It’s a good thing Cops and Bobbers (now called Badges and Bobbers for copyright reasons) chose the Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir to host this year’s first event on June 14, because with almost 800 kids in attendance, 2000 including parents, it needed a LARGE venue. What an overwhelming success. And this was only the first year! One can only imagine what the years ahead hold.
Exalting outdoors, community, service members, love for country, family, and good clean living is what has made this nation strong. May this catch on all over the country!
You can find many photos, comments, and ‘WOW-isms’ all over Facebook and news publications. We at Portage News have chosen a few to share with you. Portage News reports ONLY positive news – that’s our mission. What a privilege to be in a community that not only believes there’s positive news out there, but actually creates it with events like Badges and Bobbers! If you couldn’t be there….here’s a little glimpse.
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“We had such an amazing day! Our 6 year old caught a blue gill and was interviewed on the news! He cannot stop talking about it.” ~Megan
“Thank you for making this three year old little boy smile ALL DAY long!!! Everyone we met was so kind and helpful. He loved meeting Chief Oliver!! Worth the hour drive from South Euclid for sure!!!!” ~Jennifer
“What an amazing event! Chief David A. Oliver of the Brimfield Police Department decided that every kid should experience fishing at some time in their life. Kames Sports along with many other organizations and volunteers helped to make that dream come true! Approximately 768 kids showed up for the event! What an awesome day!” ~ Kames Sports Center
“What a wonderful day for all involved. Many precious memories were made. Thanks to all who contributed and helped to make this an awesome event.” ~Elsie
“Koralee and Kolten had a great time today at cops and bobbers. Thank you again Chief.” ~Tara
“Had a great time at the Cops and Bobbers event yesterday! Cody caught a bluegill and Faith caught a sunburn, lol. The best part of the whole day was seeing all of the kids enjoying the outdoors instead of being glued to video games, the t.v., or their cellphones. A huge thank you goes out to all of those involved in making the event possible and we are definitely looking forward to it next year!” ~Mark
“First time fishing for Andrew. His reaction after was ‘that was so awesome!'” ~Jill
“You wore him out! He had fun.. Thank you” ~Traci
“Loved this guy [from Outdoor Options]. It was interesting to learn about all the ways you can tie knots and he was a whiz at it.” ~Amy
“3 of our 4 children were having a blast fishing on Saturday with their dad. Their favorite thing though was seeing the Chief and all of the K-9 officers from Brimfield PD.” ~Kristi
Thank you to all the sponsors and community members who made this a huge success – too many to name, but here’s some of them!
- Brimfield Police Department
- Kames Sporting Goods
- Outdoor Options
- Zebco
- Ohio State Parks
- Ohio Watercraft
- Ohio Division of Wildlife
- West Branch State Park
- Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir
- Marks Bait Tackle and Ammo
- Portage Summit Rotary
- Chief Oliver Foundation
- West Branch State Park
- Portage Co. Water Rescue Team
- Mogadore bait and Tackle
- US Coast Guard Auxiliary
- Destination Outdoors
- Goodyear Hunting Fishing Club Akron
- Paris Fire Dept.
- Edinburg Fire Dept.
- Berkley Fishing Team
Looking forward to 2015…….as Badges and Bobbers! Until then, support these local businesses and organizations. They make it happen!