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Third-grader plans fishing tournament Sunday to raise funds for event for veterans, fallen heroes

Intelligencer Journal - 5/15/2020

When 9-year-old Case Baccio of Lancaster met a Gold Star mother from Kentucky last year at an event for wounded veterans and bereaved families, it really made an impression on him.

So much so that Case, a third-grader at Bucher Elementary School in Manheim Township, decided to organize the Clear Water for Heroes fishing tournament Sunday, at the J. Edward Mack Scout Reservation north of Brickerville, to raise funds for two people to attend the annual Ohio event where he met the woman.

“It was her first year (at the event), and I guess she was anxious about it because her son died in the (military) forces, and every time she talked about him she started crying,” Case recalled in a phone interview. “So, we because friends with her. “

Case’s mother, Ali Bucher of Lancaster, says the Milltown, Ohio, event, the Warrior Weekend to Remember, hosts Purple Heart veterans and Gold Star and Blue Shield family members — those who’ve lost service members and police officers in the line of duty.

Those attending the annual event participate in activities including hot-air balloon rides, fishing, plane and helicopter rides, skydiving and a bonfire, according to the event's website.

Bucher says the July event, which is organized a by skydiving organization her boyfriend, Eric McCullough, is a member of, “is to promote healing and just get everybody together.”

Case “was just really moved by it” last July, Bucher says, when they went to the event as a family.

Bucher and McCullough are both local skydivers; Team Fastrax and its nonprofit group Blue Skies for the Good Girls and Guys, run the event and raise funds to send veterans and families there — all expenses paid.

“I got to meet some of the warriors,” Case says, “and it must have really taken a toll on me, because I hadn’t been around people like that. And when we got back, I wanted to raise money for the warriors, and with the help of family and friends, now I'm doing this (tournament).”

“He came up with the idea on his own,” Bucher says. “And the Boy Scouts of America has allowed us to have the fishing tournament fundraiser at their lake.”

“I’m a Scout, and a lot of people in my pack (Cub Pack 93) like fishing, and I thought about a fishing tournament because me and my friends like to fish,” Case says.

The tournament

There will be both adult and kids’ prizes for the tournament, in various categories, along with a raffle for various items, Bucher says.

The organizers will be observing social distancing guidelines.

“We will have masks on when we’re checking people in,” Bucher says. “And then there's plenty of room on the lake to spread out, to fish.”

Bucher asks that people register online ahead of time, if possible, but that people can also register at Sunday morning’s event.

Sunday’s schedule is as follows:

7-8 a.m.: registration for adults.

8-11 a.m.: Fishing for adults.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Free barbecue lunch will be provided for participants.

1-3 p.m.: Fishing for kids.

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IF YOU GO

• What: Clear Water for Heroes Fishing Tournament

• When: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17.

• Where: J. Edward Mack Scout Reservation (”Camp Mack”), off Furnace Hills Pike (Route 501), north of Brickerville.

• Admission: Regular tickets, $35 for adults, $15 for children; Hero category (Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star and Blue Shield family members), $20 for adults and $10 for children.

• Registration and information: bit.ly/ClearWaterHeroes.

• Benefits: Blue Skies for the Good Guys and Gals, which pays the expenses of attendees at the Warrior Weekend to Remember in Ohio in July.

• Directions: Heading north on Route 501, turn left at the Camp Mack sign just past the Pretzel House. The lake will be on the right side of the camp road, and registration will be just to the right of the lake.

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Crédito: MARY ELLEN WRIGHT | Staff Writer