Gardiner Salmon Derby Association

The annual derby appreciation dinner will be held on Saturday 3/31 at 6PM at the Gardiner Community Center. All area residents, derby volunteers, and derby supporters are welcome. This great potluck features donated salmon from the derby, plus wonderful dishes brought by all the attendees.

Immediately before the dinner, starting at 3PM, the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, will hold its annual meetings of the board of directors and of the general membership. The board meeting will be held first. All members are encouraged to attend both meetings, and new members from the area are welcome. These annual meetings are an opportunity to learn about association activities, elect new board members, and provide input for the coming year.

This year, an important topic will be the use of funds generated by the annual fishing derby. This year, net proceeds generated by the derby event were approximately $3,300. The association has placed this amount plus other funds into a “reserve account for charitable grants,” held pending disbursement to grant recipients. The association’s current focus is acquisition of a Thermal Imaging Camera for use by the Diamond Point volunteer fire station. Specific plans are being worked out with Chief Vogel of Clallam Fire District #3; details will be presented at the annual meetings and at the appreciation dinner.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to this fund should contact Dan Tatum (360.797.7710). Gardiner Salmon Derby Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, so your contribution may offer you tax benefits.

Here are some details from the awards ceremony.

• UPDATE 2/29: MYSTERY FISH. The five mystery fish prize winners were selected at the awards ceremony:
  • Brandon Melville of Port Angeles ($1,000)
  • John Wagner of Port Angeles ($500)
  • Bill Ackley of Bremerton ($500)
  • Dave Hill of Sequim ($200)
  • Thomas Casey of Sequim ($100)

     We apologize for the delay in posting this information.

• UPDATE 2/21: We’ve posted the final press release from the awards ceremony on our downloads page.
• About DUPLICATE FISH on the ladder: Some people have noticed that the full list of fish here on the website and also available for download includes multiple fish for some anglers. “But I thought only one fish was eligible to be on the ladder?” Only one fish per angler is eligible for “ladder prizes,” which this year went to the top 52 fish. However the full list includes every fish submitted, because every fish was eligible for a mystery fish prize.
• 50/50 RAFFLE. The 50/50 raffle was won by Virginia Lajambe of Gardiner, who was present at the ceremony. I again don’t have the precise amount but I believe she received around $750, with an equal amount going to the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association. By the way, this amount was more than enough to pay for the free BBQ, which was enjoyed by everybody at the ceremony (except for yours truly, dang).
• About UNCOLLECTED PRIZES. Many prize winners were present at the ceremony. Those who were not will receive their prizes in the mail. As specified in the rules, each prize winner was able to select from all remaining prizes on the ladder. Absent winners were awarded the highest-value prize that could be easily mailed, such as a check or gift certificate. Please contact us if you are expecting a prize by mail, to confirm what is being sent and be sure we have the mailing address. PLEASE NOTE that if you don’t contact us, we will attempt to contact you via the information on your ticket stub, but also realize that it will take some time before all those stubs can be collated and transcribed. So you will definitely save time if absent winners contact us directly.

That’s it for now. We’ll get complete information posted just as soon as we can, and again we apologize for the delay.

An important meeting of the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association will be held at the Gardiner Community Center on Wednesday 2/29 at 4PM. We will be reviewing the results of this year’s derby and making plans for the upcoming annual meeting and Salmon Derby Appreciation Dinner on 3/31. Current association members are encouraged to attend. Non-members and prospective new members are also welcome, as always. Or consider coming to our annual meeting on 3/31.

We’ve received a bundle of new photos, from Richard Bennett, Ralph Eddington, Dennis Martin, Dr. Elizabeth Van Dyke, and possibly others whose names I’m overlooking. Check out the pictures page.

Photos by Richard Bennett

Photo by Ernie Hansen