Charity tournament help

Hi all,

My name is Joe Behr and I usually visit the IN and KY boards as "JB", although I have noticed another JB from time to time also. I live in Elizabeth, IN, which is near Louisville,KY.

My wife and I are heading a fund-raising effort for a local teenager in need of a double-lung transplant due to having Cystic Fibrosis. His name is Christian Goodpaster and he used to submit the Southern Indiana Bow Fishing report on this site a couple years ago. Christian and his mom are currently staying in Durham, NC while he awaits his transplant. We are trying to raise $100,000 for the transplant and related expenses, such as medications and recovery therapies, which are not covered by insurance. We live in a very small community and need to look to outside resources for help in raising the needed funds.

I would like to find individuals, clubs, businesses, and/or organizations willing to help by hosting or organizing some charity fishing tournaments. I have fished in a few small bass tournaments, but know absolutely nothing about organizing them, obtaining sponsors, prizes, etc. I have tried talking to various businesses and individuals, but have not had any luck so far. I am interested in tournaments for any species of fish, any time of year, and on any body of water. I realize there is a lot of work involved in this process and am willing to help in any way possible.

We are being assisted in our fund-raising efforts by the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA), a national non-profit group based in Bloomington, IN. 100% of all funds raised go to COTA to be distributed to Christian as needed for his transplant expenses only. To learn more about COTA, Christian, and our campaign, check out the following sites:

[url]www.cota.org[/url], click "Patient Campaigns", select initial C, and scroll down to Christian Goodpaster

[url]http://lungs4christian.myiglou.com[/url]

[url]www.redhotflies.com/school.htm[/url]

I can be reached in the following manners:

[email]jbehr1@ford.com[/email] (work)
[email]behrsden@peoplepc.com[/email] (home)

Joseph and Deanna Behr
4840 O'Bannon Rd SE
Elizabeth, IN 47117
(812) 969-3422


Thanks for your time and consideration.

Hi all,

I have received many responses from visitors/sponsors of the Fishin.com site and I thank you all. As I seem to be getting some of the same questions repeatedly, I though I'd add some more info.

There is one change to my contact info. My home computer system is experiencing "technical difficulties", so my e-mail service is unreliable. Please send any correspondence to [email]jbehr1@ford.com[/email]. This is my work account and I can check it almost daily. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Christian's transplant could come at any time. He has the highest priority in his region. The money will still be needed after the transplant. All money donated in his name will go to his account, even if we exceed his goal of $100,000. All donations should be made according to the guidelines on the COTA.org website to ensure that Christian gets the money.

I realize that this is an off-time for tournaments due to the weather. I am hoping for some spring and early summer tournaments. However, any time of the year is acceptable. My thinking was to put the word out now so that people and clubs would have time to plan something by the time the weather breaks. I know many clubs begin organizing their schedules in Jan and Feb so that they can start fishing in March/April. I also understand that a large tournament takes some time to plan. Jim and Peter have been promoting this idea for me and some of their contacts and sponsors have offered to help in a variety of ways. I'm trying to get all the offers organized so I know what I have available. I still need to get some specifics on actually setting up a tournament, but Jim has given me a couple names to help me along.

Along this same line of thinking, I am not only looking for a huge tournament. It would be great if local clubs would hold their own little tournaments to benefit the cause. This would probably bring in more money than one large tournament in the long run. A few suggestions would be to schedule an extra tournament and donate all the entries, to challenge another local club and donate those winnings, or to host an open.

Even though I live in Kentuckiana, help can come from anywhere in the country. This is why I posted on all the forums on the Fishin.com site. Out-of-state clubs could hold their own events and donate via the COTA.org website. Events and donations do not have to be channeled through myself. This is one of the main purposes of the COTA.org website.

One final note...my wife is listed as the Coordinator of Christian's fund-raising campaign on a couple of the sites in my original post. Due to an increase in family obligations, she will be resigning from this position. She simply cannot devote the amount of time necessary to run a successful campaign and keep up with all the demands of our own family. However, we will both still be involved as much as possible. I have been pursuing the fishing avenue for a couple of months and hope to have something lined up soon.

Thank you all for your time and interest.

Joe Behr

(812)969-3422
[email]jbehr1@ford.com[/email]