Almost 20 years ago, three brothers decided to honor the memory of their father Johnny William Rose, a U.S. Navy veteran and longtime firefighter, by carrying on with the family tradition of fishing and created Hillsborough Sportfishing Club.
For 17 years, the nonprofit's annual North Carolina Offshore Challenge, a public tournament held in Morehead City around Armed Forces Day, has been giving back through charitable donations and sponsoring fishing trips for veterans.
“If you want to help the veterans, you have to involve the general public,” said Terry Rose, club president. “We’re trying to do good.”
On Saturday, tournament co-sponsor Marine Federal Credit Union chartered the Nancy Lee out of Swansboro to take veterans from the Onslow County area offshore for a day of leisure bottom fishing. By the end of the day, the crew had a large cooler full of keepers, mostly sea bass and banded rudderfish, a few rare catches and a small shark.