wiped tears of joy off my face from reading an internet posting. Well, there's a first for everything. Wow. |
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Posts: 157
Location: Lincoln, NE | That is awesome! I hope every single one of them catches an absolute monster this season. |
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