 |
|
|
|
Visitor Information Brochure-Printable Chamber & Community Chamber
of Commerce
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
August 23, 2008
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2007 WINNERS! Ten minutes prior to race time 1,000 brightly colored, six inch plastic fish were loaded into the bucket of a tractor owned by the City of Spearfish Street Department.
Two minutes before race time, Melissa Barth, Marketing Coordinator for the
Spearfish Area Chamber of Commerce/Convention & Visitors Bureau, indicated
all last minute individual fish sponsors were recorded. Harley of the City
Street Department was given the sign to move the tractor into position on the
Grant Street Bridge adjacent to Brady Park. Travis Geppert, Head Fish Wrangler, signaled
his team to prepare for the race start. At precisely 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 25, 2007, the Jo Caskey, CVB Director, blew the signal horn and one thousand fish dropped into Spearfish Creek to swim the half-mile course. At the finish line in the Lion’s Ray Fidler Memorial Park, Head Fish Catcher Matt Sleep and his team were ready to pull the racers from the course.
And the cash winners were: Angelia Dale of Sturgis, South Dakota - $125, Don
Aaker of Spearfish, South Dakota - $250 and the DC Booth Historic Fish Hatchery
won top prize of $500.
Each of the racing fish hoped he would be the chosen
one, the Fishty Thousand 50/50 Fish. And the hope was to cross the finish line
in one of the top four positions and win $25,000 for the ticket holder and
$25,000 for the Convention & Visitors Bureau. The judges announced that the
Fishty Thousand Fish finished the race, but was
not in the top four.
Post race, while the Catching Team was helping the remaining fish off the
course, a second chance drawing was held for individual sponsors. The following
prizes were awarded: The Fish Race Committee would like to of-fish-ally thank the business sponsors of this year’s race:
2nd Chance Prize Winners and Donators:
Following the grueling race, all racing fish withdrew to the seclusion of a
hilltop retreat some where in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota. There,
they will rest and participate in a ritual cleansing, followed by a sunning.
Each racer will be inspected for injuries and receive all needed treatment.
Finally, the racers will be returned to their schools to begin training for next
year’s race. Proceeds of the race will benefit the Spearfish Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). This year, the CVB donated a portion of the money raised to the Spearfish Arts Center, a chamber member non-profit attraction. The 2008 recipient will be the Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
