ST. PAUL, MN, --- Minnesota's most popular lefties, Twins pitchers Brian Duensing and Glen Perkins, will lead a team seeking lunkers this week as several current and former baseball stars, along with other local celebrities, will take to the water for charity.
Minnesota's own Gander Mountain is sponsoring Lefties Lunkers, a traditional catch and release pro-am bass fishing tournament on Lake Minnetonka. Proceeds from the event, which will include 25 boats and up to 100 participants, will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which donated $2.9 million in cancer research grants at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic last year.
"For countless Minnesota sports fans, September is a time when their attention turns to the baseball pennant races and some of the best fishing of the open water season," said Steve Uline, Gander Mountain's executive vice president of marketing. "We're excited to partner with Brian and Glen to play a role in this important event, providing a great day on the water and helping raise much-needed funds in the fight against blood cancer."
On Thursday, September 5, the fun starts bright and early with a 7 a.m. breakfast and registration at Lord Fletcher's Old Lake Lodge. With 25 professional guides donating their boats, their gear and their time on the water, the participants and celebrities will fish Lake Minnetonka's flats, bays and inlets until 2 p.m. and then meet back at the lodge for shore lunch, the official weigh-in and awards ceremony.
"Gander Mountain is the name folks think of when prepping for a successful day on the water, so it's a perfect alignment to have Minnesota's own outdoors experts playing a such an important sponsorship role in this fun fishing and fundraising event," said Kelly Christianson, campaign director for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Among the baseball stars and celebrities scheduled to appear are: Twins players Jared Burton, Kevin Correia, Pedro Hernandez, Mike Pelfrey, Ryan Roenicke and Caleb Thielbar; FSN personalities Marney Gellnar, Kevin Gorg, Quincy Lewis and Doug Woog; Minnesota Wild star Zach Parise; retired NHL player Mark Parrish; professional boxer Caleb Traux and actor Erik Stolhanske. Media seeking on-shore interviews should be at Lord Fletcher's at 2 p.m. when the boats return from their day on the water.
Note to media: The fishing parties will begin heading out from the Lord Fletcher's dock (3746 Sunset Drive, Spring Park, MN) shortly after 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5. There will be a guided media boat available to facilitate "on the water" interviews, photos audio and video. For more information or to reserve media boat space, contact Jess Myers (jessm@ewald.com, 612-910-3058).
About Gander Mountain Company
Gander Mountain Company headquartered in St. Paul, MN, is the nation's largest retail network of outdoor specialty stores for hunting, fishing, camping, marine and outdoor lifestyle products and services. Since 1960, Gander Mountain has offered the best selection of outdoor equipment, technical apparel, active casual wear, and footwear featuring national, regional and specialty brands at competitive prices. Focused on a "We Live Outdoors®" culture, Gander Mountain dedicates itself to creating outdoor memories. There are currently 127 conveniently located Gander Mountain outdoor lifestyle stores in 24 states. For the nearest store location call 800-282-5993 or visit www.GanderMountain.com Gander Mountain is also the parent company of Overton's (www.overtons.com), a leading catalog and Internet based retailer of products for boating and other water sports enthusiasts.
