Frank Thomas Meets Legendary Founder of Ranger Boats

Cabbage Patch Kid Frank Thomas and Dr. Margaret McLean from BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland, Ga., met Forrest and Mrs. Wood at the FLW Outdoor Expo at the Gwinnett Civic Center this last week. Forrest L. Wood is the legendary founder of Ranger Boats. FLW Outdoor is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010.

This past weekend FLW Outdoors bass anglers from across the country came to Laurel Park on the shores of Georgia’s Lake Lanier to compete in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.  Taking first place was angler Kevin Hawk of Ramona, Calif., whose total weigh in was

[caption id="attachment_159" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cabbage Patch Kid Frank Thomas discovers bass fishing is a challenging sport. L-R Forrest L Wood, Frank Thomas, Dr. Margaret McLean, Mrs. Wood."][/caption]

50 pounds, 14 ounces, during the four day competition. The 31-year-old moved from fourth to first on his last day with a weigh-in of 14-pounds, 13 ounces. Hawk moved to Georgia nine months ago to practice on Lake Lanier to hone his skill and learn the waters that could quench his thirst for victory.

Hawk, who would have earned $500,000 for his Forrest Wood Cup victory, was pleasantly surprised when T. Boone Pickens, a new equity partner in FLW Outdoors, personally contributed an additional $100,000 to the first-place purse. Setting goals, practice and the will to win paid off for Hawk who took home $600,000 for his victory. At BabyLand, you will find Cabbage Patch Kids who want to learn to bass fish and share goals with their “adoptive parents.”

Details of the 2010 FLW Outdoor Competition are on www.ForrestWoodCup.com. Highlights of the competition on Lake Lanier will be broadcast in High Definition  on FLW Outdoors, Dec. 26th, 12:30 to 1:30 ET on VERSUS.