Bassmaster Elite Series pro Edwin Evers and performance automotive and marine battery manufacturer OPTIMA® Batteries are launching a new effort to raise awareness and funds for America’s combat-wounded Purple Heart veterans and their needs, as well as heal their physical and emotional wounds.
Together with the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation (WWIA), Evers and OPTIMA Batteries will kick off the “Healing Heroes in Action Tour” on March 14, 2015, before the official practice period for the Sabine River Bassmaster Elite Series event in Orange, Texas. The tour will continue with four more events coinciding with Evers’s travels on the tournament trail. At each event, Evers will partner with a combat-wounded Purple Heart veteran identified by WWIA to compete in a head-to-head fishing contest. The two-man challenger team will be selected by an online auction held on Evers’s Facebook page.
Tour stops include the following dates (exact bodies of water are to be announced, but will be within driving distance of Bassmaster Elite Series tournament sites):
- March 14 – Orange, TX
- April 4 – Guntersville, AL
- May 30 – Paris, TN
- July 25 – Waddington, NY
- Aug. 8 – Cecil County, MD
All money raised through this effort will go to WWIA, a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to serving our nation’s combat-wounded Purple Heart veterans by providing world-class outdoor sporting activities. The foundation will identify those who will fish with Evers and will provide transportation, lodging and assistance for them at the chosen body of water.
OPTIMA Batteries and Evers’s other sponsors including Bass Pro Shops, Lowrance, Megabass, Mustad, War Eagle, Wild River, Wiley X and Zoom Bait Company will be providing additional resources for the events and prize packages for both the veteran and the highest-bidding team, who will compete against Evers and his partner.
“Edwin Evers and OPTIMA Batteries share a deep admiration and appreciation for the sacrifice made by our troops who serve at home and abroad,” said Cam Douglass, marketing director for OPTIMA Batteries. “We decided to team up with Wounded Warriors in Action to give deserving veterans the experience of a lifetime and at the same time, raise needed funds for an organization that is all about providing healing experiences in the outdoors for those who need it most.”
For those interested in the chance to compete head-to-head against Evers and his partner, supporting this worthwhile cause and receiving a gear package from Evers’s sponsors, visit Facebook.com/EdwinEversFishing and watch for posts indicating auction times and dates.
“I hear from people all the time who say they would love to fish with or even against me,” Evers said. “Now is their chance to do just that, and to sweeten the deal, each team will get some incredible gifts from my very generous sponsors and the opportunity to help our nation’s combat-wounded veterans in a really special way.”
For more information on the Healing Heroes in Action Tour, to find out how to donate or bid on the chance to fish against Evers and his veteran partner at one of the events, please visit OPTIMABatteries.com.
