b'more club news Many Thanks to Colee, Clubhouse Improvements WatsonThe WPBFC gratefully acknowledges the dedicated ser-Maintaining a historic structure is like owning a boat vice of Bill Watson of West Palm Beach and Donn Colee there is always something that needs tended to or fixing. of Palm Beach Gardens, who both recently stepped down The WPBFC clubhouse is no exception.The exposed eastfrom its Board of Directors. Bill Watson has been a board side of the historic WPBFC has taken a beating for decadesmember for 28 of his incredible 61 years of membership. from the scorching summer sun, hurricanes, roadway con- Bills impact at the WPBFC has been significant.Youd struction projects and day to day road grime.Time finallybe hard pressed to name a club event that Bill has not took its toll.No amount of caulk and paint could repair thevolunteered for or participated in over the past six decades. layers of rotten wood and siding that had begun to make itsHe is a past recipient of the clubs Volunteer of the Year presence known.So we reached out to our friends at Yel- Award.Anyone who has enjoyed lowfin Builders, owned by WPBFC member Guy Bartels,fresh fried fish, venison or hush to help the club with this long overdue repair. The east sidepuppies at club events has been a oftheclubhousedirect beneficiary of Bills talents.was originally anFor many years Bill cooked side open porch that wasby side with his late wife Sally, later enclosed some- his son Wesley and grandsons time in the 1950s.would later follow in his footsteps. The Yellowfin crewBill and Sallys hush puppy recipe stripped the entireremains more protected than a wall down to thesecret grouper hole.Donn Colees studs,whichre- marketing savvy and public rela-vealed that thingstions expertise brought a valuable wereabitworseperspective to the Fishing Club than they looked.Bill Watson continuesboard nearly 20 years ago.Dur-New plywood backing, felt paper, insulation, waterproofto prep reels for theing his tenure as a board member Tyvek liner and cedar boards matching the original sidingannual Yard Sale.he played an instrumental role in was installed.The job was finished in two days.Passers byhelping the club evolve into a businesslike organization. would never know anythingDonn guided the club into the 21st was done to the building.century with regard to digital The new wall is far moreforms of communication, some-solid and waterproof thantimes with others wondering the ever before.Thank you Yel- value of such efforts.Of course lowfin Builders for helpingtoday, the club has a far reaching keep our historic clubhousepresence on many forms of digital looking fresh! media including YouTube, Insta-After nearly eighty yearsgram and Facebook.Both Bill theclubsoriginalcastand Donn were on watch at the iron water main gave wayclub during one of its most suc-last year causing tempo- cessful periods of growth.Their rary flooding in the yard.vision and leadership has laid theDonn Colee addresses Thankfully, a new mainfoundation for continued successthe crowd at a club was installed with little interruption to club activities.and for that we are most thankful. meeting.The work also included new high efficiency toilets for both restrooms.Upgrades to the WPBFCs exterior and interior lighting with LED fixtures have been made and have reduced the monthly electric bill.Finally, the club kitchenette recently got some long overdue at-tention thanks to lifetime mem-ber Bob Frevert.We have a new microwave and the old stove top was replaced with a state of the art Wolf electric stove and indoor grill.Club meeting hot dogs never tasted better!6 W estP almB eachF ishingc luB'