Winners were, front row, left to right, TJ Murray, Hunter Gore, Danny Peters and Jackson Ray, and, back row, Vaughn Berger, left, and Jim Reed, right are shown with winners Owen Ray and Turner Tharpe.
The Rhea Alliance hosted its fifth annual scholarship bass tournament on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 with $8,500 in scholarships awarded in the two-day tournament.
The bass tournament was open to Rhea County residents who are in the sixth through 12th grade on the day of the tournament.
The two-day event was held on Saturday, Oct. 12, on Watts Bar Lake from the Rhea Springs Boat Ramp.
Day 2 action was on Sunday, Oct. 13, on Lake Chickamauga out of the Dayton Boat Dock ramp.
The Rhea Alliance was formed in 2013 by Spring City Chamber’s Jim Reed and Dayton Chamber’s Vaughn Berger along with Dennis Tumlin who was with the Rhea County Economic & Tourism Council. Mr. Tumlin went on to being appointed Chief Customer Officer for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
It was started to promote the interest of a united Rhea County. It consists of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce, Spring City Chamber of Commerce, the cities of Dayton, Spring City and Graysville along with Rhea County, Main Street Dayton, and the Rhea County Economic and Tourism Council.
Jim Reed, co-founder of the Alliance, said, “Thanks to all those who came out to support our efforts. The Rhea County Alliance is a cooperative effort by all three Rhea County municipalities, along with county government and Chamber of Commerce from Spring City and Dayton. The Rhea County Economic & Tourism council is also involved.”
There were 30 participants in the two-day tournament on Watts Bar and Chickamauga Lakes this year.
Winners were:
Jr High School Division
Rhea Alliance Tournament Jr. High School Division winners: TJ Murray 1st place Angler, Danny Peters 1st place Co-Angler.
1st Place Angler & Co-Angler in the Jr Division each will receive $250 College Starter Fund Scholarships from Rhea Alliance.
High School Division
Rhea Alliance Tournament High School Division winners: Owen Ray 1st place Angler, Turner Tharpe 1st place Co-angler. The winners in both Angler and Co-angler will each receive $2,500 scholarships from Bryan College and $1,000 scholarships from Rhea Alliance.
The Rhea Alliance would like to thank the sponsors of the event: Bryan College, Volunteer Energy CO-OP, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, Rhea Medical Center, General Shale, City of Dayton Utility Grant, Tommy Solomon, and TVA Community Care Fund.
DOOR PRIZE & GOODIE BAG SPONSORS
The Bait Box, Jerry’s Bait Shop, Bailey Reed Motors, Town of Spring City, Jim Reed, Don Carr, Dayton Chamber of Commerce, Dennis Tumlin, TWRA, John Murray, Buddy Gross, Michael Neal, and Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.
Tournament participants