Military members join in on fishing fun as part of Big Rock, Big Hero program
Each year, service members are hosted on some of the boats through the Big Rock, Big Hero program. This is the eighth year of the program.
'We're so close to Cherry Point which is a major Marine base and we thought it would be an amazing way to honor and give thanks to those who allow us to do what we're doing today and to have this tournament in the first place,' Big Rock Tournament Director Madison Struyk said.
This year, seven heroes are on board six different boats. There are four Marines, two Army Soldiers and a Coast Guard member.
'With the help of Operation Resolute this year, they've linked us with six servicemembers, and what they do is work with families who have members in the armed forces. And so they work on strengthening this family unit. So it's been a huge help to have them this year because we've been able to get some great heroes who are really deserving of this honor,' Struyk said.
'It gets emotional when you hear about what it means to them to be offshore. That's so much more than just being able to go fishing for the day,' she said. 'Some of them are from here and have been dreaming about doing it for so long or grew up fishing with their family members, so it reminds them of memories in their childhood.'
The honor goes both ways for the military heroes and boat owners. 'Super honored and blessed that so many would take a total stranger out on their boat and just treat me extremely, hospitality and just like I was one of them,' 2024 Big Hero Justin Bishop said. 'It was a great time, really. It was a dream come true.'
'Especially with the help of Operation Resolute, we think we can start to build how many here as we have per year and we have a lot of participants this year that have shown interest in being a host boat for next year,' Struyk said.
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