Destin Fishing Rodeo

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Destin Fishing Rodeo

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The 58th annual Destin Fishing Rodeo is in the books -- and looks to have been a major success.

Helen Donaldson, executive director of the Rodeo, said the month-long event, which closed for the year Tuesday night, drew crowds that solidified the Rodeo as a community mainstay, despite a couple days of nasty weather. “Finally this year has proved what I’ve been saying for a couple of years now and that is that the Rodeo is a spectator sport,” she said. “Despite three or four bad weather days, we had crowds down here every single night. People have come down here like never before and enjoyed it.”

Rodeo weighmaster Bruce Cheves said the people involved with the Rodeo, his 16th as full-time weighmaster, helped make it what it was. “We had a good volume of fish and an excellent volume of people,” Cheves said. “People and fish is what makes this whole thing.” At the end of Monday night, more than 800 fish had been strung up and weighed in by Cheves (816 to be exact), a number that was certain to increase on the Rodeo’s last day Tuesday.

Donaldson said she expected this year’s fish count to exceed the 852 weighed in last year. The success of the Rodeo went beyond the fish tossed onto the barge at AJ’s for Cheves to weigh. Donaldson said she believed this year’s merchandise sales went above and beyond what anyone had anticipated. “The numbers aren’t all in but I will venture to say that this will be our most successful year ever,” she said.

The boom in sales allowed the Rodeo to offer merchandise at 50 percent off on most items for the last four days of the event. Donaldson said based on recent sales, she believed there would be little merchandise left to carry back to the Rodeo warehouse. Kayla Killian, Miss Destin 2006, said the Rodeo helped to forge bonds and helped make memories that would last a lifetime. “I met new people, made some friends and had a wonderful time, which makes the Destin Fishing Rodeo something I’ll never forget,” Killian said.

Donaldson said that as the Rodeo closes, she comes to miss the hustle and bustle of October down on the docks. “I miss the everyday excitement of the Rodeo,” she said. “But all-in-all, it’s been a good year.” Cheves said he didn’t expect to be sad when the Rodeo closed, instead choosing to look ahead to 2007. “There’s always next year,” he said.

The Rodeo formally concludes at the Awards Dinner Saturday night at AJ’s.

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