Fisheree Report

By John Reblin

One of the really fun things I get to do in the wintertime is the Randy and Janine Memorial Fisheree. This year was the 10th anniversary of the event and it was held on January 16th at Nuckleheadz Bar and Grill located at 3680 County Hwy NN, West Bend, WI 53095 on Little Cedar Lake. As usual, the location was hopping with people stopping in to watch the Packer game and to keep track of the fish getting caught on the lake, and later to see if they were lucky to win cash or prizes.
The previous weeks were warm, and the worry was that there would not be enough of the hard water to support the people brave enough to go out on the ice to try to catch fish. But the weather Gods were looking down on the event and the cooler weather brought enough ice for people to walk out safely, along with a few brave souls taking an ATV out on the ice.
Randy and Janine were killed in a Right Of Way crash on a warm Memorial Day weekend on HWY 33 and 144 in West Bend. ABATE of Wisconsin followed this crash to ensure that ACT 466 was being used.
Sometime after the crash, Ralph Schneider and Tim Sutter were trying to think of way to keep the memory of their friends Randy and Janine alive and came up with the Randy and Janine Ice Fisheree and donating the money raised to ABATE of Wisconsin to be used to increase motorcycle awareness. This is the 10th year running of this event and with a new location it was a success. This idea was also to share the love of ice fishing with the youngsters. Randy felt strongly about getting the kids involved in the sport of ice fishing and was always willing to share knowledge of the sport.
Thank you to Nuckleheadz Bar and Grill for putting up with us during all the planning and during the event itself. Also, thank you for all the supplies you donated towards the event’s success.
Kevin Meanor brought in and donated a supply of Johnsonville brats for on the grill and “Ernie” Goratowski donated quite a few cases of fresh frozen hamburger patties, offering to be griller for the day both for lunch and during the day for snacking.
We were also surprised by the donation of a supply of gift cards from the area Fleet Farm along with many other donations from area business like pizza restaurants, oil change locations, towing services to name a few. Helping out getting door prizes was Tim Sutter, Ralph Schneider, Michelle Schommer and Luke Bostwick, they did a great job!!
Thanks also to Boyd and Sally, Hoggie, Michelle and Steve along with Dog from 1H for helping out during the day. Also, thanks to everyone that sold all those raffle tickets leading up to the event.
What did this event raise this year? Well, if I could get a drum roll for this announcement – the total for this year came to $3,435.00. Over the past 10 years this event has raised $31,789.00 which was used to increase motorcycle awareness on Wisconsin roads. Thanks and respect go to the unselfish efforts of this group of people that have worked tirelessly in raising this amount of money, by selling tickets, getting door prizes, working the event, donating all the food, labor, and personal time to contribute this much money to ABATE of Wisconsin’s motorcycle safety programs. I am sure Randy and Janine are looking down and smiling, maybe having a beer, and in their way joining everyone on the ice and at Nuckleheadz Bar and Grill. I am honored to help out at this event, words cannot express my gratitude. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart and from ABATE of Wisconsin. Your generosity means I can ride safer on the road.