Spearheaded by a core group from southeastern North Carolina, fishermen from all along the east and gulf coasts have responded with incredible support for “one of their own”, who is suffering from a brain tumor. Early in the year, James “Buster” Gunter, of Conway, South Carolina was diagnosed with a rapidly growing brain tumor, with complications to possibly become life-threatening. Buster, a member of the Sea Horse Fishing Team, which competes on both the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish and Southern Kingfish Association tournament trails, is well known and liked by fellow competitors the entire range of the tournament trails. As the news of his ailment and situation spread through the fishermen, after asking about his exact state of health, the next question was always “What can I do to help?”
Gunter’s first diagnosis was of a rapidly growing brain tumor. It was putting pressure on his optic nerve and causing vision difficulties and severe headaches. An aggressive program of chemo treatments has significantly slowed the tumor, but his doctors say it is currently inoperable.
Several complications have arisen, including a severe sinus infection that must be dealt with, before continuing anything other than chemo treatment on the tumor. Despite the setbacks, Gunter remains optimistic and said sometime in the near future he hopes to rejoin his friends and go fishing.
Gunter, who is self-employed, has been unable to work for several months while normal bills continue to come in. His family’s growing debts are compounded by the medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Several fishermen have organized efforts to help Gunter and his family through these difficult times. One of the first efforts was a collection and raffle of many donated items, with the proceeds being donated to the Gunter family. This effort is headed up by Jeff Reid, of the Backlash Fishing Team. Reid is a Sanford, N.C. fire fighter and has experience in several similar efforts.
Items donated for the raffle include fishing tackle, entry into tournaments, tools, service packages, auto and truck accessories, and much more. Reid said the response from both folks wanting to offer items for the raffles and folks wanting to purchase tickets has been incredible.
Reid said many fishermen and businesses across the southeast have the raffle tickets for sale. Drawings will be held weekly and often at the Captains Meeting for tournaments. Persons with donations, wishing to sell tickets or seeking tickets may contact Reid at 919 776 6142 or j.reid@charter.net. A list of the many prizes is posted in the News and Forums Sections on-line at kingfishconnection.com.
A second program to assist Gunter is a Papal fund with Bank of America. It is listed as the James “Buster” Gunter Fund, account # 002374555373. You can make donations at any Bank of America in the country. If you do not have A BOA convenient to you, please mail your gift to Scott Buff, 701 W. West St., Southport, NC 28461. For more details, you may also contact Scott at the Southport Fishing Center. The business number is 910-454-4000 and his cell phone is 910-294-1463.
A third program to aid Gunter is a special Tournament Within a Tournament (TWT) being conducted at the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tournaments. The TWT will donate the first 30 per cent to the Papal fund at Bank of America and the remaining funds will be split on 50-30-20 percentages and awarded to the top 3 participants in the TWT. This is being handled by Perry Johnson of the Marcia D Fishing Team and details will be available at the Captains Meetings of the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish events.
While items continue to be offered, as of May 1, the items for the weekly raffles included:
Fishing Trip (½ or full day)—Jolly Roger Charter Boat
Chum Grinder—Reel Gator Fishing Team
Spray on bed liner (www.bedliner.com) –Team Cool Profits
RV Unit Air Conditioner (2)—Team Offshore Carolina
Landscape Package ($2,500 value)—Landscape Solutions / Team Germinator
Raymarine Auto Pilot—Capt. Danny Ashley
Bean Bag Seat of choice—E-Searider
Penn Downrigger—Hilton Head Boating Center
Penn Downrigger Rod Mount—Libra Fishing Team
12 Ribbonfish Turbo Rattler Rigs— www.turborattler.com
Chum Gift Certificate—Capt. Marks Chum
Realtime-Navigator (Full service subscription)—Tom Hilton
Tournament Entry—East Coast Got-Em-On Classic
$300 Gift Certificate to Cobb’s Corner—Capt. Ty Cobb
Tackle Package— www.kingfishgear.com
Tournament Entry—Greater Wilmington King Mackerel Tournament
Tournament Entry—FLW Kingfish Series
Shimano Speedmaster Reels (4)—Team SEAMENT
SPRO Extendable Gaff—Team Young Guns
Custom Entertainment Center—Ernie Diloreti Woodworks (Team Donna’s Worry)
Marine Fire Extinguishers (2-5# with brackets)—Team Main Event
Tournament Entry—Rumble in the Jungle (Sport222)
Flowmaster Cat-back Exhaust System—Salt and Battery Fishing Team
Tournament Entry—TKA Tournament (Team Lured Away)
$100 Gift Certificate to Ocean Isle Fishing Center—Capt. Brant McMullen
Dave Workman Series Kingfish Rods (4)
KINGFISH KOFFIN—Team KINGFISHKOFFIN
Tournament Entry—Grove Slam Tournament (Team HeaVEEweight)
Dewar’s 12 Premium Scotch (2 bottles)—Team HeaVEEweight
Hook and Tackle shirts (12)—Team HeaVEEweight
Tournament Entry—King of the Cape Classic
NOTE FROM JEFF REID: Any item that is won by someone that is regional specific…ex spray on bed liner or the landscaping package, or a tournament entry that you cannot make…..I have a person who is interested in the possibility of buying some or most of the prizes back….or the possibility of reselling them so a winner will not be getting a prize that is of no value to him or her. I agree with that and it will also open up the ticket sales to many different categories of people and not just fishermen…Just food for thought…you will not hurt anyone’s feelings selling an item you have won. Thanks.
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