Neighbor News
Trout Unlimited's Distinguished Service Award Presented to Mack Martin
Trout Unlimited's Distinguished Service Award for Youth Education presented to Mack Martin
Mack Martin, owner of the Atlanta Fly Fishing School, recently won the Distinguished Service Award for Youth Education from Trout Unlimited. It is one of only five distinguished service awards presented annually to TU volunteer leaders.
Since the first year in 2004, Martin has spent 84 days at Georgia Trout Camp making sure that the experience is a memorable one for all the youth who attend. He meticulously plans the event to make sure that the lessons learned go far beyond the mechanics of the proper way to cast a fly rod and encompass conservation, volunteerism and community leadership.
Martin's chapter level leadership has resulted in numerous classes and clinics and a strong partnership with local Boy Scout troops on Fly Fishing Merit Badge programs. On the state level, he was instrumental in launching the first college-level TU Costa 5 Rivers Club and greatly expanding the Trout in the Classroom program.
As the leader of the educational programs at the Blue Ridge Mountain Chapter's annual "Trout Fest" event which has attracted over 10,000 visitors, Martin has helped scale up the awareness and reach of TU and its mission.
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Photo: Beverly Smith, Trout Unlimited's vice president for volunteer operations, presents the Distinguished Service Award for Youth Education. Accepting on Mack Martin's behalf are Charlie Breithaupt (l), TU Grassroots Trustee from Georgia, and Carl Riggs, Georgia Council chair.
