“Taylor Made” took First Place Grand Slam, First Calcutta, First Combined, and Big Red

We had a total of 29 boats enter the tournament, making the 6th Annual POC Grand Slam (held Oct. 7th & 8th) the best year yet. The saying “it gets better with time” fits perfectly!

The POC Grand Slam would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us! We had some awesome donations this year for the auction – a BBQ Pit with the POC Grand Slam insignia on it, a 3D redfish cake, a beautiful hand crafted shell mirror, custom rods, art work of all sorts, and much more!

Our fishermen had some obstacles to overcome, with the wind blowing and the red tide creeping its way into our bay. They still made the best of it, caught plenty of fish and had a great time!

Personally, weigh-in time is my favorite! Anticipation…..who will have the heaviest stringer, what fish will be brought in for the “big other” pot, what team (The Reel Men of Genius) will surprise us and actually have fish to weigh-inn???! We hope to see everyone again next year for a great time!

Taylor Made team: Josh Taylor, T.J. Creators, and Bubba Taylor

Grand Slam Results

Combined Stringer
1st – Taylor Made 23.52lbs
2nd – Foul Hooked 22.24lbs
3rd – Team Anderson 21.98lbs

Grand Slam Stringer
1st – Taylor Made 12.56lbs
2nd – Team Anderson 12.34lbs
3rd – Reel Men of Genius 11.62lbs

Calcutta (Combined Stringer)
1st – Taylor Made 23.52lbs
2nd – Foul Hooked 22.24lbs

Big Red – Taylor Made 8.64 lbs

Big Trout -Team Anderson 3.84lbs

Spot Pot-Drunken Seamen 17 Spots

Big Other – Salty Dog Outfitters (Jack Fish) 21.96lbs

Team Anderson 3rd combined, 2nd Grand Slam, Big Trout

Reel Men of Genius -3rd Grand Slam Stringer

Foul Hooked -2nd Combined & Calcutta

Salty Dog Outfitters Big Other

Drunken Seamen - Spot PotDrunken Seamen - Spot Pot

The 6th Annual Grand Slam fishing tournament in memorial of our son Chris Ragusin was very successful. We would like to thank the special people who put this tournament together every year. Thanks to Brad’s cooking team from Seadrift and the Grand Slam Cookers for their special touch to our food. In the case of Brad’s Cooking Team, we didn’t even know them five years ago, and now they are part of our family. They will always have a special place in our hearts.

We would also like to give thanks to the people who donated items for our auctions. The auctions went very well. A special thanks to the buyers at the auctions. This was our best year ever.
We had twenty-eight boats this year, and they all caught fish. We actually ran out of fish and were unable to serve a few persons on Saturday. We are so sorry about this.

Thanks again to everyone who took part this year. They can feel good about taking part in something that benefits so many persons in our community in all kinds of ways.

Calvin & Sally and Family

Sally and Calvin Ragusin

A Special Thanks to Pat Ekstrom and Juanita Pool! We appreciate everything you do to help us!

Seadrift School’s Annual Veterans Day Program

All Veterans are invited to have lunch after the program.

Veterans Day marks the signing of the armistice that ended WWI on November 11, 1918. In the years following, many people observed November 11 as a special day. However, it was not until 1938 that Congress passed a bill that each November 11 “shall be dedicated to the cause of world peace and…hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.” In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veterans Day to recognize veterans of all America’s wars. Today we observe November 11 as a day to honor all those who are serving or have served in the military.

Editor’s Note: Although the Dolphin Talk enjoys being a “good news” publication, we feel that this is a subject of which our readers need to be aware.

If you think that slavery ended more than 100 years ago, you are sorely mistaken. There are currently 27 million people in our world who are currently held in some sort of captivity. And here’s perhaps an even more shocking statistic: 300,0000 of these unfortunates are being held in our own country! (FBI statistics) And you might be even more surprised to learn that the city of Houston is currently designated as the U.S. capital of sex trafficking. By law enforcement’s best count, there are 127 active brothels in that city.

Sex trafficking is the number one criminal enterprise in the world. The average age of its victims is 11 to 17 years. Their average lifespan is 5 to 7 years. Some are runaways who have naively misplaced their trust in a smooth-talking, classy-looking guy who offers to help them. Many are captured with promises of a domestic job or marriage to a U.S. citizen. Unbelievably, some are sold by their families, and some are brazenly kidnapped. Frighteningly, the ages of victims are beginning to lower, down to age 5 to 7, and the reach of this criminal activity is extending into the suburbs.

According to those girls who have been rescued, they were viciously violated, threatened and brainwashed, and sometimes drugged. A girl rescued from this treatment has physical and untold psychological damage, which makes transitioning to a “normal” life almost impossible.

That’s where “Home of Hope” has determined to change things. The facility, located in Houston, and one of only a few such facilities in the country, is scheduled to open the first of the year and will offer long-term medical, psychological, educational, and spiritual help to girls who have been liberated from their slavery. Currently, when the FBI busts a brothel, they can only keep a victim up to 48 hours. For girls who have no family to take them back and support them, there is no aftercare.

Jeanine Sullins is currently traveling the state to promote awareness of this blight on our country and to raise needed funds for Home of Hope. “God created us to be free to serve Him,” said Jeanine at her October 23nd presentation at Fisherman’s Chapel. “We must be a voice for those who don’t have a voice. We are called to be advocates.”

“When I consider the magnitude of this evil, and the fact that it could not exist and grow without the complicity of corrupt lawyers, doctors and judges, I cannot declare ‘God Bless America’, but rather must implore, ‘God Save America’,” said Mrs. Sullins.

Mrs. Sullins said the first thing an individual can do to fight against this situation is to “start where you are”. Do what you can to prevent children from being potential victims by reaching out to children and families in your community. Go on-line and research “sex trafficking in Texas”. And very importantly, if you observe anything at all that looks suspicious, call the National Hotline at 888-373-7888.

To learn more about sex trafficking in the United States, and how you can help its victims, go to: www.homeofhopetexas.com

Oct. 28: Robert Lewis; Lisa Paige; Ted Sonnier; Ben Mullins; Jimmy Scott

Oct. 29: Sally Ragusin; Bob McGee Oct. 30: Candice McLemore; Nancy Childers; Paul Gonzales

Oct. 31: Autumn Hrncr; Misty Sonnier Kivadeaux

November 1: Britanny Murphy; Miles McCoy; Shelsea Scott; Hilda Villarreal; Charles E. Maxwell

Nov. 2: Clyde Holloway; Billie Jo Klein; Gage Stringo

Nov. 3: Ricky Morales; John Jordan; Jacob Diaz; Albert “Ace” Pavlicek

Nov. 4: Winnie Davis; Armando Moreno Jr.

Nov. 5: Adolfo Covarrubias; Chris Napier; Tonya Carriles; Rick Scott

Nov. 6: Howard Lewis; Curtis Fowler; Joe Garcia; James Morales; Theresa Nguyen

Nov. 8: Michelle Hallford; Elizabeth Williams

Nov. 9: Holly Quinn; Slyvia Palmer; Rodney Guice, Sr.

Nov. 10: Dell Weathersby