Casting for a Cause tournament raises money for St. Jude
Five New Iberia area women know how to put the fun in fundraising, whether organizing benefit events or participating in one, which they did for the first time June 20-23.
“We’re always on the other side (of the fundraiser). This time we’ll do it as a participant,” Kylie Breaux said before they tested their skill and luck in the Casting for a Cause fishing tournament benefitting Down South Heroes for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The annual fundraiser, a four-day event, was held out of Don’s Boat Landing in Vermilion Parish near Boston. Seventy-five anglers, 25 in the youth division, competed for cash prizes while raising money for the only cancer treatment center devoted to children.
Breaux, 49, and her good friends, Nicole Bourque Smith, 53; Darla Legnon Ransonet, 51; Amber Latiolais Palumbo, 47, and Stacy Romero, 44, called their team the Down South Aquaholics.
“This is our first year fishing Casting for a Cause,” Smith said. “We girls just decided to do this – fish against the guys.”
Smith has fishing rodeo experience. As does her husband, Brad Smith, who embraced the challenge to be “deckhand” for Kevin Palumbo, who skippered the Smiths’ 24-foot long Skeeter Bay, Aquaholic.
Fishing for a good cause
Casting for a Cause was a welcome break for the fun-loving women, all moms with successful careers in fields ranging from regional daycare center director (Ransonet) to fire and safety company accountant (Romero) to branch examiner for a financial services firm (Palumbo) to golf course owner (Breaux) to co-owner/executive sales manager for an elevator service company (Smith).
Each paid the $50 entry fee and fished hard the last two days of the tournament to try and reel in fish worthy of hitting the leaderboard. That didn’t happen.
“We didn’t do good fishing but we made new friends and lots of memories,” Smith said.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. The only time the crew wasn’t fishing, she said, was when the Aquaholic was on the move.
“We fished hard,” Smith said, proudly. “Not one of us put a rod and reel down. We met at the Point and fished till Saturday night. We got home at 10 o’clock. Sunday we were back out at 5 o’clock in the morning and we fished till right at weigh-in (Noon).”
While the women were unable to stick a fish on the leaderboard, they made an impact during the auction. With Smith, Breaux and Palumbo leading the way, they were very generous.
“We spent a lot of money,” Smith said. “It was worth it. It goes back to St. Jude.”
A welcomed addition
Their presence on the water and at the site was appreciated, said Shannon Howell, who along with her husband, Gary Howell, own Don’s Boat Landing.
“This is the first year we have a lady fishing team,” she said. “They’re a great group of women. They do a number of fundraisers throughout the year for St. Jude, as well.”
Howell plans to start a new division for women anglers next year because she was so impressed with the women’s initiative and spirit.
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said.
How successful was the event? Howell said preliminary numbers indicate it surpassed last year’s record-breaking $37,500 raised for Bikers Against Child Abuse.
The Howells purchased the boat landing seven years ago. Based on their experience with saltwater tournaments, they decided to hold events benefiting nonprofits.
Nominations for a beneficiary next year will be accepted after the check to St. Jude is presented, Howell said.
After the tournament, Smith and her teammates turned their attention to their next fundraiser – Jeepin’ for a Cure scheduled for July 13 and stopping first at Don’s Boat Landing. The women also held the inaugural St. Jude Golf Ball Drop in April at Sugar Oaks Golf Course as part of Down South Heroes. Smith and Breaux went up in the helicopter as the fundraiser took in nearly $10,000.
The women didn’t come home from the tournament empty-handed. They had fish to clean. Romero hooked and boated most of a dozen speckled trout that went into the ice chest. Ransonet caught the most fish in two days but the wrong species.
“Darla absolutely caught the most gafftop,” Smith said. “Darla with all her gafftops … if they had a gafftop division, she probably would have won that.”
The team also had six keeper-sized redfish and caught beaucoup croaker.