Anglers young and old fish for a worthy cause

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August 5, 2007

By Bill Archer The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Sun Aug 05, 2007, 09:26 PM EDT

SPANISHBURG — Anglers from throughout the region got their lines wet for a good cause Sunday afternoon at the Sam’s Club Catfish Tournament at Lake Shawnee to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.

“It’s a cause that’s near and dear to me,” Greg Sackett, general manager of the Sam’s Club in Bluefield, Va., said. “This is out first catfish tournament, and it looks like we have about 50 out for the daytime part of the tournament. We expect to have a lot more out here (Sunday night) for the second tournament.”

Matthew Dillow Jr., 14, of Montcalm, cast his line way out into the lake, and slowly reeled it back to shore. The excitement built as he felt a little tug on his line.

“Reel it in,” his mother, Carol Dillow said.

As the young man brought his line in, he realize he had snared the fishing line of another angler who was sitting on the lake bank in the shadow of Lake Shawnee’s trademark haunted Ferris Wheel.

“Sorry neighbor,” Dillow called out as he waved to the other fisherman who responded with a wave.

Dillow is literally a poster boy for the Children’s Miracle Network. Within weeks of his birth, Dillow was in pain. His head started to swell, and he was diagnosed with hemangioblastoma, a rare brain tumor rarely found in infants. Things didn’t get much easier for the Dillow family until Matt had surgery at the West Virginia University Children’s Hospital, where surgeons removed the brain tissue that had caused him to have seizures since he was three years old.

“The Children’s Miracle Network is a good cause,” Carol Dillow said, “and not only because of all they have done for Matt. We tell all of our friends that if they’re having problems, they need to go to the WVU Children’s Hospital. They have been great.”

For his part, Matt Dillow — his father, Matt Dillow Sr., was fishing another side of the lake — appears articulate, adjusted and appreciative of everything. “I sure hope I win that green mountain bike with the shock absorbers,” he said after Sackett handed him a string of about a dozen tickets. Sackett bought Matt some tickets of his own so he would have a chance at some of the prizes that Sam’s Club was drawing for every hour.

“There are some big catfish in here,” Gaylord White Sr., said. “That’s the only thing I stock here.” White said he was happy to support the Children’s Miracle Network, “but there will be a lot more fishers out here later tonight,” he said.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com