As predicted, Georgia officials today announced that planning has begun to bring a Professional Anglers Association (PAA) sanctioned event to Georgia's Lake Lanier. The event will be called the Go Fish Georgia PAA Championship and is expected to take place late this year or early in 2008. The PAA will also involve itself with the Covernor's Cup pro-am the first week of November.
Georgia governor Sonny Perdue, PAA executive director Gene Ellison, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) commissioner Noel Holcomb and Lake Lanier Islands representative Virgil Williams met with Georgia business leaders this morning to discuss the proposed tournament. Tom Mann, Jr., Mark Davis and Mike Auten of the PAA were also in attendance.
Governor Perdue noted: "This tournament is exactly what I envisioned as part of the Go Fish Georgia initiative. It'll generate excitement about fishing in Georgia, encourage families to spend time together outdoors, and provide a positive economic impact for the state and the local community. I'd love to see this tournament become an annual event in Georgia."
Holcomb said: "We look forward to working with the PAA to make this a very successful tournament that brings in the top professional anglers, gets Georgians excited about fishing in our state, benefits the local economy, and puts Georgia on the map as a fishing destination for vacation travelers. Lake Lanier is the perfect venue to accomplish all of these things."
The PAA announced that the event will feature a $1 million purse and will include a $250,000 donation to the DNR for the Go Fish Georgia initiative, as well as a $50,000 donation to the Catch A Dream Foundation. Other specifics, such as partnering sponsors, and format, were not announced.
