What a beautiful day Monday turned out to be! Anglers of all ages came out to Lake Waconia to support the Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Adrian Peterson All Day Foundation. While the bite wasn't what we had hoped, we witnessed many smiles across the crowd who enjoyed the nice weather and the chance to meet some celebrities. The Minnesota Vikings very own Jim Kleinsasser, John Sullivan, Ben Leber, and Hall of Famer Paul Krause were present. Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding was there, and looked at home on Lake Waconia's ice. "Minnesota Bound" star Raven along with her good buddy Ron Schara made a point of stopping out as well! Adrian Peterson of the Vikes was the big draw though, and people sure were excited to see him! Many very nice prizes were given out throughout the day. The top 3 fishing prizes for the Adults were all won with perch, while the Kids did a little better with the top fish being a 6.9 oz. crappie caught by Nathan Heinen. The 2nd and 3rd place prizes were awarded to kids who also caught perch.
We were very happy to be a part of this event and want to thank some very special volunteers that helped us make this event run so smooth. Fred Radde III, Fred Radde IV and his wife Jennifer of "Fred W. Radde and Sons Auctioneers" donated the use of a lot of essential equipment as well as countless hours in planning, as well as on-ice time to help anglers get on and off the ice safely. Jeff Schulz, Dan Goetz and others from the Waconia Lions, as well as Travis Frank of Ron Schara Outdoors were instrumental helping at the gates and in the contest site. Kris Raether went above and beyond spending the entire day working with parking and contest set-up and take down. Kellie Sites and Carmen Gesinger from the Waconia Chamber did a wonderful job promoting this event and showcasing Waconia. Thanks to our ITM staff for their time helping us put this event together. We also would like to thank Lola's Lakehouse for their efforts in bringing this contest to Waconia and the great food on the ice as well as the sponsor dinner after the event. There were many others who contributed to the success of the event. The Starkey Hearing Foundation and Adrian Peterson have mentioned their intention to hold this event again next year. We are already looking forward to the next "Blizzard Blitz"!
