Mimi brings home the win and the ducats.

Tradition and Charity: $90,000 RAISED AT THE 20th ANNUAL EL PESCADO BILLFISH TOURNAMENT

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida, October 15, 2008 – Sailfish are abundant off the East coast of Florida, judging by the results of the El Pescado Billfish last weekend. The 20th annual Monique Burr Foundation El Pescado Billfish Tournament released a tournament-record 116 sailfish, awarded more than $108,000 in prize money and raised $92,000 for the foundation. According to co-tournament director Dennis Rosa, the two-day fishing tournament was a success with 25 boats participating.

Top Junior Angler Cody Moore of the Lor-A-Di team accepts his award from Lynn Layton, Director of Monique Burr Foundation.

That’s a pretty darn good CPU – catch per unit -- of effort ratio for sails.

“This year’s tournament was a huge success in a year where many tournaments saw a big drop in attendance,” Rosa said. “Because of the large participation, we were able to give a sizable donation to the Monique Burr Foundation in support of its mission of preventing child abuse.”

This tournament is going strong, with teams traveling from points around the state to compete. The two-day tournament was held at Camachee Cove at the Marlin Club in St. Augustine, Fla. The Mimi, led by Captain Mike King from Weston, Fla., on Day One and Captain Ray “Foz” Gibson on Day Two, released 22 sailfish to win the tournament and the grand prize of more than $74,000. The Lor-A-Di, led by Captain Ty Moore from Daytona Beach, Fla., took second place with 11 sailfish and was awarded more than $20,000, and the Floridian, led by Captain Glenn Cameron of Fort Pierce, Fla., took third place and more than $8,000 in cash prizes.

More than $92,000 raised for the Monique Burr Foundation.

Other awards included the Top Overall Winner of Dolphin and Wahoo, which was awarded to Jim Dandy, led by Captain Jim Hinson of Jacksonville, Fla. The team received $3,200 for their win. Paul Spencer of Spencer Yachts was named Top Angler and will be invited to the World Billfish Series (WBS) Championship in Los Suenos, Costa Rica, in December. The top Junior Angler honor went to Cody Moore of the Lor-A-Di team.

Presenting sponsors for the tournament included Ring Power and Miller Electric Company. Other major sponsors include Spencer Yachts, R.B. Baker Construction, Lor-a-Di Fishing Team and PipeWelders Custom Marine. For more info, see www.elpescadobillfish.com.

“We are thrilled to be part of this tournament again and want to thank all the sponsors and participants for their time, energy and sportsmanship,” said Lynn Layton, executive director for the Monique Burr Foundation. “In addition to a tremendously successful tournament, we were able to raise more than $90,000 for the foundation and our mission.”

Top Angler Paul Spencer of Spencer Yachts accepts his award from Dennis Rosa and Lynn Layton.

The El Pescado Billfish Tournament is part of the world’s largest offshore sanctioning organization, the World Billfish Series (WBS). The series, which is comprised of six regional divisions, is one of the most successful and well-established billfish tournaments in the country. The tournament is part of the highly competitive WBS Treasure Coast division and attracted anglers from throughout the Atlantic coastal region.

The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1997 to honor the late Monique Burr, a tireless advocate for abused and abandoned children. The foundation’s mission is to provide hope in the lives of children by providing training and education to prevent and reduce the rate of abuse among children throughout Northeast Florida.

Since its inception, the foundation has reached more than 20,000 children with its advocacy programs, including Good Touch Bad Touch program, and donated more than $2 million to child-serving agencies in the region. Currently, the foundation reaches children in 76 of the 107 public schools in Duval County in addition to several private and Catholic schools in the area. It is expanding its reach to include Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. The foundation also works in close partnership with agencies serving children whose primary focus is preventing abuse of children.