A sisterly promise leads to hope for others
Bonnie Fuller (center), of Prairie du Chien, is the 2015 recipient of the Paula J. Tower Memorial Award for selflessly giving of her time and energy to advance the message of hope for a future without breast cancer. Pictured (from left) are Deb Kane, clinical manager, Center for Breast Care at Gundersen Health System; Jackie Wachter, nominator; Bonnie Fuller, recipient; and Paula Tower’s children, Kate and Jeff, who presented the award.
Breast cancer fishing tournament founder recognized
By Correne Martin
For exemplifying the “Power of One,” Prairie du Chien’s own Bonnie Fuller was honored at the 10th annual Steppin’ Out in Pink, Sept. 12, in La Crosse. She was the winner of the Paula J. Tower Memorial Award for selflessly giving of her time and energy to advance the message of hope for a future without breast cancer. Fuller is the founder of the Hooking for Hope fishing tournament fundraiser, held in Prairie du Chien the first Saturday in June for the past 12 years.
“I can’t describe the feeling. I was totally surprised to even be nominated,” Bonnie said. “It was awesome and overwhelming but there’s a lot of other people out there who are deserving. It was fantastic to see the entire street in pink.”
Jackie Wachter, a fellow Hooking for Hope organizer, nominated her friend for the award. “Over the years, with sometimes little help from others, Bonnie has held the fishing tournament as a promise and in honor of her sister, Karen Johnson Bowles,” Jackie said.
KJ, as her sister affectionately called her, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and passed away from the disease in April 2007.
“KJ’s favorite word was ‘hope,’” Bonnie noted. “Now, she’s dancing in the stars for me. She’s been watching out for me forever.”
Hooking for Hope started in 2004 after a conversation at The Sawmill Saloon, which Bonnie and her husband Denny have run faithfully in downtown Prairie du Chien for years. The tournament was founded as a fundraiser to help support those locally who are fighting breast cancer. But, to Bonnie, it was a way she could fulfill that promise she made to her sister.
“Through the months and years we watched Karen die, I promised her I would do something to help,” she said. “[Hooking for Hope] has been a fun thing to do, and that’s just who we are. We take a bad thing like cancer and turn it around into something good.”
Always held the first Saturday in June—because it’s free fishing weekend—Hooking for Hope boasted 65 ladies in pink fishing the Mississippi River the first year. “We decorated our pink T-shirts and basically got together to fish and have a blast. As silly as it was, it doesn’t matter; it worked. And, each year, it’s gotten a little bit bigger,” Bonnie said.
Kickoff for the tournament always begins at noon. Participants are in charge of getting their own boat, life jackets and male captain. “The rules of the river apply,” Jackie noted. During the day, some women fish and others are just along for the good times. Everyone is back at The Sawmill by 6 p.m., where fish that qualify are weighed and recorded.
The woman catching the biggest fish gets a tiara, $50 and her name engraved on a plaque that’s displayed year-round in the bar. The women with the most fish by weight and smallest without being bait are awarded $50 apiece. According to Bonnie, Bart Knight of the Pocket City Pub, of McGregor, donates the smallest fish prize in honor of Karen, who was his good friend.
A dinner follows the tournament and, in past years, has most often featured fish fried by Mike Valley, of Valley Fish and Cheese. Next, Adams Auction Service conducts an auction of prize-filled baskets and other donations. Survivors are also introduced.
“Then, the committee thanks Denny and I and there’s lots of cheering and hugging,” Bonnie said.
The night ends with live music, raffles and much more fun of course.
Over the past 12 years, Hooking for Hope participation and donations have grown greatly. This year, nearly 200 participants raised $11,000, making it the most successful year yet, Jackie said. In past years, the Susan G. Komen Foundation benefitted. This year, the committee felt it was time for a change and decided to keep all proceeds local, with $5,000 benefitting Gundersen Medical Foundation’s Steppin’ Out in Pink and $6,000 helping cancer patients through Paula’s Purse. An additional $625 in matching funds was donated by the Crawford County Tavern League to Paula’s Purse in the name of the fishing tournament.
Bonnie’s biggest wish is that a portion of each year’s proceeds go to research so no one else has to suffer from this disease. According to Wachter’s nomination, “Her motto is that promises to sisters can’t be broken, and in this fight against breast cancer, we are all sisters. Bonnie is a perfect example of how one person has helped make a difference.”
The Paula J. Tower award was established to honor Tower’s legacy and to remember the difference just one person can make. Paula Tower was a mammography technologist who worked at Gundersen for more than 16 years. In July 2004, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her body surrendered to the disease in 2007.
At the Steppin’ Out in Pink event Sept. 12, Bonnie met Paula Tower’s children, Kate and Jeff, as well as WKBT-TV personality Jennifer Livingston. All three of them hope to attend the 2016 Hooking for Hope fishing tournament. The committee has set a goal of getting 50 more participants by then, or five boats.
To keep up with what the committee has planned for next June, follow Hooking for Hope on Facebook.
Gundersen’s Steppin’ Out in Pink raised more than $400,000 this year and welcomed 6,400 walkers, including 350 breast cancer survivors, from all over the area dressed in pink for breast cancer awareness.
