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Steve Fleming
Communications Director
Mercury Marine
Phone: 920-929-5340
Fax: 920-926-2346
Email: steve_fleming@mercmarine.com
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Gary Ellis
Redbone Foundation
Phone: 877-5-FISH-CF or 305-664-2002
Email: gredbone@bellsouth.net
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2008
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Zeuske, Dolphins quarterback Beck win top prizes at Hawks Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament
See Tournament Results
MARATHON, Fla. (April 29, 2008) - Floridian David Zeuske of Ponte Verda Beach and Miami Dolphins quarterback John Beck won the two high profile awards at the Hawks Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament that ended Sunday.
Zeuske was named Grand Champion Angler after snaring five tarpon on bait, and Beck was named Celebrity Grand Champion after catching and releasing five tarpon of his own. The event is one of approximately 30 Redbone Celebrity tournaments that are held each year, with all proceeds benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). Redbone events raised $1,568,000 in 2007 alone, and have raised more than $11 million in 20 years.
The Hawks Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament is part of the Redbone @ Large Celebrity Tournament Series. All fish had to be 18 inches in overall length to qualify as a legal release, and the tournament had three tackle divisions: artificial, spin/plug and fly tackle. Twenty-eight anglers participated in the event, catching and releasing 21 tarpon.
Zeuske's guide was Capt. Rich Tudor, who was also the guide for Beck. Grand Champion Lady Angler was Deborah McCutchen of Duck Key, Fla; her guide was Capt. Scott Meyer.
Financial support from the Redbone events has allowed tournaments such as the Hawks Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament to help CFF make tremendous progress in the field of cystic fibrosis research and care. The median age of survival for a person with CF has improved from early childhood in the 1950s to 36.8 years today. Cystic fibrosis continues to be a critical health matter, however, as most individuals with the disease must battle chronic lung infections for their entire lives. At least one person dies from CF each day.
CFF's mission is to assure the means to cure and control the genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 children and young adults in the United States.
Redbone founder Gary Ellis and his wife, Susan, have supported CFF for two decades, not only because of its innovative and effective research efforts, but also for a very personal reason: their daughter, Nicole, was diagnosed with CF as an infant in the mid-1980s. Nicole is now thriving in the corporate world of international marketing, and she has witnessed - first hand - the advances made in the treatment of the disease.
The seeds for the Hawks Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament were planted in 1988, when anglers, fishing guides and sports celebrities organized a tournament in this Florida Keys village. The ground rules were simple - to win, the angler must catch and release at least one redfish and one bonefish.
The inaugural Islamorada event was a huge success, and spawned the "redbone" moniker. The current format of the individual tournaments includes freshwater, offshore and flats fishing.
The environments in which the Redbone events take place have played a critical role in their success. The Florida Keys, for instance, contain miles of clear flats with acres of turtle grass and marl, features that create a welcoming habitat and a diverse fishery that includes bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish and snook. Tournaments are also held in such diverse locations as Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Costa Rica, Pennsylvania, Ohio, the Bahamas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Louisiana.
Mercury Marine, the official outboard engine of the Redbone events, began its support of the Series in 1992. For two decades, this collection of events has drawn the attention and support of big-name celebrities such as the late baseball great Ted Williams, baseball stars Mike Schmidt and Wade Boggs, football legends Boomer Esiason, Jim Kelly and Ken Stabler, and the late broadcasting icon Curt Gowdy.
For more information on the Redbone @ Large Celebrity Series and/or the Hawks Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament, visit on-line at www.redbone.org or call 305-664-2002 or 1-877-5-FISH-CF.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization committed to finding therapies and ultimately a cure for cystic fibrosis, and to improving the lives of those with the disease. For more information, visit www.cff.org.
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