The 2024 FATC Charity Dinner
What a fantastic night of celebration and giving back to those in need. Our 2024 FATC charity dinner was a tremendous success because of you! 145 individuals signed up for the charity dinner and had a wonderful night at Andre’s West banquet hall in Fenton, MO on Monday, February 26th. It was a warm (in the 70s) and beautifully clear night as we came together in fellowship. We had many guests (some from out of the state) to include fifty-five wives/significant others! And I would have to say the ladies enjoyed themselves as much as the guys did!
The evening started with picking up name tags and the ladies receiving roses. Many bought their raffle tickets early and checked out the raffle gifts provided by donors to our dinner. Next were introductions of guests, a few videos of our charities and a dinner prayer by John Muckerman. Dinner included drinks (of course we had an open bar), rolls, salad, chicken or beef, glazed carrots, Italian potatoes, and a huge brownie for dessert. Then during dessert, we watched a few more videos of our charities, passed out our FATC awards, the Miles Meyer tournament plaque, and our gift for out going Member at Large, Matt McClure. This year’s “Lew Smith Spirit of Fly Fishing” award went to Al Harper. And our “Bob Chott Servant Heart’s” award was won by Paul Jacoby for his dedicated work as our Ronald McDonald House representative.
Throughout the night there was plenty of time for fellowship, creating new friendships and renewing old friendships. We played several fun games (heads/tails and a special game for the ladies evaluating their fly-fishing knowledge). New this year, you had to buy a FATC medallion for $10 to play in the games (and wear them around your neck). The medallions were our logo lasered out of wood. They would also make great Christmas tree ornaments. If you didn’t get one and would like to have one, contact us at ourfatc@gmail. Each winner took home a $100 gift certificate for a fine dinner experience. Our “2023 year in review” video was created by Pete Drochelman and brought the crowd to their feet at the end. Impressive job, Pete!!! The evening ended with our raffle that had over thirty raffle gifts. The gifts ranged in value from $200 – $1300. Check out the pictures to see some of the winners.
We will have the final numbers of how much we took in for our charities soon, but our preliminary calculations show, with the dinner and special donations, this year’s total could top $26,000. A HUGE THANK YOU to all that donated and had the opportunity to attend in person.
I can’t say enough about our fellowship. You guys are the best and having the opportunity to meet many of your wives I see who keeps you all in line. This will be a busy year ahead – lots going on – so don’t miss out. Get involved! You will not regret one second!
This is a great recap about our February FATC Banquet. This was my first year to attend but I certainly look forward to the next one because the event was so much fun. Watching the video and reflecting on all the events that transpired in our brotherhood over the last year — the fishing excursions, the service projects, the spiritual aspects and, of course, the camaraderie — makes me so glad to be part of FATC.
Some of you might agree that sometimes when on a fishing trip there’s a guy or two that some of us kind of worry about. We might think “Boy, the conditions aren’t ideal today; the wading looks dicey, weather’s kinda ‘iffy’ … I wonder if this guy or that might have a hard time today.”
And then the guys we were concerned about proceed to land the trophy fish and have a great time while I struggle to get a strike. Fast forward to last week’s banquet where I had the pleasure of meeting the spouses and girlfriends of some of those guys and I’m thinking “I’ll be darned, he managed to land a trophy in his love life too. How does he do it?”
Such is the nature of fly fishing in particular and life in general I guess. But I’m learning never to underestimate a guy who laces up wading boots, grabs a rod and wades into life to show it who’s boss! That’s the kind of guy I want to be around.
Al Harper