b"stars over the years.Weighmaster PeteSome KDW Classic participants have Schulz was at the nucleus of the opera- told us that they have a tournament shirt tion and always kept a calm demeanor nofrom every year.That kind of loyalty matter how crazy things got.Pete servedis special.For years Kenny & Debbie as the weighmaster all 22 years.He, justKaufman from Canyon Gear handled like Bud Tyska before him, played an in- our shirt needs and managed the tourna-valuable role in the KDW Classic.Whenment promo booth.Volunteers Stuart it came time to post names on the leaderand Patty Pavlik, Bob and Teri Oglesby, board nobody was better than DonnMay Ellen and Leah Schad, Kathy, Colee and Gail Moore.Chelsea and Kristen Cline, Shelly and In 2008 tournament registrationCheyenne Davis and others all played peaked with 281 boats entered.Manag- important roles selling KDW shirts.If ing all these boats when they returned toyou have one hang onto it.It is now a the dock for weigh-in was a challengingcollectors item!task.Club board member Chris Mi- The tournament raffle was so popular litello did an outstanding job headingthat it took over a dozen volunteers to up this aspect of the tournament.Stu- keep up with ticket sales.Pete Schulz art Pavlik, Tricia Borsch, Jim Down- led a cast of characters that included ing, Trent Rogers, Pat Peters, RandyRichard Hanna, Dr. Julie Botel, Lary Sackl, Nancy Dovale, Chris Ide, Garyand Sherill Mahoney, Ted Johnson, Borland and Roy Buckley were some ofBob Yastrzemski, Joe Antonacci and those who helped tournament boats navi- Capt. Eden White (l) & Pete Schulz (r) congratulatemany others.Pete even recruited his wife gate their way to the scale over the years. a young Billy Bachman Greta to assist most years.We eventually Putting on a show was at the heart of the KDW Classic. Jamminoutgrew the bin we were using to hold the sold raffle tickets and Jim Colbert was the man behind the curtain who delivered thehad to buy a full-size rotating bin like they use when selecting tournament soundtrack everyballs in Florida Lotto.When a winning ticket number was an-The KDW sound track wasyear.Jammin Jim always gotnounced and no one claimed the prize the question would be always bumpin'the crowd in a festive moodasked, What should we do? The rambunctious audience would thanks to Jammin' Jim with the right song at the rightrespond in unison Draw Again!It never failed to get the crowd time.For years Capt. Edenchummed up and became a common mantra at the KDW Classic.White would help hand outRecruiting volunteers for the days of the tournament was al-prize money and interrogateways relatively easy because everyone enjoyed being a part of the anglers on where and howparty.Getting helpers to show up on Sunday morning to break they caught their winning fish.down the site was a different story.Nonetheless there were sev-The main stage featured an A- eral who were always there for us.No one was more dependable List of club volunteers includ- in this regard than Jeff Malsky.He often would be there with an ing Gary Borland, Bud Tyska,empty truck eagerly waiting for us to arrive.Other critical day Pete Schulz, Rick Ross, Bobafter crew members were Bob Oglesby, George Patane, Anthony Broadway, Mark Prazak, DaveBurks, Eddie Twyford and John & Bobby Jolley.They say as Naumann, Tommy Twyford, Tricia Borsch, Dr. Ray Waldneryou get older you work smarter.That was certainly the case when and Donn Colee.It was not uncommon to have fifty or more kidswe decided to hire Michael Johns labor crew.Michael has been in line for a shot at the Junior Treasure Chest in front of the maina friend of the Fishing Club for decades.The role his workers stage.A total of fifteen $100 dollar billsplayed behind the scenes was critical. were given to the kids who were luckyThey always kept us looking good.enough to select a key that unlocked theIt is an impossible task to recall all chest.One year we miscalculated howthose who have been a part of the KDW many good keys we were supposed toClassic through the years, but I have put in the bucket of bad keys.It tooktried to highlight more than few who us nearly an hour to finally hand out allreally made the event shine.To all who the money.From that moment forwardvolunteered, sponsored or participated Gary Borland assumed the duties ofin the KDW Classic, the WPBFC thanks counting out the proper keys.We neverBimini Bay Outfitters you.I hope we have left you had a timing issue again. supplied committee shirts with some fond memories.for a tight look each year.T ighTL inesM agazine- s pring2025 43"