Casey Stockton Memorial bass tourney set for May 19
Every year, an annual bass tournament honors the memory of a Franklin County man who passed away too young. The time has come once again for competitive fishermen – and women – to cast a line and fish for a cause.
The 5th Annual Casey Stockton Memorial Scholarship Bass Tournament is set for May 19 at Slick Rock Boat Ramp, Cedar Creek Lake. The tournament, which lasts from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., costs a $60 entry fee per boat, which benefits the Casey Stockton Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Casey was 23 when he died suddenly in 2012. As fishing buddies mourned his passing, they came up with an idea to commemorate his life and his passion for the sport – the memorial fishing tourney.
“Casey was a member of the Belgreen Bass Club, and they were actually the ones who came to us and told us they wanted to have a tournament each year to honor Casey’s memory and to help fund the scholarship,” explained mother Lisa Stockton. “It meant the world to us when they told us they were going to do this. Casey would be very honored and humbled that they have this tournament every year in his memory.”
Casey’s bass club buddies were, Stockton said, “like a second family to him. He would come home on the nights they had their meetings and talk to us for hours about all that happened.”
Casey’s family had already established a scholarship fund in his honor upon his passing. Stockton said the family asked for scholarship donations in lieu of flowers “because we knew that the flowers would fade away but that a scholarship would be a way for us to keep Casey’s memory alive and to help a student pay for their college education.”
Linking the scholarship with the tournament became a perfect way to keep it connected to Casey’s memory in a special way.
Since its inception, the scholarship fund has granted ten scholarships to students at Russellville City and Franklin County schools, Stockton said. “Three years ago we also increased the amounts of the scholarship from $500 to $1,000 each,” she added. “This fishing tournament and the support we receive from friends and family is the reason for the increase.”
This year the fund will present four $1,000 scholarships to RCS and FCS students. “After this year we will have given away more than $10,000 in scholarships,” Stockton said.
Of course, scholarship winners aren’t the only ones coming out of the tourney with a little money in their pockets. Prize money will be awarded as follows for this year’s tourney winners: first place, $750, second place, $450, third place, $250, and fourth place, $150. Additionally, a number of door prizes will be given away, including Yeti products, sunglasses, gift cards and fishing gear.
Entry forms are being accepted now for the tournament. They can be mailed or turned in at the ramp the morning of the tournament. For more information or to obtain an entry form, call Ronnie Wray at 256-627-8898 or Tim Stockton at 256-520-9959.
“The day of his tournament is always a very emotional day for us and for his friends and family,” Stockton said. “There are a lot of tears mixed with smiles and laughter as we all share stories of past fishing adventures of Casey and his friends.
“I think in a way it is therapy for all of us,” she added. “It does our hearts good to know that we are helping to make a difference in young peoples’ lives and that we are keeping Casey’s memory alive for years to come.
“And I just know that Casey is proud, too, and that he is smiling big.”
