Letter from the President

    This has been a challenging year, to say the least, but the folks who plan our annual event are no strangers to challenges. Efforts for the 2019 Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza didn’t even begin until April of last year yet somehow we were able to not only muster up enough support, but to pull off a successful event and raise enough money to offer scholarships to students at each of Maine’s seven community colleges.

    Not wanting to repeat that frenetic pace we got off to an early start in 2020 and were well ahead of schedule and ready to shift into cruise control when COVID hit. The months ahead were filled with question marks but we forged on. Again we were not without detractors and cynics who said we couldn’t, or shouldn’t hold our event. Ultimately, it was the fishing community, the participants and their unwavering support and encouragement that convinced us to go forward.

    It is thanks to them, and the generous sponsors that we were again able to pull off a tournament that far exceeded anyone’s expectations. Despite all the economic hardship and uncertainty, we had more boats wanting to register than we could accommodate, and had to put some on the alternates list. And despite a much smaller list of donors and supporters, we even raised more money.

    When the final accounting was done, our committee met and voted to double our support for community colleges while also establishing an endowment that will grow over time and hopefully support the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges in perpetuity. We even had enough left over to provide a scholarship that will support one of Walt Golet’s interns at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

    As you read this we’re already working on the 2021 event and hopefully a return to something resembling normal.

Tight lines and best of luck,

The CBBB Committee and Board of Directors

Bob Humphrey – President