At Hudson High School, the wide variety of school clubs is always expanding. From Origami Club to Model UN, every club is unique and important to the school. The amount and assortment of clubs allows for all HHS students to easily find friends and peers with similar interests and overall creates for a more inclusive school. One of the most recent additions to the HHS club array is Fishing Club. The club was founded in May of 2023 by four students: Chloe Bigham, Ava Bell and Crew McDaniel. But despite the young age of these founders, their leadership prevailed and the club reached its right audience.
This club was originally thought up in the winter months of last year. In March 2023, the club founders began to put their club into place as they submitted the form that would later be approved by May. This club was formed with the intent to bring together students at HHS who share the love of fishing. Founder Crew McDaniel shares that the club was made to create an overall wholesome community in Hudson. “As the founders and I first were interested in the idea of a fishing club, our main goal was to be able to fish with more people and help each other whilst fishing. The sport of fishing is in general a fun and peaceful activity and we wanted to be able to introduce more people to the activity as well as gather students who already liked to fish together.”
The founders also reflect that it is important that in the overall fishing community in Hudson and in general, younger generations are involved. Founder Madeline (Maddie) Halford says, “I think currently fishing can be looked at as an activity dominated by older groups of people, but that truly isn’t the case. Fishing is an activity that is and should be enjoyed by all so the creation of the Fishing club just furthers the involvement of younger people.” As fishing is such a popular activity with many different versions and aspects, it is able to be enjoyed by people of all ages, and Fishing Club directly shows that the younger generations are a part of the fishing community.
Along with the Fishing Club having a strong student presence, the club’s advisor Mr. Golden was very important in the creation of the club and in making the club the way it is currently.Golden is an AP Physics teacher at HHS who also has a love for fishing. Founder, Halford already had a previous outside connection with Golden so recruiting him to join the Fishing Club team was simple for the group. The founders knew Golden would be perfect for the position as their advisor. “Mr. Golden is not just a fan of fishing but he also fits the model of being a kind and respectful person which are important traits that club members are encouraged to have,” Halford states.
Members of the club Molly Grady and Reese Miele, both freshmen, gave input and shared their opinions on how they are enjoying being a part of the club so far. Grady states, “So far I have met a lot of new people and made new friends in the club. I’m most looking forward to going on the fishing outings upcoming so I can learn new fishing tips and have a fun time with everyone.” Miele also agrees and made it a point that being involved with the club has allowed her to better get to know people as they bond over a shared interest.
Although being new, the club has high expectations and aims for long term success. At their first meeting last year in May, the club began with approximately 15 people at the first meeting. At the first meeting this year which took place September 6th, nearly 35 people showed up. Founder Chloe Bigham shares, “We were very surprised with the amount of freshmen who came out to the first meeting and joined the club. With all of us founders being sophomores, it was great to begin incorporating the other classes into our club. We really want to continue with that and start recruiting more upperclassmen.”
The club proposes plans to increase their numbers by communicating club events such as meetings and outings on the morning announcements and taking to social media. Currently the club has an instagram account in which they use most frequently to share information along with the use of email. “I think it’s important we stay active on the instagram account because it is our largest source of recruitment of new members along with word of mouth. We are working on setting up a google classroom and reminder as well. Emailing is perfect for communicating with current members but as far as getting new ones. That’s social media’s job” Halford states. The fishing club instagram page can be found by the username @hhs.fishing.club.
As the amount and diversity of clubs continues to grow at HHS, it is evident that inclusion rates increase too. Now, with Fishing Club being a part of the club repertoire, the outdoorsy, fish-loving students in Hudson have a chance to be incorporated into a special group and represent the fishing community.
