UNITY – The hand of fate may have played a role in one of the more unusual coincidences ever to occur since the Unity College Fishing for Scholarships Tournament began in 2003. On Sunday, July 22, incoming first-year student Drew Houser of Northborough, Mass., competed in his first Fishing for Scholarships tournament. The tournament brought back many memories for Houser whose father, Gary, a 1977 graduate of Unity College, died in 1992 when his small plane crashed into Unity Pond, site of the Fishing for Scholarships tournament.

 

Anglers and their partners make a mad dash into Unity Pond at the start of the Fifth Annual Unity College Fishing for Scholarships Derby on Sunday. MARK TARDIF

Fishing with Houser was Joe Bellerose of Troy, also a 1977 graduate of Unity College and best friend of Gary Houser. Best friends while at Unity College, Gary and Joe continued their friendship after they graduated. Often they vacationed together with their families, flying to locations like the Bahamas in Gary’s small plane. So when Gary passed away tragically in 1992, Joe stepped in and became a mentor to Gary’s young son Drew. When Drew applied to Unity College for entry as a first-year student beginning in the Fall semester of 2007, he wrote in his application essay about how Joe had opened his eyes to the wonders of nature.

It was only natural that Drew chose Joe as his fishing partner during the tournament on Sunday. Though neither Drew nor Joe was very lucky during the tournament, they had a great time. Drew’s mother, Andrea Houser of Northborough, Mass., enjoyed the day as well, helping out as a tournament volunteer on the boat devoted for use by members of the media covering the tournament.

As the horn signaling the end of the tournament blew at 2:30 p.m., tournament organizer Joe Saltalamachia, the Associate Director of Admissions at Unity College, was excited because he knew that for the first time in the five-year history of the tournament, one student would be receiving a full-year tuition waiver valued in excess of $18,000.

The fish tagged with the one-year tuition waiver was caught by tournament volunteer Nelson Beaudry of Windsor, as he was working on the motorized safety boat for the tournament. Beaudry is the father of James Beaudry, also of Windsor, a third-year student who was competing in another boat. Because Nelson caught the fish tagged while working in the motorized safety boat, the tournament rules prohibited him from giving the tuition waiver to his son James. Instead, the one-year tuition waiver went into a drawing held immediately after the tournament at the outdoor amphitheatre a few miles away on the campus of Unity College. Every student participant in the tournament was eligible to win the drawing for the full-year tuition waiver. Drew Houser, who was joined on the amphitheatre stage by Joe and his mother Andrea, won the one-year tuition waiver. Soon Drew made a point to find James Beaudry, son of the man who caught the tagged fish that led to his good fortune, and thanked him. Beaudry said he was glad that Drew won the drawing for the one-year tuition waiver. “What a way to begin your college career, winning a waiver for your first year,” Saltalamachia said. “I think people feel like maybe Drew’s father Gary helped guide the hand in that drawing.”

The drawing was picked by two-year-old Ella Sawyer of Monroe, daughter of Assistant Director of Admissions Jonathan Sawyer and Administrative Assistant to Facilities and Public Safety Aimee Sawyer.

Over 400 students, invited guest participants and volunteers took part in the tournament. There was $320,000 in scholarship money available in tagged fish. Over $25,000 in scholarships and prizes was won. The catch-and-release tournament is the largest one-day, nonmechanized fresh water fishing derby in the United States. It is also the only collegiate fishing for scholarships tournament held in the United States.

 

Josh Whalen, left, a Wildlife Management major from Exeter, who caught a fish with a $2,500 tag poses with Associate Director of Admissions and tournament organizer Joe Saltalamachia, and Drew Houser, who won a one-year tuition waiver valued in excess of $18,000. MARK TARDIF