Our second general meeting for the 2026 Season was held on 1/18/2026 at Larrys Barn, 120 N Parkview St. Maryville, IL 62062.
28 members were in attendance plus another group of the wives were working hard on arranging the decorations and baskets for the Banquet. Thanks to their efforts we now have a good number (15+) raffle baskets for the banquet.
The meeting was started promptly at 2:30pm by president Larry Heagy after a great lunch highlighted by some Armadillo Eggs created and cooked to perfection by Larrys wife.
Larry started off with a recap of the last season and the last meeting. Ed read the meeting miuntes from the 12/21/2025 meeting and a motion made by Frank Wilcoxon and seconded by Sergio Cortes to approved the minutes. The motion passed.
Larry recapped the Let’s Go Fishing Show. It was a great sucess and had dinner at Zapatas on Saturday night that was attended by 39 people. It was great to see everyone at the show.
Bryant Stickels of Razr Rods invited Steel City to share their booth at the St. Louis Boat & Fishing Show, held at America’s Center from February 20–22, 2026. The Steel City Bassmasters greatly appreciates this opportunity and will be attending the show. We will bring our 2026 club brochure and schedule cards to distribute to anyone interested in the club. Additional information regarding the show will be provided at our February 15, 2026 meeting.
Larry and Ed discussed the annual Awards Banquet scheduled for February 7, 2026. Here are the details that were discussed. The Bass Club has provided funds to the VFW to cover drinks at the event. Once those funds are exhausted, the bar will transition to a cash bar.
Date: February 7, 2026
Location: VFW Collinsville
1234 Vandalia St.
Collinsville, IL 62234
Setup: 12:00 PM (volunteers appreciated)
Doors Open: 5:00 PM
Bar Opens: 5:00 PM
Dinner Served: 6:00 PM
Catering: Ravanelli’s Italian Steakhouse & Wine Bar Catering (Collinsville)
Menu:
- Chicken
- Roast Beef with Gravy
- Green Beans
- Cavatappi Alfredo
- Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Darren Harnetiaux will be providing desert again this year. Thanks Darin for arranging this once again.
The banquet is free for members and their invited guests, but registration is required. If you or your guests are not registered, you will be served last and may not receive a meal.
To help offset the food cost ($20.34 per plate), Raffle Tickets, 50/50 and Basket Raffle purchases are strongly encouraged.
We will have many raffle items, including raffle baskets donated by club members and organized by the Ladies Auxiliary. There are over 15 Raffle Baskets going to be at ths years banquet so be sure to bring some extra cash to spend on these baskets. If you would like to donate a Raffle Basket or any other items, please bring them to the banquet hall during setup at 12:00 PM on February 7 or contact Larry or Ed so we can arrange to get them prior to the banquet.
The next item on the agenda was the Club Officer and Boars Elections. Thanks to everyone who came to the meeting to help us select the 2026 Club Officers and Executive Board. Here is a summary of teh election results:
Club Officers:
President: Larry Heagy
Vice President: Mike Vallino
Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster: Ed Montgomery
Executive Board Members (in alphabetical order)
Denny Beiter
Rudy Cardenas
Paul Davis
Carl Gansner
Russ Rensing
Andy Shondy
Marj Wilcoxon
Larry then transitioned to discuss the tournament schedule that was approved last meeting.
- If you need a room for Lake of teh Ozarks please call Dave at Sportsmans Lodge immediately and get your room reservation in as he has other waiting to occupy the cabins that we are not using. Sportsman Lodge & Cabins at Rocky Mount, MO 29267 HWY Y, Rocky Mount, Missouri +1 573-365-1700
- If you plan to attend the Table Rock events, please submit your reservation to Lazy Lee’s as soon as possible. Lazy Lee’s is graciously allowing us to use their resort, so please do not wait until the last minute to reserve your lodging, as others will also be seeking accommodations that same weekend.
- Lazy Lee’s Resort 49 Lazy Lee Lane Branson West, MO 65737 (417) 338-2253
- The Pomme De Terre event is named the David R. Brown Memorial Tournament from a long time member of the club who passed away from a Heart Attack 8 years ago. At that time we created a perpetuial plaque for this event with 8 plates on it. This year we have filled all of those positions and would like to present the plaque to his family at the awards Banquet on February 7th. We would also encourage the winners on that plaque to be present during the awards banquet. The winners on the plaque are Joey Ozanich, Rocky Horrighs, Jack Watkins, Darin Harnetiaux and Chris Rensing.
Larry mentioned that Doug James who got us our first BullHorn for the tournament takeoffs has now rejoined the club. It was interesting to note the the Gobbler Mountain Resort at Table Rock Lake contacted Lazy Lees about to say that they heard the National Anthem and tournament takeoff from their resort over a mile away.
We noticed that the Website Menu did not have the Club Bylaws listed. Ed will fix that soon.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Sergio Cortes at 3:55pm and seconded by Brian Carlson. Motion Passed.
Lauren Bauer was the winner of the 50/50.
You must be logged in to post a comment.