Raised more than $50,000 for Children’s Hospital

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SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — Retail center developer KZ Companies and a dedicated crew of commercial real estate and healthcare sponsors have reeled in more than $50,000 in total to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children through the Annual Fall Classic Charity Fishing Tournament.

“The commercial real estate industry is passionate about supporting charities, treatments and technologies that benefit children in need,” said Mark Zimmerman, KZ Companies’ General Partner and founder of the tournament. “It was rewarding to see so many skilled anglers come together to showcase their talents, while helping to further Shriners’ mission of improving the lives of children.”

The tournament, held on Sept. 2 at the San Diego Marriott Marina, brought in a record 1,000 pounds of dorado, yellowfin tuna and albacore, all with the ultimate goal of helping kids in need. The fish were donated to the Al Bahr Shrine Center, Tijuana Shrine Club to help feed children with ailments in need of treatment.

According to Zimmerman, the record-setting catch was attributed to warm water temperatures resulting from Hurricane Jimena off the coast of Mexico.

Adam Cleary of Stewart Title, who caught a total weight of 64.2 pounds of fish, won the High Angler category. Mark Baziak of Grubb and Ellis finished second with 56.2 pounds, followed by Michael Dinovitz of Woodland Construction, in third with 55 pounds. The Prime Time, a sport fishing team sponsored by Eleven Western Builders won the High Boat trophy and George Mendoza from CVS Realty Co. won the biggest catch of the day with a whopping 27.4-pound yellowfin tuna.

The fishing portion of the event was followed by a silent auction, which was attended by 100 people and also played a key role in the overall funds raised by the event.

Fishing tournament sponsors included KZ Companies, Stewart Title, Mikelson Yachts, Shriners Hospitals, Tait & Associates, Al Bahr (a San Diego Shriners temple), Eleven Western Builders, Inc, Grubb & Ellis, California Centers Magazine, Simac Construction, CVS Caremark Realty and Miller Construction.

Next year’s 4th annual Fall Classic Charity Fishing Tournament will be held September 21 and 22, 2010 at the San Diego Marriott Marina. For additional information about next year’s event, visit www.charityfishing.com.

Article featured in the Sports Fishing Magazine.