In 1988, Sandy Luksic, a Middletown bus driver aide, had a creative idea to hold a fishing derby for her special needs bus riders. It started at Lake Monroe with 6 children and their families. She organized fishing supplies, food, entertainment, and door prizes for this annual event. After the initial 5 years, the event grew to include more children every year after.

 

In 2016, most of the original committee members were ready to pass the derby to another group. Rex & Denise Jaeger joined their committee to shadow the 2016 derby and planned to take over the following year. Denise is an occupational therapist with 20 years of experience helping children and adults with disabilities. Rex has competed on the FLW/B.A.S.S. regional and national fishing levels.  

 

In 2017, we changed the group name from Handicapped Fishing Derby to Hook-A-Heart Foundation. We continued to grow our board with others that wanted to support the special needs community. Over the next couple years, we tried different venues to find the best fit for our derby. Sandy continues to be a part of Hook-A-Heart Foundation and is helping us to continue her amazing vision.