The Baddour Center put a slight spin on their annual Youth Fishing Rodeo and instead opened their lake to youth and families from 7:30am to 2:30pm on Saturday, April 30, 2022.
“After two years of slim to no events, we were so excited to be able to reopen campus for the community to catch and carry fish at their leisure,” explained Mary Dade Ford, Community Outreach for The Baddour Center. “We weren’t sure if people would feel comfortable gathering, so we didn’t want the competition aspect to add pressure to the day, which turned out beautifully.
“We were so pleased with the turn out,” Ford said. “We had more than 100 youth and special needs fishermen and family members come out to support The Baddour Center, and we are especially thankful because we had the opportunity to name the event after a long-time Baddour resident.”
A native of the greater Memphis area, Brian Ziskind has lived at The Baddour Center for over eleven years, and the fishing rodeo has always been one of his favorite events. He encourages campus visitors to attend it, and he helps staff plan the event. His family comes to fish with him each year, and they showed up again this year.
In a private lunchtime ceremony for residents, Baddour staff presented Brian with a trophy and announced that the event would be known as the Brian Ziskind Youth and Family Fishing Day from now on.
“We know how important this event is to Brian, so it was really special for us to share this moment with him and his family after a tough few years,” shared Ford, who added that the crowd cheered while Brian held up his trophy triumphantly following the announcement. “We hope the community enjoyed the event and will join us again next year.”
Special thanks to Imerys Ceramics who provided lunch for residents.
The Baddour Center is dedicated to providing a model residential community for adults with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities and autism in an environment that promotes maximum growth intellectually, spiritually, physically, socially, emotionally, and vocationally. For more information about The Center, contact Mary Dade Ford directly at 662.366.6930, by email at mford@baddour.org, or visit www.baddour.org.
