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Zoom Report
WATKINSVILLE, Ga. - William Edward Chambers Sr., founder of Zoom Baits, passed early Tuesday morning.
Chambers, a famous iconic lure designer, was diagnosed with a rare form of Mantle Cell Lymphoma. After undergoing treatment for a short time, complications arose which eventually took its toll.
Striving for perfection is how he built Zoom Bait Company. Chambers started Zoom in his backyard as a hobby, which included countless hours after his day job. It began in a one-horse barn with sawdust floors. This became the foundation and backbone of Zoom Bait Company, which was founded in 1977.
Zoom was family owned and operated since day one. As the saying goes, behind every man is a great woman. Faye Chambers stood by his side making countless sacrifices in the early days as the company was just getting started. Often, she was found on the living room floor bagging worms and loading their station wagon, so she could deliver them to UPS.
The company began to grow with the help of close friends and fellow fishermen from the Athens Bassmasters. Eddie Wortham, while still in high school, was the first employee hired by Chambers. Today, Wortham still works at Zoom as General Manager.
Shortly after Chambers started the company, Zoom experienced another growth spurt. Chambers son, William Edward Chambers Jr., while still in school, stepped in and began running routes delivering worms with Wortham, across the southeast.
In 1988, Chambers realized that his hobby had turned into a big business.
At this point, Chambers believed it would take the entire family to make this work. Eddie Jr., graduated from UGA and returned to the family business, while younger sister Kym pursued a nursing career. Kym graduated from college and worked as an RN for several years. Eventually, she joined Zoom to fill her motherís shoes, when Faye decided to retire.
Chambers was a humble man, who never saw himself as famous. He was completely content working seven days a week seeking constant perfection.
This was evident in his second hobby, making handmade balsa crankbaits.
W.E.C. Custom Lures was his passion. W.E.C. was born around 1992 and, by the mid 90ís, was in full swing. With the help of close friends, Chambers developed many crankbait models that are highly sought after to this day.
All who knew him will miss Mr. Chambers, but for us here at Zoom, we are honored to have had such a wonderful leader, mentor and friend.
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Provided by Lew’s
Lew's High School Product Grant Program Open for Application
Lew's and the Future Fisherman Foundation (F3) announced that the Lew's High School Product Grant Program is now open to receive online applications for 2018 initiatives.
Nearly 100 high school fishing clubs across the country took advantage of the program launched last year for the purpose of helping organized teen groups grow their memberships, get involved in community activities and promote conservation awareness.
Officials at F3, a well-known non-profit organization dedicated to youth fishing, liked what they saw in the program's inaugural season and said year two is off to a fast start.
"The Lew's High School Grant Program was instrumental in helping a large number of teams get going and we witnessed great use of the products for the right things," said Executive Director Mark Gintert. "The Lew's Mach combos are top-shelf products, so they have been greatly appreciated whether being used for fundraisers, event prizes or program incentives. Applications are already rolling in and we're proudly reviewing and responding quickly."
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IGFA Report
The International Game Fish Association (http://www.igfa.org) (IGFA) Fishing Hall of Fame Class of 2017 was honored on Sat., Oct. 28, in a ceremony held at the new IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame located in Johnny Morrisí Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Mo.
The 2017 inductees include Rick Clunn, Larry Dahlberg, Peter Fithian, Mike Levitt, and Dr. Eric Prince. These five anglers join 116 fishing greats in the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and were recognized for their extraordinary achievements in recreational fishing around the world.
The 2017 IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame honorees were recognized for their contributions to the sport fishing community and are highlighted below.
Rick Clunn is a four-time Bassmaster Classic winner (one of only two anglers to achieve the honor) and is a member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. When heís not fishing, Clunn shares his love of the sport with children in schools across America. He is recognized by the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame for his endless enthusiasm for the sport of bass fishing, his unmatched four decades of winning B.A.S.S. events and his amazing bass fishing prowess.
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(Provided by Shimano)
Shimano Offers $3,000 Scholarships to High Schoolers
The ‘Shimano Varsity’ program for high school and college anglers is now ready to help them achieve success in higher education.
Shimano will award five $3,000 scholarships to select high school seniors planning to major in biology, fisheries, wildlife or natural resource fields for their studies beginning in fall of 2017.
“Our scholarship program is one of the keystones to our entire Varsity program,” said Shimano Youth Fishing Director Frank Hyla. “With Shimano staff at all levels, we want to form a mentor relationship, and help these anglers pursue a college degree leading to a career creating better fisheries policy and management practices.”
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(Provided by BoatUS)
If you get in an accident while trailering your boat, do you know which insurance policy will pay for repairs to the trailer?
If it's a simple accident with damage to the trailer only, it's likely your trailer insurance coverage that pays. But what happens when you back the trailer into a neighbor's stone wall or a tree comes crashing down on your trailer in your backyard? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) understands how the combination of homeowners, auto, boat and boat trailer insurance add up to protect trailer boaters and offers these tips:
- Start with the basics. When shopping for insurance for your trailer boat, ensure to ask if the policy provides boat trailer coverage. Not all insurers provide it.
- Know the trailer value. If you decide to add trailer coverage to your boat's insurance policy, your insurer needs to know the cost of the boat and trailer separately. If you don't separate each out, the insurer may have difficulty in fairly compensating you in the event of a claim.
- How far can you trailer? Ask if there are geographic limits on where or how far you may trailer your boat.
- Check your auto insurance. Ensure your tow vehicle's insurance policy includes liability coverage for any damage to others' property caused while trailering your boat, for example, backing into your neighbor's stone wall. This liability coverage is not provided by your boat and trailer policy.
- Check your homeowner's insurance. Ask your homeowner's insurance company if your trailer is covered while stored at home. And try not to park a boat trailer under a tree.
- Read the fine print. If you store your boat trailer at your marina or other storage facility, read the fine print in your contract as it relates to insurance. Many include language that holds these facilities harmless. Review these clauses with your insurance company to make sure you're not in danger of a breach of the insurance contract, which could result in no coverage.
- Roadside assistance. For a nominal fee, many auto insurance policies offer roadside assistance. Boat trailers, however, aren't likely to be included in the coverage and if there is a breakdown of the tow vehicle or the trailer, your boat could be left on the side of the road. Consider adding separate roadside assistance for your boat trailer. For BoatUS insurance policyholders, roadside assistance for both the tow vehicle and trailer (while towing) is included with the insured trailer. Or it may be added for $14 to any BoatUS membership. In either scenario, BoatUS Unlimited Trailer Assist will tow both a boat trailer and its disabled towing vehicle up to 100 miles.
For more information, go to BoatUS.com/insurance or call 1-800-283-2883.