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| Jump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 2 [30 messages per page] Muskie Fishing -> General Discussion -> Okuma - Prove You Want a Reel Contest II |  |
Got Esox? |
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Posts: 350 Location: WESTERN WI | 1) I deserve to win because I have truly never won anything. In 2009 I was selected to attend Operation Muskie on LOTW. I came home that day and told my wife that I could never say “I have never won anything” again because I felt that I hit the lottery to go to LOTW with other veterans and be in the presence of Musky Legends. (Pearson, D. Johnson, Frank Walsh & more) I considered this opportunity absolutely priceless. However I was in the midst of going to school to be a Firefighter/Paramedic and realized that attending Operation Musky would give me too many missed classes and I would not have been able to complete the Firefighter Academy due to the absences. (I did consider it) It was a sad day when I had to call and turn down the offer to attend that years trip. Since then my active duty military service now falls out of the timeframe to be eligible to attend Operation Musky. Having the Okuma reel attached to my Okuma 8’6” XH extendable rod would fill the void left by having to turn down the trip of a lifetime to pursue a career where I can help those in need on a daily basis. I am content knowing I gave another Veteran an opportunity for their trip of a lifetime in 2009. The next year I assisted in sending the best man from my wedding, Lt. Rhett Zietlow, on the trip he wore the Blue Okuma Polo I gave him (on John Gillespie’s Waters and Woods Operation Musky Show 2010) talk about stealth marketing! (see link for clip of show, 1:03 into clip) http://www.youtube.com/WatersandWoods#p/u/35/52kjtse093U In conclusion I don’t feel any one person is more deserving than the other for this wonderful giveaway, we just have different reasons why and my reason is the most deserving. 2) When I am selected to be the recipient of the Okuma Isis 400 reel I will change the world by letting everyone who I have the opportunity to fish with to do good 3 good deeds to help someone in need. After they have helped the person in need they will also instruct the person they helped to do 3 good deeds to help someone else out in their time of need. These unselfish acts of paying it forward will spread across the world where strangers will be helping strangers out of the kindness of their heart in droves. This movement of generosity will in turn help millions and millions of people. Helping someone out the same way Okuma helped me out by giving me an Okuma Isis 400. Edited by Got Esox? 3/22/2011 2:59 PM Attachments ----------------  Okuma Pic photoshop.jpg (33KB - 223 downloads) | ||
| Slamr |
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Posts: 7036 Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | |||
| musky-skunk |
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Posts: 785 | A) The easy answer to "why I deserve a new real" is... I don't. However as I was looking at the entries and seen some entering on behalf of loved ones it made one come to mind who does deserve a new Okuma Isis reel. My stepfather and number one fishing partner Kevin. Kevin is an avid musky fisherman, a great father figure and excellent husband. He is one of the most selfless people I know, rarely spending money on himself, but always looking to benefit his family. He also rarely complains but is one of those rare people who are able to be content with whatever comes his way. In 2008 Kevin had a hernia surgery in March (in an attempt to not have it interfere with musky season), he ended up missing the start of it though and his life was in danger when he was hit with blood clots caused by the surgery. I have never seen a man in so much pain as he was then and yet for the brief periods the morphine would give him relief he had nothing but encouraging things to say to us. In 2009 he was diagnosed with Melanoma cancer. At first we were hopeful it would be minor but soon after his first major surgery and scans it was clear there was a long road ahead with many unknowns. He ended up having a softball sized chunk of meat removed from his calve, a baseball sized tumor removed from his groin, and two other surgeries removing 3 separate lymph nodes and leaving behind a little over 2 feet of scars on his stomach and groin area. He now can no longer stand for long periods as his leg will swell up 2 to 3 times the normal size due to damage from surgery. Not to mention he has enough humility to wear one of those big goofy hats when in the sun as he is forbidden from direct sun exposure for life. During, as well as after his final (8 hour) surgery the doctors told us they weren’t really sure they could do anymore as removing the rest would surely kill him. A very grim picture was painted. Yet he stayed strong for his family and through the pain. In 2010 he was approached with an experimental treatment option which he took. It seemed to show promise and recovered from the surgeries we decided to get him up to MN fishing. He was excited and managed to make good use of that enthusiasm boating a 53” pig. After releasing the fish he realized the real had given up the ghost and was junk, gears practically fell out of it and it was his only reel, his other one is one of my old ones. That night he had severe pain in his side and we took him to ER, ended up cutting his only trip for all of 2009 and 2010 short by 4 days as a tumor had grown enough to close off one of his kidneys. We left ER and rushed him down to Iowa, City hospital vomiting the whole way. Realizing the treatment had failed they put him on a different experimental which he was the 4th person in the world to try. He started in the fall and through the winter he spent 4 months so sick he wanted to die, he started losing hope, but still tried hard to be positive for his family. Well this spring the report is a major success!!! Tumors almost gone and the doctors agreed to discontinue treatment to monitor what will happen. The future is unknown but Kevin is filled with the excitement of knowing he has what seems the opportunity of getting back on the water and doing the thing he loves so much… So… as a man who has endured more than I could even imagine who has demonstrated incredible character and selflessness in the face of great adversity, and as a man who has a real need for a quality baitcasting reel I feel Kevin is deserving of a new Okuma Isis real. B) I know he has already benefited the world by allowing himself to be used for experimentation that could save lives and advance modern medicine. He also was always willing to allow students while in the hospital even though due to inexperience they often hurt him more than the regular nurses and doctors would. I also know he will benefit the world with a new Isis reel by being an encouragement to many not to give up in the face of overwhelming circumstances, and to keep a positive spirit through it all. Fishing will help make that statement as he once again resumes his passion, and a quality reel will be paramount to making that happen. C) Edited by musky-skunk 3/23/2011 12:57 PM
Attachments ---------------- 38840_410257376698_186754246698_4768662_2976711_n.jpg (71KB - 210 downloads) | ||
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