The 100 BMWT Host Another Powerful Fishing Event
The 100 Black Men of West Texas and Texas Game Wardens hosted a Fishing Derby for Residents of the Lubbock State Supported Living Center
On Saturday 18 October 2025, The 100 Black Men of West Texas hosted yet another fun, impactful day on the water. This wasn’t the One Hundred’s signature Fishing Derby, but the man who founded that event was also the driving force behind today’s mini-derby.
When we spoke with him, Reverend Charles Hankson told us that Darcas Phenix, who works at the Lubbock State Supported Living Center (LSSLC) originally contacted him to see if he could arrange a “Fishing Derby” for them. He told her, “I don’t know, but let me see what I can get together and make it happen”.
Reverend Hankson called Mrs. Phenix over to elaborate. She said had the idea of getting the residents out on the water because, “nobody really pays attention to them, and since I’ve been working out there, nobody has really done anything for them”. She reached out to Reverend Hankson, and they got the ball moving on this event.
About fifty residents of the LSSLC took advantage of the excellent weather this morning and got out and fished Dunbar Lake. While much smaller than the traditional fishing derby event, today’s gathering still had that crisp feeling of excitement that comes from being out early in the morning in such beautiful environs.
Coincidentally, this author bumped into Reverend Hankson at Citizens Tower last week. He was finishing up the permitting for this event, and mentioned it to us. Of course, we then mentioned the event on a podcast about all the things that would be happening this weekend.
After we chatted a bit with Mrs. Phenix, she introduced us to Jasmine Peeples, the Vocational Director at the LSSLC. Mrs. Peeples said that when Mrs. Phenix first brought it up, she thought a fishing derby would be awesome for the residents. She continued, stating that “I love when our residents can integrate and be a part of the community, so I thought this was an amazing thing for them, and something that they would love for sure.”
As we made our way around the lake, making pictures and speaking with participants, we couldn’t help but notice how true Mrs. Peeples’ words were. The men and women out there fishing appeared happy and deeply engaged. The looks of joy and intrigue were obvious.
Also, before we close, we would like to thank the Texas Game Wardens who sponsored and volunteered at this event. Every warden we saw was happily hands-on with the residents helping them bait hooks, cast lines and do whatever else was needed. They looked sharp and it was pleasure to see them out in force.
LBK, we can truly say we felt the impact of this event in our our hearts and in the pits of our stomachs. We sincerely hope this will be the start of a regular event. When you attend any event, you’ll probably notice a least a few people who don’t want to be there. This was the first event we can remember where everyone we saw seemed to be loving it!