PAGE, Ariz. - Children with disabilities or from disadvantaged circumstances had the opportunity to reel in a good time as they joined some enthusiastic volunteers during the first annual C.A.S.T. for Kids event on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Lake Powell Stateline Marina near Page.

C.A.S.T., which stands for "Catch a Special Thrill," is an all-volunteer fishing and boating event for disabled and disadvantaged children ranging in age from 4 years old to young adult. In addition to boating and fishing, each registered child received lunch, a fun pack full of goodies, fishing equipment, t-shirt, hat, and memories to last a lifetime.

"For some kids, this is their first experience fishing," said Kay Cowan of the Glen Canyon Field Division with Reclamation's Upper Colorado Region. "For the volunteers, it's a great opportunity to be part of a special experience that these children will always remember."

The Lake Powell event began with early morning registration where participants teamed up with boating volunteers and received t-shirts, hats, fishing poles and tackle boxes to keep. Donning life jackets, the group then headed out to begin fishing fun on the lake. After a couple of hours of fishing, volunteers returned to the shore at the Stateline Marina for lunch and a closing ceremony where they received fun packs and awards.

“The wind blew, but that didn’t matter,” Cowan said. “We still had a good time, and the kids even caught some fish. Retired [Reclamation] Commissioner John Keys joined our event and did his best to keep us all on track.”

Cowan estimates that about 25 to 30 kids from the Page area came to the event. Valerie Heath-Harrison and Pat Tease from the Upper Colorado Regional Office came to support the event, and the city of Page stepped up to the plate to support the event with donations, volunteers, boats and boat captains.

“A comment was made that it was unbelievable that we had so much support from the community. Small town living – it’s the best!” Cowan said.  “We could not have done this without the great support of the employees of the Glen Canyon Field Division and the support of the project manager, Ken Rice. And we want to thank the employees from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area as well.”

Reclamation's Pacific Northwest Region was the first region to become involved with the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation in 1991, when the foundation initially formed. Partners in the Lake Powell event include the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service's Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Reclamation_11-01-07_Lake-Powell-CAST_05.jpg