It was a chilly start to Empire Group’s Annual Fishing Rodeo and Picnic on Sunday, October 8th. Held at Todd and Karen O’Neill’s farm, Empire Group employees and their families enjoyed a fun morning of fishing and prizes, which ended with a great lunch. There was a great turnout for the event with 60 people attending. To get everyone warmed up, a table of assorted drinks and coffee with pastries was set up. The action started around 9:00 a.m. and lasted until 12:00 p.m.
The property contained three ponds of different sizes to provide budding fisherman (and fisherwomen) their choice of spots to cast their lines. When not fishing, people explored the beautiful farm. The kids got an up-close look at the animals, which included baby yaks, camels, donkeys, goats, and bison. The camels were happy being fed treats from Chuck Lightcap’s (Empire Services) granddaughter, Marlow Snyder, and Chase Oesterling, Glenn Oesterling’s (Elk) son. The farm also provided a great spot for lunch overlooking the ponds.
We were treated to delicious hotdogs and burgers along with French fries and drinks from the On Fire Youth Ministries food truck. After lunch, we enjoyed watching the kids receive prizes. There were a number of awards culminating with the grand prize winner who caught the most fish - Jake Oesterling with 16 fish. Congratulations Jake! And every child who attended was gifted a Wal-Mart gift card.
As the fishing rodeo came to an end, we all had fun stories to share. No matter the affiliate company, the employees of the Empire Group come together to take part in many of the family-oriented events held by the company. We would like to thank Todd and Karen O'Neill and Russ Oswalt for putting on this great event once again. We hope to see everyone back next year!