LiUNA Local 773’s First Take Kids Fishing Day A Rousing Success
USA Board Member John Paul (JP) Smith, Executive Assistant/Chief of Staff to the National AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer, attended the event not only as a union representative, but also as a father whose 11-year-old son participated.
“The USA and the laborers of Local 773 did a fantastic job,” he says. “For people who have not, for whatever reason, been exposed to the outdoors, this is a nice, easy way to get some exposure.
“My son is autistic, and it’s the first time I’ve been able to take him fishing in a somewhat controlled environment. He learned to cast his rod and got to touch a fish for the first time. Afterward he asked how soon we could go fishing again.
“In my opinion the Take Kids Fishing Day program might be the best thing the USA does. It gets them off their screens for a little while and exposes them to nature and conservation. And as a board member, seeing firsthand what the organization and volunteers do makes me appreciate them even more.”
Womick also credits strong support from the community for the event’s success. “Mayor Steve Frattini and Herrin Park Board District board member Bob Sciffilo were behind the idea from the beginning and were instrumental in moving it forward,” he says. “We’re all excited to be working with the USA to host an event for the kids that hasn’t been available to them in a while. And we’re already looking forward to next year; making it bigger and better, and perhaps inviting volunteers from the other building trades to join in.”
“While this was the first Take Kids Fishing Day for Local 773, it’s not the first time this group has been involved with a USA undertaking. Local 773 helped with a big project at the North Marcum Recreation Area on Rend Lake, Illinois, that involved a pollinator trail, state-of-the-art archery range and a mountain bike trail,” says USA Conservation Coordinator Cody Campbell. “The fishing event is just another example of how union members band together for the benefit of their communities,”
The Herrin event was part of a series of free, community-based Take Kids Fishing Day events, organized through the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program with support from USA national partners Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Union Plus, and Humana as well as founding partners UIG, ULLICO, Bank of Labor, AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation, and Buck Knives.
