"Good things come to those who bait," Author Unknown, could be said of the 19 th Special Needs Fishing Derby held September 11, 2009 at Cherry Creek State Park, hosted by the Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council. The day was beautiful and the volunteers ready as bus after bus carrying special needs children from 19 schools from Denver, Aurora and Jefferson Counties arrived for a day of fishing and fun.

Volunteers from AMG National Trust Bank eagerly guided their buddies off the bus and on to several different stations manned by additional AMG volunteers. Captain Vic the Science Wizard, (Vic Meisinger), SuZ-Q-Z the Clown, and the Reptile Man ( Robert Wahl) were waiting in the wings to create bubbles, paint faces, and play with snakes, lizards and turtles and were only just a few of the many things to see and do. Scott Glaser with the Denver Boy Scouts, and members of Kiwanis Club of Denver volunteered with the climbing wall and boat rides. AMG employee's Ken Bauer and Steve Brett were honorary captains as they tirelessly provided their boats and boat rides around the lake. In addition, faces beamed as Joe Avila, Bob Williams and Esteban Baca, all professional s from Denver Boy Scouts, were instrumental in assuring that all the willing youth made it to the top of the climbing wall.

As a wonderful ending to the day, Tony, a quiet and shy youth indicated to his Para-professional that he wanted to try the bubbles that Captain Vic was demonstrating. Being terribly excited, Tony bit the bubbles several times experiencing the sensation. Moving on to have his face painted and being so excited about the bubbles, SuZ -Q painted bubbles on his arm so that he could take this part of his special day home.

It is the vision of the Denver Area Council Special Needs District to provide opportunities to Special Needs youth in the Denver Area to participate in Scouting programs while exposing Scouts in the Denver Area to Learning for Life program and activity. While this is the 19 th Annual Fishing Derby, Edie Pena, Special Needs District Executive and Andrea Willis, Special Needs Para-Professional with the Denver Boy Scouts, planned and executed this Fishing Derby for the past three years. Edie stated, "This gives the special needs student an opportunity to share in a Special Needs program to start off the year for the Learning for Life program." Also, special thanks to Dan Hartmann, Vice-President of Comerica Bank, who serves as the Special Needs District Chairman on the Denver Area Council Executive Board, for his leadership of this program.