Thursday, November 30, 2023

Fishing tournament to benefit foundation in honor of Wes Pak

Wes Pak died from neuroblastoma in November 2018 (WYDaily/ Courtesy of Wes' Fight Against Neuroblastoma Facebook page)
Wes Pak died from neuroblastoma in November 2018 (WYDaily/ Courtesy of Wes’ Fight Against Neuroblastoma Facebook page)

The Wes Strong Foundation is hosting a croaker tournament at the Dare Marina Saturday.

“It was a family tradition to go fishing on the Eastern Shore a lot,” said Krista Pak, founder of The Wes Strong Foundation, a nonprofit which helps local children with cancer and their families.

Pak’s son, Wes, died from neuroblastoma in November 2018. He was 12 years old.

RELATED STORY: York County remembers Wes Pak after 7-year battle with cancer

Pak said the foundation decided to host a croaker tournament to share her son’s legacy and thought it was something the community would enjoy doing.

The tournament is a family friendly event with all-you-can-eat and drink and includes a bounce house, raffles and a DJ.

First place winner gets $1,000 and a pair of Miliani sunglasses. Second place gets $500 and third place gets $250.

Proceeds of the tournament will go to the Wes Strong Foundation. Programs the foundation provide include “second chance wishes” for those who are in remission and hosting community cleanups inspired by Wes.

“His dream was to become a marine biologist,” Pak said, adding her son felt sharks got a “bad rap”. “He just wanted to protect all of the animals in the ocean.”

The Wes Strong Charity Croaker Tournament is Saturday at the Dare Marina,  821 Railway Road, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The deadline to register is Aug. 16.

Volunteers are needed. For more information or how to register, visit the Eventbrite page or the Wes Strong Fishing Tournament’s Facebook page.

Julia Marsigliano
Julia Marsiglianohttp://wydaily.com
Julia Marsigliano is a multimedia reporter for WYDaily. She covers everything on the Peninsula from local government and law enforcement agencies to family-run businesses and weather updates. Before WYDaily, she covered Hampton and Newport News for WYDaily’s sister publication, HNNDaily before both publications merged in December 2018. Julia was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Long Island, New York in 2001. A true New Yorker, she loves pizza, bagels and good Chinese food. Send comments, tips and other tidbits to julia@localvoicemedia.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmarsigliano

Related Articles

MORE FROM AUTHOR