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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders’ Aaron Judge tearing up the minor leagues

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders season ticket holders share a love of baseball

<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><style>
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<div class="neCaption">George Bowers (left) and his son, Connor, will hold a bass tournament on July 19 at Harveys Lake to benefit Brody Park, a 7-year old with Lesch Nyhan Syndrome. The tournament is organized by Fishing for a Cause. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Charityfishing.jpg</photo0><caption0>George Bowers (left) and his son, Connor, will hold a bass tournament on July 19 at Harveys Lake to benefit Brody Park, a 7-year old with Lesch Nyhan Syndrome. The tournament is organized by Fishing for a Cause. </caption0></div></div>
<p>George Bowers watched with admiration as groups of volunteer organizations visited children at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville with the sole purpose of giving them a reason to smile.</p><p>Bowers&#8217; newborn daughter was in the hospital&#8217;s neonatal intensive care unit at the time, and he saw firsthand how much the work of the volunteers meant to the kids.</p><p>It also meant a lot to Bowers. An avid bass angler who competes in numerous tournaments, Bowers decided to use his love of fishing to help others. The Hanover Township resident founded Fishing for a Cause, and each year the organization holds charity bass tournaments and visits children in local hospitals during Christmas to hand out fishing rods and reels.</p><p>&#8220;For that short amount of time that we&#8217;re in the hospital with the kids, they&#8217;re able to forget about where they are and they have something to look forward to - fishing - when they get out,&#8221; Bowers said. &#8220;There are a lot of causes out there, and fishing is one way to give back and help out.&#8221;</p><p>Fishing for a Cause will cast their lines at Harveys Lake on July 19 to help out 7-year-old Brody Park, who was diagnosed with Lesch Nyhan Syndrome - a disease that affects development and muscle control. Half the proceeds from the group&#8217;s Brody Park Benefit Bass Tournament will help with the family&#8217;s medical bills. The other half of the money raised will go toward the tournament winners, but Bowers said those funds are often donated as well.</p><p>&#8220;That says a lot about the local angling community,&#8221; Bowers said. &#8220;It&#8217;s through that community that this tournament came about. Brody&#8217;s father, Kevin, is a bass fishermen and through mutual friends who also fish we linked up with the family.&#8221;</p><p>Bowers&#8217; son, Connor, 18, who is a senior at Hanover Area and a member of the varsity football team, is also using the tournament as his senior project. Connor has taken on the task of organizing the tournament and he&#8217;s also selling Fishing for a Cause bracelets along with raffle tickets and sponsorships to raise money for the Park family.</p><p>Connor said the tournament is a natural fit for his senior project since he&#8217;s been helping his father with Fishing for a Cause events since the age of four.</p><p>&#8220;I love to fish and through Fishing for a Cause I really enjoy using that to help others,&#8221; Connor said. &#8220;I enjoy the outdoors and fishing, so why not use that to give back and help out? This is something that I&#8217;ve enjoyed and will continue to do throughout my life.&#8221;</p><p>The day of the tournament Connor will be at the public boat launch at Harveys Lake at 3 a.m. setting up for the tournament. His father and other bass fishing clubs in the area, including the Wayne County Bassmasters, Leggett&#8217;s Creek Bassmasters, PA Bass Casters and the PA Bass Federation.</p><p>&#8220;These tournaments require a lot of work and preparation and we always get a lot of touching letters thanking us,&#8221; George said. &#8220;But that&#8217;s not the reason we do this. You have to want to do it from your heart to help others. It&#8217;s that simple.&#8221;</p><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Fishing for a Cause will hold the Brody Park Benefit Bass Tournament on Sunday, July 19 at the public boat launch at Harveys Lake. The tournament runs from 6 a.m. - 1 p.m. with a 50-boat limit. Entry fee is $50 per boat with a $10 lunker option. There&#8217;s a five fish limit and the top three finishers based on weight will receive cash awards. The tournament is sponsored by Rinaldi Chrysler/Dodge, Schiel&#8217;s Family Markets, Major League Sports Bar, Nimrod Haven Sporting Goods, Dallas Sporting Goods, Cabela&#8217;s, Strenfel Taxidermy, Tubbies, WVCC Pro Pete Korba and All Season&#8217;s Taxidermy. For more information on the tournament or Fishing for a Cause, contact George Bowers at 570-240-0785 or georgebowersemail@gmail.com.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

A cause worth fishing for