Page 13 - 2019 MAY/JUNE Outdoor Oklahoma

DARRIN HILL/ODWC

NBA star Paul George and some happy schoolchildren celebrate the partnership between PG13's foundation and the Oklahoma Wildlife
Department's OKFITS program during a launch event in 2017 at the Oklahoma River.
By Don P. Brown, Information and Education Specialist introduced me to fishing and got me outdoors. And
now that’s something like a lost art; moreso (they are)
ow into its second year, a partnership between on Fortnite and video games all day. So I wanted to
the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife give back and reach back out to the younger genera-
Conservation and the Paul George Foundation tion and give them fishing, which is something I love
Ncontinues to inspire a new generation of young to do.”
anglers in urban Oklahoma City. The partnership kicked off in November 2017 with a fish-
This summer, the partners will be making their next ing event at the Oklahoma River. Dozens of schoolchildren
big splash by opening a kids’ fishing dock at South Lakes attended and got the chance to wet a line with the pro bas-
Park, 4210 S.W. 119th St.
It is no secret that George, the
All-Star forward with the NBA’s GOOGLE EARTH
Oklahoma City Thunder, is a fish-
ing fanatic. So during his initial
basketball season in Oklahoma
City, he reached out to the Wildlife
Department through his philan-
thropic foundation, seeking to begin
an outdoor initiative that involved
youth and fishing.
An existing Department educa-
tional program called Oklahoma
Fishing in the Schools (OKFITS)
proved to be the perfect match.
“I wanted to give back to kids,”
George said at a recent fundraiser
for the new fishing dock. “Because This simulated aerial view of South Lakes Park in Oklahoma City shows the planned location of a
new kids’ fishing dock, a joint project of the Wildlife Department, Paul George Foundation and City
my dad was the one that actually of Oklahoma City. (Google Earth Image)
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