Bryant Thigpen
Contributor
Legendary Bass Fisherman Hank Parker will be the guest speaker at the Sixth Annual Beast Feast at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Florida. The event will take place on Saturday, January 18, at 6 p.m. Admission is free. There will be dozens of items, including hunting and fishing gear given away during the event. The Beast Feast will be an evening of fun for the whole family.
According to his biography, Parker has enjoyed a storied professional bass fishing and outdoor television host career that continues to grow each season. His accomplishments on the professional bass fishing tournament trail support the fact he is one of America's greatest bass fishermen to ever compete. Bryant Gumbel, former host of the CBS Morning Show, best described Hank Parker when introducing him as “the rod-n-reel answer to Michael Jordan, in popularity and talent!"
Parker's professional fishing career started in 1976 when he began fishing the National Bass Association Tournament Circuit, winning their national championship in his first season. For the following two years, he fished both the National Bass Association and American Bass Association. With this success and help from newly acquired sponsors, Hank fished the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.
During his time on the Bassmaster circuit, he won the Bassmaster Classic in 1979 and 1989. Also, he was the first angler to win the B.A.S.S. Grand Slam of Bass Fishing, which includes the Classic, B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year, and the B.A.S.S. SuperBass Tournament. Amazingly, Hank finished "in the money" in 76 percent of the tournaments he fished during his B.A.S.S. career.
In 2003, Hank was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, and in 2006, he was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame. Then, in 2014 he was inducted in the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame. Additionally, Parker is a crowd favorite. He was voted as one of the top 10 greatest anglers of all-time in ESPN's Greatest Angler Debate and listed as one of the 35 most influential people of bass fishing by Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.)
Everyone is welcomed to bring a wild-game dish to share and to wear your favorite camo gear. The event will be filled with the best wild game supper, dozens of giveaways and much more!
St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church is located at 5905 NW Lovett Road in Greenville, Fla. For more information, please visit www.SJMBCGreenville.com, Facebook.com/SJMBCGreenville, or call (850) 464-0114. We look forward to seeing you there.