The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), union volunteers, and partners worked together to connect local youths and families to fishing at the 2024 Greater Kansas City Take Kids Fishing Day on Sept. 14.
Hosted by the USA and the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC), the 200-plus attendees, including 130 youths, caught hybrid sunfish and channel catfish at Penn Valley Lake.
Twenty-four union volunteers assisted participants with baiting hooks, using their fishing rods, and reeling in fish. After the event, every youth took home a free rod and reel to keep pursuing fishing.
Missouri Department of Conservation Private Land Conservationist Andy Carmack, who helped seven kids catch their first fish at the event, enjoyed imparting his fishing knowledge.
“I love seeing the smile of someone catching their first fish,” Carmack said. “I grew up in a fishing family. I caught my first fish at the age of three. Hunting and fishing are what I devote my recreational time to. Fishing is a lifetime sport. You can learn it at any age, and you can continue it near death. It’s not like basketball or football that’s so detrimental to your body, so I love the fact that if you teach someone how to do a sport that they can continue to do for the remainder of their life.”
Nine different trades were involved in Take Kids Fishing Day, including Greater Kansas City BCTC, Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO, Ironworkers Local 10, Insulators Local 27, Teamsters Local 41, SMART Local 2, OPCMIA International, OPCMIA Local 518 and Firefighters Local 42, Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO President Pat “Duke” Dujakovich said multiple reasons motivate him and others to get involved with Take Kids Fishing Day.
Youths and their families participate in the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Greater Kansas City BCTC Take Kids Fishing Day at Penn Valley Lake on September 14, 2024.
“Everybody comes together to help a kid,” he said. “Hopefully we give them the tools like the rod, reel, bobbers, hooks and weights because where they live, there’s not an Academy Sports around the corner. Giving them all those resources, showing them how to dig for worms and showing them how to actually catch fish gives them skills. Also, it shines an extremely positive light on the unions. People are amazed when they find out we give up our Saturdays to go do something like that.”
Partners such as the Missouri Department of Conservation, Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation, Humana, and Marriott Hotels supported Take Kids Fishing Day.
Carmack and the Missouri Department of Conservation protect and manage fish and wildlife across the state. He hopes attendees understand the public fishing access available in the area.
“[Missouri] has access to public waters that a lot of the other states don’t, especially inside our Kansas City proper. There are at least three or four impoundment ponds that we stock on a regular basis. That’s not very common amongst other municipalities. We do try to manage the fishing to where the people are and put the fish where people will utilize them.”
Dujakovich discussed what makes Kansas City a special location for USA events.
“The solidarity,” Dujakovich said. “Everyone is willing to jump in and help. Kansas City is one of the most giving areas of the country. United Way and others rank cities on philanthropy and Kansas City always scores highly on people willing to help others out. There’s definitely a positive vibe going on in Kansas City. It’s just a fun, good place to be.”
