Spreading a message of water safety: Family Fun and Fishing event next weekend News Staff Fri, 04/19/2024 - 9:24 am
- (THE GRAHAM LEADER | ARCHIVE PHOTO) Children at the Family Fun and Fishing event in 2022 participate in an activity available at a booth. The event this year will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Firemen's Park. Alongside the event from 10 a.m. to noon will be the Young Anglers Fishing Tournament which is open to children 12 and under.
Thomas Wallner editor@grahamleader.com
Promoting water safety and family awareness are some of the main objectives of the Family Fun and Fishing event which will be held next weekend at Firemen’s Park.
The event offers free life jackets for children, safety lessons, games and activities. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and alongside the event from 10 a.m. to noon will be the Young Anglers Fishing Tournament.
The Remembering Wyatt Dale Water Safety Awareness organization hosts the event each year and seeks to spread the message of water safety and provide life jackets for all children.
“We want to encourage people to be a part of water safety (and) don’t be afraid of water. Just do (things) safely. Be aware,” organization co-founder Tracey Terasas said. “Teach your kids that when they’re around water and lakes they need to wear a life jacket.”
On July 7, 2013, the Terasas family lost three-year-old Wyatt Dale Terasas to drowning at a public lake swim area. Since then, the family has worked to put life jackets on all children and teach water safety locally and around the state.
“We got to the hospital and found out Wyatt was not going to be coming home. (Wyatt’s father) Aaron made me promise that day that… we have to keep this from happening to any other kids or any other family and I said, ‘Okay, we will,’” Terasas said. “...(On) Sept. 2 we were out at PK giving out life jackets and sharing Wyatt’s story and then it just kind of went from there.”
The organization has been able to provide life jackets to over 2,000 children through events like Family Fun and Fishing. In addition to life jackets, the organization also provides families with scholarships for swimming lessons across the country.
Along with receiving a free life jacket at the event, families can bring gently used life jackets and exchange them for a new one.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Joshua Espinoza, who serves the Young County area, said what the organization has been able to accomplish has been amazing as he hears children in Young County share Wyatt’s story. He said families should utilize the event and get fitted for either a new life jacket or replace one that no longer fits.
“I’ve been involved working drownings of children and it’s sad, it’s horrible, and if you can prevent that with a life jacket... it’s just so easy... especially getting a free life jacket,” he said.
The Young Anglers Fishing Tournament will be open to all children 12 and under with limited poles and bait available.
“(We have) 400 fishing rods from the (Sportsman’s Club of Fort Worth). They donated them (and) I picked them up last week,” Espinoza said. “Texas Parks and Wildlife inland fisheries will be stocking the Firemen’s Park ponds on the Friday before the event.”
Prizes for the tournament will be given for Largest Fish, Smallest Fish, Most Fish, First Fish, Last Fish and Youngest Angler. All participants in the tournament must be accompanied by an adult and life jackets will be provided and required for children 12 and under fishing.
For more information about the event, visit the Remembering Wyatt Dale Water Safety organization Facebook page or their website at rememberingwyattdale.org.
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