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HomeCommunitySilver Bay Veterans Home Residents Enjoy Charter Fishing Excursion

Silver Bay Veterans Home Residents Enjoy Charter Fishing Excursion

mn.gov/mdva

July 15, 2024

Silver Bay Char­ter FishingOn July 1, Minnesota Veterans Homes – Silver Bay hosted its 31st annual Charter Fishing Trip on Lake Superior. Af­ter a wet and stormy week, Silver Bay Vet­erans Home partici­pants had the perfect window to be on the lake: it was sunny and calm all day.

Nine boats trans­ported 17 Residents for a four-hour trip that hooked a total of 41 fish. Participants enjoyed a food truck lunch donated by BoB-a-Q of Two Harbors, then savored the fruits of their labor during a July 2 fish fry at the Home.

“This event is one of our yearly highlights,” said Randall Walz, Public Affairs and Vol­unteer Services. “Res­idents love this North Shore excursion; it’s in a beautiful area and Knife River Marina of­fers great support for us to launch from. An accessible lift at the lake ensures that indi­viduals of varying mo­bility can be included.”

Walz also shared that this is an all hands-on-deck experience. “In addition to the staff members who accom­pany our Residents on the water, our CNAs start early to wake and help dress the Veter­ans, our cooks prepare individualized snack boxes for each boat, and so on. Everyone plays a part in making this a consistently suc­cessful undertaking.”

The original Charter Fishing Excursion was first developed by the commander of local American Legion Post 109. Thirty-one years ago, Jim Latvala want­ed to do something special for the then newly established Vet­erans Home. A charter boat captain himself, it was an easy connec­tion for Jim to create a day on the lake for Vet­erans and he remains involved to this day. It has grown beyond the local post to support from individual do­nors and all manner of groups statewide.

Thirty-one years lat­er, this annual trip con­tinues to enjoy strong interest from Resi­dents. In fact, all state Veterans Homes are invited to attend, but distance is a limiting factor for many.

Dani McLaughlin, Ad­ministrator, Silver Bay Veterans Home, noted the impact of this event on Residents. “There’s just something so spe­cial about fishing at the lake,” said McLaugh­lin. “Many of our Vet­erans enjoy the unique, off-campus change to their daily routine while others like the competitive nature of trying to catch more fish than their com­rades. At the end of the day, people are spending quality time together doing some­thing we all love.”

We extend our grati­tude to:

All Silver Bay Veterans Home employees

Event boat captains

Paul Morris on the 32’ Freedom 2

Ben Johnson on the 34’ Chinook

Josh Widdes on the 34’ Family Time

Dave Martin on the 36’ Rain or Shine

Peter Dahl on the 32’ Nauti Hooker

Cameron Linder on the 33’ Reel Knotty

Joe Baker on the 30’ Just Chillen

Joe Kottke on the 31’ Rendezvous

Jim Latvala, American Legion Post 109/Two Harbors and founder of the Charter Fishing program

Todd Roberts, Grand Commander, Military Order of the Cooties (the Honor Degree of the Veterans of Foreign Wars)

Tony Rechichi, VFW 8th District Commander

Masonic Lodges of Silver Bay and Two Harbors

AEOA and Arrowhead Transit

Bob and Sheila Bissell with Bob-a-Q

Every supporter and volunteer, too nu­merous to mention. Without their involve­ment, this annual event would not be possible.

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