Ben thank you! It was an honor to help and I look forward to more in the future. Anytime and I'll be there! I had a blast with you and your Marines out there, especially when the banana incident occurred, they (Mike and his Marines) thought they were being clever only to get answered with a barrage of flying Sardines. Nearly peed my pants laughing so hard. Thanks again Ben. And most of all, thanks for serving our great nation...
From the SKC3 Tournament Director
Thank you for your feedback on the Striper King Classic 3 at DVL. I'm extremely disappointed in reading the various accusations this past week and want to give you some factual responses. But, as most of you have pointed out, with the accusations not being specific in nature, it will be very difficult to answer. I will try to answer them with facts as best as I can for you.
HOW WE STARTED- THE HISTORY
On July 29, 2006, some of you holdover trout anglers may have remembered the Summer Smackdown. It was one of the first trout derbies at the lake. We benefitted the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
On May 17, 2008, many of you remember the Spring Smackdown trout derby. We benefitted the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Southwest. Bob Caffey, co-hosted the event. Additionally, to market the Spring Smackdown, I contacted the Los Angeles Times to feature Trout Only and the Spring Smackdown (Reference Los Angeles Times Sports section for May 9, 2008/By Pete Thomas).
Then the Striper King Classic series started on August 27, 2011. The Striper King Classic 1 benefitted Valley-Wide Recreation & Parks District of San Jacinto/Hemet and the Police Activities League.I
The Striper King Classic 2, was held on September 22, 2012, benefitting Valley-Wide Recreation and P.A.L. We also sponsored in part a small contingent of Warriors, a total of 13.
The Striper King Classic 3, held this past September 28, 2013, benefitted Valley-Wide Recreation and P.A.L.. We also sponsored 36 Warriors, almost tripling the SKC2 total.
Since 2006, we have never experienced any issues related to cheating in any way, shape or form. I have never received a single email/letter/document claiming cheating. The SKC prides itself on organizing clean events and does not condone cheating.
PLANNING THE "EXPERIENCE"
On March 26, 2013, the planning started with Bob at Bass Pro Shops. We started to shape the SKC3 event, which included several dynamics, including the Warriors from Camp Pendleton. We talked about making sure the Warriors had a great "experience" on the water, not just to have them attend. We talked about creating a positive "spirit" for the event. THIS EVENT WAS TO HIGHLIGHT THE WARRIORS, NOT ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL, GROUP, AGENDA OR SPONSOR.
On May 21, 2013, Bob brought in Frank from Toyota to talk about enhancing the "experience" for the Warriors. We found out that Frank has a special place in his heart for the Warriors. Originally, Frank wanted to sponsor 100 Warriors on 10 pontoon boats. This was extremely generous, but I suggested that it may be best to start out with less Warriors to create a better "experience" for them. I mentioned that it would be best for each pontoon boat to have (1) SKC Captain and (1) SKC Co-Captain, and supply them with the proper equipment. Without these elements, their "experience" would most likely not be a good one. I suggested that in the future, we could increase the amount of Warriors and pontoon boats.
On August 13, 2013, Toyota finalized the planning to sponsor special gift bags for the Warriors with a $25.00 BPS gift card, $50.00 pocket knife from "Ton" Jones of Spike TV's "Auction Hunter", Toyota, BPS and SKC goodies from various sponsors. Each Warrior would receive one of these bags, Captains would be included. Retail value of each bag is roughly $100.00. Toyota also wanted to sponsor a Warrior pontoon boat competition, as they would award BPS gift cards for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Warrior pontoon boats. $100.00 gift cards for 1st place, $75.00 gift cards for 2nd place and $50.00 for 3rd place. This was separate from the general public awards categories. BPS/Toyota was specific that these gift cards were for Warriors only. Captains would not be included.
On a conference call on September 23rd, Toyota decided to give $50.00 gift cards to the Warrior pontoon boats that did not place in the top 3. Toyota wanted to make sure that there were "no losers" when it came to the Warriors. They wanted the "spirit" to be high for every Warrior, not just the top 3 pontoon boats. Again, BPS/Toyota was specific that these gift cards were for Warriors only.
COORDINATING THE WARRIORS
The SKC Warrior Organizing Committee met several times and communicated via email/phone to ensure that the Warriors had a great "experience". August 31st in Temecula, all of the Captains were asked to meet to discuss the Warrior "plan of attack". These were a few of the topics discussed:
1. SKC3 Overview/Review sponsors/Entire agenda- A complete overview was given to every aspect of the event to eliminate any possibility of miscommunication. All Captains were invited. Ben, Vince and Bruce attended.
2. Warriors "plan of attack"- Ben to be Warrior Coordinator/Warrior attendance goal/Transportation issue/Pontoon boat rentals/Equipment and who's coordinating/Placing Captains/Costs
3. Warrior complimentary special t-shirts/BPS/Toyota providing t-shirts/Toyota providing hats/Photos of Warriors
On September 11, 2013, we met in Buena Park to recruit another Captain.
1. Reviewed the material above
On September 27, 2013, met with Ben in Hemet to go over last minute details for the Warriors.
1. Planned for the Warriors to enter first in the morning, followed by SKC anglers and general public last.
2. Advised Ben that I had communicated with Tammy Toral, GM of DVL to complete Warrior pontoon boat rental paperwork at staging area at DVL entrance to expedite Warriors. This would have them on the water at first light. They would launch first.
3. Reviewed Warrior rosters with Captains/Co-Captains.
4. Ben to have Warrior meeting with all Warriors at 3:30am at DVL front entrance area.
Ben had also been communicating with the Captains that did not make the meeting. I knew that it was critical that the Captains had the information from our meeting in Temecula. Failure to meet with the new Captains would lead to possible misunderstandings. In future events, it should be mandatory for all new Captains to meet at least twice to review Warrior material and answer any question that they may have. THE WARRIORS WERE THE TOP PRIORITY
WHAT WAS THE WARRIOR "EXPERIENCE"
There were reports that the Warriors had a disappointing experience. During the past few days, I did a lot of research into this because it was very important that they had a great "experience" with us. Here's my interview with one of the minor sponsors of the Warriors who happened to speak directly with 15 Warriors AFTER they came off the water fishing:
I spoke with Steve, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam Conflict. He was stationed in Hawaii and was discharged in 1973. Here are his comments:
"The Warriors appreciated that someone would take the time to organize something for them. They were also surprised at how many people came out to support them. They appreciated how nice everything was set up. Some Warriors mentioned that the event was a "class operation" and that it wasn't just a tent set up on a dirt road! They liked that it was thought out and a big effort was put into it". Steve made a last observation, "Even if we only made one Warrior happy, it was a success".
STEPS TO ELIMINATE CHEATING
There were several comments regarding cheating at the event. Cheating is not condoned by the SKC Committee. This is the first time ever in 7 years has there been possible cheating. These are the steps that we took to eliminate any kind of cheating:
1. Contacted California Dept of Fish & Wildlife- Asked Kyle for additional support for our event. Kyle and another Game Warden were at DVL. Kyle was checking boats for illegal baits and fish being brought in from other lakes at the DVL Kiosk at entrance to the lake. CDF&W was extremely thorough during their boat checks, checking every cavity of every boat.
2. According to CDF&W, "State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers do all they can to combat poaching. But there are only a few hundred wardens spread throughout California. To successfully fight poaching they must have help from all Californians".
3. If someone was seen fishing illegally, you should report them immediately to 1-888-DFG-CALTIP.
4. September 28, 2013 5:20am SKC3 Meeting- Specifically mentioned to all boaters at the line-up what was permitted to use as bait. That was the sole message for the meeting.
5. On September 24, 2013 on FNN, under the "Striper King Classic 3 at DVL" posting, Official Tournament Rules were posted. Highlighted in the Tournament Rules section #5 states, "It is forbidden to use live or dead trout, bluegill or any fish from DVL, or any fish that has been brought in from another lake".
6. There were no reports to any SKC Committee member of a specific case of cheating.
There were also comments about the raffle procedure. Here's what took place:
1. Raffle ticket sales were stronger than anticipated.
2. The white colored raffle tickets sold out.
3. We had to use a backup roll of blue colored raffle tickets.
4. This created a problem of (2) colored raffle tickets.
5. The small acrylic raffle ticket container was too small for the amount of tickets sold.
6. We did not have another container, as it was difficult to mix the raffle tickets because the tickets were almost to the top.
7. With these problems, it may have given the impression that there was favoritism going on.
8. We were understaffed.
Due to the overload of raffle prizes, we were calling raffle tickets extremely fast. Some sponsors donated 5-6 prizes for the raffle. We had to call off 5-6 raffle tickets quickly. This happened several times. There would be no chance of cheating in this instance because things were happening at such a high rate of speed. A comment was made that Warriors had blue raffle tickets. Several Warriors had white raffle tickets and won several prizes.
The solution was quickly resolved on the next day. As our event has grown, we must also upgrade our components, which includes a large acrylic raffle ticket tumbler. One was noted on the website: displays2go.com.
I welcome additional volunteers to assist with the raffle. One could be a validator to ensure fairness in the raffle and to assist with the heavy demand of pulling tickets. Our SKC voluntary staff needs to increase. For the record, there were 32 sponsors with over 120 total prizes for the raffle. We had a SKC record of over $7000.00 in raffle prizes all for our participants.
SKC LOOKING FOR RAFFLE HOST
Here are the qualifications:
1. Must be proficient on the microphone in front of large crowds.
2. Must have ability to work quickly with other host for raffle.
3. Must have good knowledge of the fishing industry products and descriptions.
4. Must have the time to meet with me a minimum of 10 times a year/2 hour meetings to review event/products.
5. Must have exceptional people skills in dealing with sponsors.
6. Must have good knowledge of striper fishing/DVL.
7. On event day, schedule is 3:00am-5:00pm.
8. Donate full-day guide service.
9. Pay: Nothing, all voluntary service.
This is what Hubert "Kewly" Zimara does each year. There has been some unwarranted criticism of Kewly. In the past, Kewly has done some things that has got him into trouble. There has been some questionable things that he has done. But, if someone criticizes Kewly, I would certainly hope that it was because you know him. If you are criticizing anybody, and you've never met the person, does that make sense? Many years have past since Kewly's incidents. That doesn't change what's happened in the past, but sometimes we must move forward in life.
I'm sure there are some of you that have had problems in the past, some may even be legal issues. You know who you are. But, if you work diligently on correcting your shortfalls, I believe you should be given a second chance. Kewly's has matured in the past 4 years. He's become a solid citizen and goes to church every Sunday. Kewly's even started his own guide service- kfgs-fishing.com. Doesn't the bible say a little about "forgiveness"?........
CONTACTING SKC SPONSORS END RESULT
We have a terrific relationship with our sponsors, some for over 7 years. There are threats of contacting our sponsors which the end result may lead to them not funding any raffle prizes again. Guess who loses? The end result is that our Warriors, kids and you will not have a chance to win a nice raffle prize because of one person. Additionally, our sponsors are reading the "latest rants", as our sponsors say, on this website and are taking notes of who are posting and what. They are not happy with the inappropriate language, threats and accusations that are being made.
SHOWING A LITTLE RESPECT
Some members of the SKC Committee are highly decorated United States Wounded Warriors, Veterans and servicemen. One of our Captains is a double Purple Heart recipient and a Bronze Star w/Valor attachment recipient from the Vietnam conflict. He is also 100% disabled. Our Warrior Chairman is a Wounded Warrior himself that has recently come out and he has a heartbreaking story that I'm sure he doesn't like to talk about. These individuals have served our country and have sacrificed their blood. We certainly owe them a little more respect.
Last edited by striperkingclassic; 10-07-2013 at 10:56 AM.
Nice to hear Barry.
I gotta ask, you were diligent in your reply by never claiming wounded warriors. This was billed as a WWP event, you even photo shopped the logo in your flyer. Illegally I may add.
Will you admit you mislead? When you approached the sponsors did you tip toe around the whole warriors/wounded warriors technicalities.
You did hear Sgt. Dennison on the video claim he wasn't a WW, you could hear the regret in his voice.
You do realize Ben you also missed out on at least a grand on your guide auction by keeping out TO? Why as a event organizer you insist on excluding TO and what he could bring in for a charitable donation over your personal differences?
Maybe you should point out to the DFW in the future boats are not the only hiding spots for "live or dead trout" and "fish being brought in"
Last edited by cutbait; 10-07-2013 at 04:57 AM.
I got a simple solution if there was cheating admit it make ammends and lets move on. It seems pretty clear at this point there was something happening. So why dont you act like a man and get it over with. Corey I really don't know you but you have shown amazing resolve in bringing it to the light and I commend you.
How is it clear something was happening? What's your evidence or proof? And Hardcor showed "amazing resolve?" That's what you call what he's been doing? Really?Originally Posted by harlanx1
Please answer with facts and info. Not a YouTube video or gibberish.
Posting Permissions
