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16 | <strong>01940</strong><br />
PAA Lifetime Achievement Award<br />
in 2015, which was presented to<br />
him that same year at the PAA<br />
Corporate Cup Awards Dinner in<br />
Florence, Ala.<br />
“This award represents the<br />
highest achievement in professional<br />
bass fishing, and we do not plan<br />
on handing this award out on a<br />
regular basis," PAA Executive<br />
Board member Tim Horton said<br />
during the presentation. "As the<br />
first recipient of this award, we want<br />
to recognize Gene’s unparalleled<br />
commitment to building and then<br />
guiding the Professional Anglers<br />
Association, growing the sport of<br />
bass fishing, introducing children<br />
and families to our sport, as well as<br />
his devotion to conservation efforts<br />
and his performance as a successful<br />
tournament angler.”<br />
Ellison, a former PAA executive<br />
director, has also received the<br />
B.A.S.S. Federation Dedication to<br />
Children Award (2010). A youth<br />
hockey coach for more than 25<br />
years, Ellison received the CAN-<br />
AM Challenge Cup Fair Play<br />
Sportsmanship Award (2001)<br />
and the New England College<br />
Development League Coach of the<br />
Year Award (2000).<br />
Ellison represents several major<br />
fishing and boating companies, too:<br />
Bass Pro Shops, Mercury Marine,<br />
Berkley and Nitro Performance<br />
Fishing Boats. He displays a myriad<br />
of their logos on his fishing shirts,<br />
NASCAR style.<br />
Ellison also carved out a career as<br />
a financial/insurance advisor. Even<br />
in the suit-and-tie world of business,<br />
Ellison managed to find a way to<br />
lure more families into fishing with<br />
numerous corporate-supported,<br />
family-friendly fishing festivals.<br />
"I've done a lot of things, but<br />
my passion right now is outdoor<br />
sports," Ellison said. "Whether it's<br />
camping, kayaking, fishing, birding, I<br />
want to help kids develop a lifetime<br />
love of outdoor life. I want to reach<br />
out to kids everywhere, especially<br />
minority communities, so they know<br />
that there are so many benefits to<br />
being outdoors and away from their<br />
technology even if just for a half<br />
hour a day."<br />
Ellison and his wife, Kate, have<br />
three children: daughters Colleen<br />
and Julie, and son Phillip.<br />
POISED TO CAST — Lynnfield's Gene Ellison is an all-around outdoor sportsman.
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