Anyone going to KVD Lions Weigh in from Lansing area or past Lansing

[djkimmel]

Just wondered if anyone might be heading to the KVD / Lions weigh in at Kent Lake June 12 who might be going from the Lansing area or past Lansing on the way there? I need to be at Kent Lake by 3:30pm and stay for the weigh in / dinner activities. Just seeing if I can hitch a ride with someone after my morning meeting in Lansing?

[Manxfishing]

Just wondered if anyone might be heading to the KVD / Lions weigh in at Kent Lake June 12 who might be going from the Lansing area or past Lansing on the way there? I need to be at Kent Lake by 3:30pm and stay for the weigh in / dinner activities. Just seeing if I can hitch a ride with someone after my morning meeting in Lansing?

Nice,
Dan it's a little to rich for me
But please, I'd love to see a write up of the whole thing

So what's for dinner, What was the winning style of fishing
And does KVD have a pet name for you. LOL

[cameraguy]

You can mingle with the celebs, have dinner, buy stuff and have it autographed...for $100. It's for charity. This isnt expensive compared to many other events.

[djkimmel]

Just wondered if anyone might be heading to the KVD / Lions weigh in at Kent Lake June 12 who might be going from the Lansing area or past Lansing on the way there? I need to be at Kent Lake by 3:30pm and stay for the weigh in / dinner activities. Just seeing if I can hitch a ride with someone after my morning meeting in Lansing?

Nice,
Dan it's a little to rich for me
But please, I'd love to see a write up of the whole thing

So what's for dinner, What was the winning style of fishing
And does KVD have a pet name for you. LOL

I think his name for me is hey you, what's-your-name, carry my fishing rods over to the boat! Don't break any of them! Here's a dollar... I did offer to share my chapstick with hiM one day but he turned me down. I will have to show him the picture from 1980-something where I'm in the front row with a big plaque and he is in the back row with a little tiny plaque!! Love that picture!

[djkimmel]

You can mingle with the celebs, have dinner, buy stuff and have it autographed...for $100. It's for charity. This isnt expensive compared to many other events.

Guess you'll have to take some good pictures and video so people can see what they missed and sign up earlier for the 2nd annual KVD Lions Charity Fishing Tournament next year!

[red68prostreet]

Seems to be some information that was missed concerning the KVD/Lions event that was held yesterday. I made the decision to try and attend late which is my fault. Mr. Kimmel even tried to find me an extra ticket he knew of but it got used. A buddy and I went to the launch around 3:00 PM to see if they sold tickets at the gate. The two police officers politely turned me away saying all the tickets had been sold. According to the write up in the paper they could have used another $200.00. I wonder if anyone else tried late. Again my fault for not deciding until the last minute but if you have two officers just watching the gate they could have sold a few tickets.

The paper also mentions they are going to do this again next yr. They hope the event will grow. Maybe they need some input about selling tickets at the gate? I would have also considered using my boat but $1,500.00 is a bit stiff.

[djkimmel]

Sorry to hear that. That is a little strange because I got there after 3:30pm. There was only 1 officer at the boat ramp entrance road. I told him I was there for the tournament and he let me right through. I did not tell him my name or show him any ID.

Sounds like some confusion? I'm not sure why they didn't have someone at the gate but they had a sign-in table at the tent/yard entrance. I did see a couple different officers later near the tent. Maybe you talked to one of them?

It is possible that they made the call to cut off sales at some time yesterday but I didn't ask because no one mentioned anything like that. Not sure if they made a decision like that or not. I can ask someone later and mention this. It was the first year so you expect some a little confusion and a learning curve.

That was briefly discussed by a few people but overall it seemed to go pretty smooth. I don't know how many people were there but it seemed like a pretty good amount. Maybe not 100 but it wasn't that far off.

If I would have known it was possible they were going to cut it off at some time or count, I would have shared that. You could have called me. I might have been able to ask someone involved. I was only there as media and a guest but I would have tried to find out as quick as possible. All I can do now is ask about it if the chance arises and maybe it will help smooth things out for next year. Sorry again.

I thought it was a fun and nice event. We have some pictures and video coming. Overall, it should give more good press to the nice things organized fishing events and anglers can do, especially when groups work together. Glad to see a number of GreatLakesBass.com members who were there and involved.

[djkimmel]

One thing I would suggest is that I expect now that people have seen and read about it, tickets are more likely to sell out ahead of time next year. If that is the case, people would want to get tickets early and maybe they will say there are no ticket sales at the entrance?

I don't know if they are changing any pricing or anything like that. Way too early yet and again, I'm not involved at that level at all. I will find out what I can as it becomes available. People can always ask questions on here and I will get answers when I can.

[McCarter]

$100 is cheap for what your getting.  If your a lions fan, a fishing fan, or  even a potatoe salad fan (best I ever had).  Where else can you hang out with most of the players and coxhes, not to mention KVD, ZONA , MCKINNIS, JVD, MERCER, HORTON.   If I wasnt a participant, I would have went as a spectator.

[djkimmel]

Yup. I don't know if they had a specific goal in mind or not? I'm sure it would be less if the goal wasn't to raise money for charity. I don't know if they want giant crowds. They seemed to want to keep it manageable. Kevin said he was really happy with how it went.

I went with the bow tie pasta myself. Guess I'll have to try the potato salad if I'm there next year.

[dartag]

The whole experience was fantastic.  My son is still beaming from the day.  Walking across the stage and being interviewed by Dan Miller and Dave Mercer was neat.  Everyone went out of there way to make it a great event.  KVD took time to talk with us a couple times.  We had a young man with us who had never been to a bass tournament.  His goal was to get KVD's autograph.  He not only signed his hat and shirt he talked to him for quite a while about fishing.  I even got a shot of a famous " Camera Guy ". 

[djkimmel]

You ever notice how those camera guys all look alike?!?

I will make sure next year I have a really good handle on the latest information on this event. I today found out they were not going to sell tickets the day of the event and I did not know that. But I also found out they decided to sell a limited number of tickets the day of right up until weigh-in. They did not reach that limit so I'm still not sure why you were not able to get in red68prostreet? I can only put it off to being the first year and all new.

I will do what I can to be much more accurate next year. I may actually be able to attend some of the planning meetings which should help. I'm not actually a party to the event - that is Kevin VanDam, the Lions and a few other people - but if I can attend some of the planning I should have pretty good information for 2013. I do know that they are starting early again for next year and will be reviewing everything to make the event even better next year.

I sure do appreciate seeing some of the great GreatLakesBass.com members involved and having fun in this worthwhile event!

[fishstick]

Was an awesome event everyone was so approachable and willing to sign autographs/talk with anyone. Definitely something that if you are a fishing or Lions fan you will want to attend next year!

[djkimmel]

It was more like a big family picnic than a celebrity event.

There can be only 1st place winner and that was your deadly team fishstick (Coach Jedi! ) but it did seem like everyone was a winner that day. I like seeing so many happy people just having a good time! And it raised a bunch of money for charity too!