Welcome to the Hope Blog!

Well, it was inevitable....welcome to the Hope Blog - the blogspot for all things Hooked on a Cure. We hope this new blog accomplishes at least two things: communicates information related to Hooked on a Cure as quickly as possible, and 2) gives you and others more reasons to check the website often!



We'll be covering a multitude of topics, from celeb updates, to fishing techniques, to ways of bidding on some of the incredible auction items you find at Hooked on a Cure - and, we invite you to post your comments! Let us hear from you....



Plans are well underway for the 2008 event - the 6th annual! And we are excited about what you will get to experience first-hand when you deciede to find out for yourself just what Hooked on a Cure is all about. As Field and Stream Editor Kirk Deeter commented after last year's event, "Now I get it - I know what it's all about, and this is now MY cause."



So, what IS it all about??? A bunch of fly fishing? Another charity tournament? YAWN.



WAKE UP!! This is like nothing you've ever encountered. As celebrity guest Chad Foster put it:



"As host of Fly Fishing America for eight years, I've had a chance to be a part of many great charity events. Every once in awhile, though, one event stands out above the rest. Hooked on a Cure has found a way to bring good people together to do great things for those special kids at St. Jude. We loved everything about the event and can't wait to return next year! "



We all agree there are multitudes of quality organziations out there - we're members of many...these groups work tirelessly to preserve our natural resources and species so that future generations can also enjoy the sports we love. At Hooked on a Cure, we try to maintain our commitment to protecting those resources too, while at the same time using our love of fly fishing to try to preserve members OF a future generation.



It's so simple, so humbling an experience. If at any time we ever begin taking ourselves too seriously, all it takes is one trip to Memphis, Tennessee and that beautiful pink hospital founded by Danny Thomas where miracles happen every day to cure a case of self-importance. It takes over $1Million a day, yes, a DAY to keep that place running, and after 5 years of work, we could keep it open for less than 5 hours. Now, that's perspective! When you think about it, we're all only one phone call, one doctor appointment, one conversation away from something that changes our lives forever....



So, go ahead, imagine what you could accomplish if you knew you wouldn't fail....if you didn't care who got the credit....few people these days can say they have not in some way been touched by the catastrophic diseases treated at St. Jude every day. If you could do something as simple as participate in a couple of days of a sport you love, while meeting new friends, rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in fly fishing, and save a child's life - wouldn't you do it???



Come on - enter the event, send a donation, or just tell a friend.....catch a trout, save a child!