FLW Tour pros tackle community service project in Tennessee

Anglers volunteer services to Senior Citizen’s Awareness Network

On June 26 eight FLW Tour anglers volunteered their services to SCAN (Senior Citizen’s Awareness Network). Operation SCAN began in 2002 under the direction of Sheriff Mike Neal. Sheriff Neal recognized that there was a great need in the Rhea County, Tenn., area for senior citizens to be helped and screened for local services including: health, living conditions, food resources, personal items including hygiene and clothing, condition of home or apartment and accessibility including ramps and medical equipment.

When a home or apartment is deemed unsafe or unlivable, volunteers go into the home and help improve conditions or help secure new housing for the seniors. The group from FLW – which included anglers Terry Bolton, Jonathan Newton, Darrel Robertson, Mark Rose, Jay Yelas, Adrian Avena, Wade LeBlanc and Rob Hick – spent the day installing drywall, fitting a bathroom sink, along with various other projects for a selected homeowner in need.

In this particular case, the homeowner and her husband had moved to the area from New York State to provide a serene environment for her severely autistic adult daughter. The couple spent their life savings moving to Rhea County and purchasing the home. In the process of fixing up the house, the husband passed away. Because the house was unfinished, authorities deemed it unsafe for the daughter to live in and placed her in a state-run facility. The work the anglers started helped get the homeowner one step closer to finishing the house in order to bring her daughter home.

In addition, several of the anglers made donations to the homeowner to help finish the remaining house projects.