“We’re so excited to have been awarded one of the Lew’s Product Grants,” Lehigh Valley Coach, Lynn Post, quipped. “This is a terrific program and we can’t thank Lew’s enough for bringing this program to fruition. We took the time to fill out the Lew’s Grant Application on the Future Fisherman Foundation site and we’re thrilled to have been awarded the product grants and they have really helped support our team.”

“One of my team members has been saving to buy himself a new bait caster combo and when he won the Lew’s Mach Combo at our last event he was just thrilled,” Post added.  “We’re also going to raffle off one of the Mach combos at our year end banquet, which will really help us with our funding” Cited Post. “We can’t thank Lew’s enough for all that they have done for fishing teams like ours”.

Get your team involved in the Lew’s Grant Program by going to www.futurefisherman.org or www.Lew’s.com to start the application process now!

The Osceola Anglers High School fishing team in Central Florida is just about the perfect picture of what a high school fishing team looks like. They have grown from their infancy to 28 fulltime members who are very active not only on the lake but also in their community. The team participates in a variety of intra-club events, a High School trail in the Central Florida area and events sponsored by the SAF/FLW and others. The club also has regularly scheduled team meetings that are run by the students to help plan their activities throughout the season.

“Typically, we run fund raisers throughout the year to help fund our year end awards which include Scholarships as well as fishing equipment,” Coach Lamar Chisolm, stated. “This year, with the addition of the Lew’s Grant Program, we can now ensure that all of our team members will receive new tackle and equipment to work with,” Chisolm added. “The team really likes the Lew’s products so receiving the Mach Combo’s is a big highlight for those who earn them.”

The Lew’s Product grants are available to all High School teams throughout the country who apply. Your team can start the process by going to www.futurefisherman.org or www.lews.com. The grant is designed to grow the sport of fishing and rewards teams that are active in their communities, as well as, supports the Keep America Fishing campaign across the country.

Sharon Rushton

July 06, 1950 – May 16, 2017

Sharon Rushton lost her battle with cancer on May 16, 2017.  She was born on born July 6, 1950 in Hutchinson, Kansas, the daughter of Velma and Dave Betz.

Sharon is survived by her husband James Rushton; her step-son Chris Rushton and his wife Brandi from Fayetteville, AR,  and grandson Taggart Rushton; mother Velma Betz of Denver, Colorado; sisters Janet Betz of Denver and Diane west of Windsor, Colorado; nieces Kaeli West and Marissa West-Banninga and her husband Cameron.  She is preceded in death by her father Dave Betz.

Sharon and her husband retired to Kimberling City in 2005, and she attended the First Christian Church. She loved family, friends, fishing, golfing, skiing and traveling, and, before she retired, she truly loved working.

Sharon attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado where she studied radio, television and journalism and was a trailblazer. She was the first female disc jockey at the college radio station. She received a scholarship and internship at the ABC affiliate TV station in Denver, Colorado where she became their first female news reporter.

Sharon finished her Bachelor of Arts and was recruited by the Natural Resources College at CSU to become a Guinea pig. They wanted to take a communications student through a Masters program in wildlife to come out as an individual who could communicate wildlife issues. The experiment worked.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency hired Sharon as a regional information and education coordinator and later she became the first female to hold a Chief’s position.  Sharon reported the wildlife news for the three Nashville TV stations; Sharon was also a regular guest on a weekly outdoor television program and co-hosted the show for a year.  Sharon was editor of the Tennessee Wildlife magazine for three years and a contributor for eleven years.  Sharon was also commissioned as a wildlife officer and worked enforcement on holidays and opening days.

The fishing tackle manufacturer Berkley, recruited Sharon to move to Spirit, Lake Iowa where she was hired as the founding executive director for the Future Fisherman Foundation. Through the Future Fisherman Foundation, she developed the award-winning Hooked On Fishing – Not On Drugs® program; helped to establish sport fishing and aquatic resource education programs throughout the U.S.; developed student manuals for sport fishing and aquatic resources; supervised the development of the National 4-H Sport Fishing Program; and co-wrote the popular Fishing Fun for Kids booklet.

Her work with the Foundation was so successful that the association for the fishing industry moved the Foundation to the association so all manufactures could support it. Sharon’s work through the Foundation touched youth and families throughout the U.S. and three other countries and also earned her Induction and Enshrinement into the national Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

The Hooked On Fishing – Not On Drugs program that Sharon developed and coordinated was recognized by three U.S. Presidents and several state attorney generals who witnessed the program’s success in reducing drug use in their states.  Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee became a spokesperson for the program and had it implement in Arkansas schools. Schools in more than 20 states utilized the program.  Norway sponsored Sharon to present a day long workshop in Oslo, where they were piloting the program. The Prime Minister of Norway was there to welcome Sharon and to give the opening talk of the workshop. Sharon was also asked to speak to their Environmental Committee of the Parliament.

After the Foundation, Rushton established her own company where she: was a co- developer of the Best Practices Workbook for Boating, Fishing and Aquatic Resource Stewardship Education for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation; she helped to develop the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! campaign for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; coordinated the development of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Conservation Education Strategy; and helped develop the Step Outside program for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. She coordinated National Fishing Week for several years where she worked with the celebrity chairmen of National Fishing Week … people like pilot Chuck Yeager, race car driver Davy Allison, and others

Sharon is the author, co-author or editor of 10 books, and producer of eight videos. She also was a freelance writer and photographer and her work appeared in brochures, newsletters and magazines in both the US and Canada, including Outdoor Life.  As a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association she served as their president as well as other board positions.

She has been honored with numerous awards for her work in the field of fish and wildlife and natural resources.

Sharon’s passion was fishing. She grew up trout fishing but fell in love with bass fishing when she moved south.  She fished the Women’s Bassmaster Tour (WBT) and won the co-angler division of the WBT Preview Event and came in fourth in the WBT’s first championship.

Recently, she stepped out of her comfort zone and wrote the book No Paved Road To Freedom – Based on a True Story, which has been honored with three awards and is receiving 5-Star reviews on Amazon. In 2016 the book became available in Romanian and a movie producer has optioned the movie rights. Written as a gripping novel, the book will remind you that freedom is precious and easily lost … a message Sharon hoped would inspire individuals to protect our freedom in the US.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to one of the following would be appreciated

• First Christian Church, 5 Hilltop Drive, Kimberling City, MO 65686
• Tim Tucker Memorial Outdoor Communications College Scholarship, OJEFA, O. Box 115, Badin, NC 28009

Memorial Service will be Saturday, June 3, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. at First Christian Church Kimberling City, MO with Pastor Kent Williams officiating.

Arrangements are under the direction of Stumpff Funeral Home Kimberling City, MO.