Record derby turnout helps cancer groups

With a record 526 anglers on McGregor Lake for The Lodge at McGregor Lake’s annual fishing derby, local cancer organizations got a nice surprise when the checks were cut.

Mike and Carolyn Feldmann, proprietors of the lodge, worked with Flathead Beverage to match charitable donations to Save a Sister and Prostate Cancer Awareness, two local organizations helping those afflicted by cancer.

This year each group got $2,104 to help with breast and prostate cancer screenings.

Clell Hoffman, founder of the Prostate Cancer Awareness organization, said in his second year as a recipient of the Feldmann’s derby money that he was as thankful as ever.

“I remember when [Carolyn] called me last year I was flabbergasted and grateful,” he said. “We get so much help from the community. It is wonderful.”

Jeff Carter, with Flathead Beverage, joined with The Lodge at McGregor Lake after Carolyn Feldmann expressed disappointment at missing the mark of $1,000 to each charity last year, netting $978 from the 489 entrants.

“I knew how much it meant to her,” Carter said. “So I thought we’d match it, and they have been such good customers of ours.”

The derby had 70 different sponsors and gave door prizes totaling more than $11,000.

The winning lake trout, a 17-pound, 13-ounce specimen, netted $1,315 for 17-year old Tim Carvey. A 4-pound, 13-ounce rainbow trout was worth $1,052 for Dave Broeder of Kalispell.

Private donations toward Save a Sister and Prostate Cancer Awareness trickled in, underscoring the positive reaction of the charities chosen.

“When we told the fishermen which organizations we were donating to this year, the place erupted,” said Mike Feldmann.

Past charities included the Marion School and Marion Fire Department. The Feldmanns expanded to charities affecting Lincoln and Flathead counties as more and more entrants came to the derby.

A local pilot flew over the derby and took some photos of the word “PINK” some anglers had stamped in the snow.

Tagen Vine, president of the Kalispell Regional Healthcare Foundation, was at the lodge on Monday to accept the check on behalf of Save a Sister.

The organization, which provides free screenings to women and men in Western Montana, was also tipping a bit of its own men’s health money toward Hoffman and the Prostate Cancer Awareness group.

With nearly nine inches of ice, the weather held enough for the ice fishing derby to be a smashing success for the lodge.

“It’s all about the weather and the ice,” Carolyn Feldmann said. “This year we had both.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.