Keith Antell, right, and Dave Posey, Lamb Lake Bass Club members, offered to drive down 10 generators donated by the club to Mayfield, Kentucky, on Dec. 20. The club used surplus from a holiday fund providing clothes and toys to area children to purchase the needed generators for residents impacted by the devastating tornado in early December.
The Lamb Lake Bass Club landed its most important catch yet.
The southern Johnson County fishing club, which has been together for about 40 years, spends the year raising money to buy clothes, toys and other items for local children in need. With a surplus of funds this year, they were searching for another way to help others.
Their attention turned to the devastated community of Mayfield, Kentucky, which was destroyed by a tornado on Dec. 11 and 12.
In a matter of days, club members had located 10 generators they could buy, a reputable organization working in the Mayfield area to distribute the generators and two members who could drive the items to Kentucky.
The efforts have ensured that a few of Mayfield’s many displaced residents can be back in their homes for the holidays.
”To get these families into their homes on Christmas, that’s so rewarding. It’s a way to help some people get comfortable in the midst of this whole mess that they’re dealing with down there,” said Joyce Campbell, co-chair of the Lamb Lake Bass Club Cloth-A-Child fund.
The Lamb Lake Clothe-A-Child fund has been a tradition among the bass club — and the lake community as a whole — for more than three decades. Club members spend the year raising money, including hosting a hog roast, online auction, raffle and this year, an impromptu Polar Bear Plunge.
The club raised $14,686 over the course of the year.
Over the course of the Clothe-A-Child fund, club members have developed relationships with area schools and the United Way of Johnson County to get the names of families who were struggling and could use some assistance around the holidays.
After purchasing the clothing and toys for the families they received, fund co-chairs Campbell and Pam Gaertner found that the club still had funds left over.
“After we got the names from the schools, we found out that we still had plenty of money,” Campbell said. “My husband suggested buying toys and clothes for families down in Mayfield.”
Club officials quickly pursued some relief effort for the people of Mayfield, many of whom lost their homes in the tornado, and more of whom are still dealing with damage and power outages in the area.
Campbell was able to make contact with His House Ministries, a church based in Mayfield that has been at the center of relief efforts. Ministry leaders told her donations had been pouring in since the disaster.
“They said they didn’t need toys, they didn’t need food, they didn’t need water — they had plenty of that. But what they did need was generators,” Campbell said.
With many still without power in the city, residents have been unable to return to their homes. People are staying in shelters, or staying with family and friends, she said.
Gaertner, co-chair of the Cloth-A-Child fund, contacted Indianapolis-based Northern Tool Co. about buying home generators, as well as oil and other supplies needed to run them. Northern Tool was able to round up 10 generators through its other stores, and provided the club with a discount to purchase the items.
The Lamb Lake Bass Club approved making the purchase, and Sunday, the generators were secured. Two club members —David Posey and Keith Antell — loaded up the generators on a trailer on Monday and drove the approximately 300 miles to Mayfield.
The whirlwind donation was unexpected for the bass club. But to be able to use their resources to help a group of people who are hurting so badly made all the hard work worth it, Campbell said.
“When you find a need and you can meet that need, it feels great. That’s the important part,” she said. “Sometimes you give money to a cause, but you don’t know where that money goes. To have something so specific, that makes you feel good.”
