- November 21, 2024
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Fishing brings Flagler Sportfishing Club member Jeff Murphy a lot of joy.
“Every single time I go, I learn something. Every single time,” he said. “There’s a lot of joy in fishing.”
Since moving to Palm Coast two years ago from Virginia, Murphy has combined his love of fishing with his desire to give back to the community by mentoring children through the Flagler Sportfishing club’s Kids4reel program. The program works with teachers to take around 10 kids out from school once a month to teach them about fishing and conservation.
Murphy said the program combines his passion for fishing with mentoring children in the community.
“One of the greatest joys is to see a child, 10 or 11 years old, catching their first fish,” he said. “I'm not sure who's more excited, them or me.”
One of the greatest joys is to see a child, 10 or 11 years old, catching their first fish,” he said. “I'm not sure who's more excited, them or me.”
— JEFF MURPHY, FSC member
Murphy said when he worked in the corporate world in Virginia, he began volunteering there with a mentoring program for children and said he found it a rewarding way to give back to the community.
The Kids4reel program is only a couple years old, and Murphy was one of the people who helped kick it off.
While the individual schools manage their own programs, Murphy said, Flagler Sportfishing helps sponsor the program at the school, providing seed money, fishing rods and reels and, each month, the experience of several Sportfishing adult club members to teach the kids about fishing, conservation and working with others.
The program started at Bunnell Elementary School with Tom Westly, a math and science coach. A parent came to him asking for help finding a positive role model for their sons to take them out on activities like fishing, Westly said.
Westly said he was connected to Murphy at Flagler Sportfishing Club and through that, Kids4reel was born.
What started as a way to connect with troubled kids at the school has evolved to include rewarding kids who’ve done well or even new students who need help making friends. Regardless of who is sent, Westly said, the program has made a positive impact at Bunnell Elementary.
“Having a positive interaction with adults who treat you like a grown up and ask you about your future — it's not as normal for our students as it might be for a different area,” he said.
Murphy has volunteered at almost every Kids4reel outing they’ve had since the beginning, Westly said.
“He's been a real positive role model for us,” Westly said. “He talks to him like they're adults and asks them about themselves, teaches them how to fish … he's got a talent for getting past the kids’ shells.”
The program is now at five Flagler County schools: Bunnell Elementary, where it began, Belle Terre Elementary, Wadsworth Elementary, Rymfire Elementary and, just recently, Indian Trails Middle School.
When he goes out with the schools and kids, Murphy said, sometimes he’ll ask the teachers what child needs extra help. He tries to connect to the child and show them the joys of fishing.
“I don’t characterize what help means,” he said. “They just say, go talk to that person.”
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Jessica DeFord wrote in an email that Murphy is the type of person who makes it a priority to make a difference for others.
“He is one of those special individuals who truly cares,” she wrote. “He builds meaningful relationships and lasting connections with kids for no other reason than to do a good thing.”
Sportfishing Club treasurer Deb Marinco said Murphy has been one of the lead advocates behind Kids4reel.
“He just has a dynamic way of showcasing this whole program,” Marinco said. “He’s the right guy for this.”
She said that Murphy took the idea and ran with it. He’s been promoting Kids4reel, reaching out to schools and connecting with businesses to arrange sponsorships.
At the end of the day, [the kids] they’ve made friends, they've learned how to fish,” she said. “And it's really all because of Jeff."
— DEB MARINCO, Flagler Sportfishing treasurer
Marinco said on the days she volunteers with Kids4reel, it warms her heart to see the kids fish for the first time.
“At the end of the day, [the kids] they’ve made friends, they've learned how to fish,” she said. “And it's really all because of Jeff.”
Some of the kids in the Kids4reel program are there because they need to connect with someone, she said. Murphy helps them by connecting with one child at a time or, in groups, going over and making sure all the children are talking together.
“He’s not in this halfway, he’s in this 500%,” she said. “It’s a team effort but he just puts that magic behind it.”
Murphy said fishing is rewarding to him in so many ways: the camaraderie of fishing with friends, the challenge of the sport and the joy of catching and releasing a fish. But helping children and teaching them to fish is “the most gratifying.”
“It's been extremely rewarding,” Murphy said. “And I think I plan to do that for the foreseeable future.”
