On March 31,1998 the clubs of JCAA voted unanimously to recognize Paul Smith as JCAA’s Sportsperson of the Year. The award will be presented at the April 28 JCAA meeting. Paul has been fishing since he was 6 years old and his mother purchased him his first fishing pole. He has literally spent the past 35 years on the bay building and repairing boats of all types in his spare time while working to protect the marine environment. Paul has had varied experiences including working briefly as a commercial clammer and charter boat mate while in high school. This has helped him understand all aspects of fishing.

Paul has been involved in many organizations including the Manasquan Fishing Club, Friends of Island Beach, JCAA, NJ Beach Buggy Association, and the Shore Surf Club. In all of these organizations has held positions of responsibility and has always had an interest in youth education. He has worked on the Governor’s Tournament since its inception and has served as JCAA’s representative on the tournament committee. It was his experience that guaranteed that the Governor’s Tournament would be a family oriented day.

Paul has held many different offices for JCAA, including president, vice president and membership chairman. As the first editor of the JCAA newspaper, he set a high standard for us all.

Because of Paul’s knowledge and experience he has been a crucial resource for all of us who work for JCAA. We can always count on Paul to guarantee that we make responsible decisions that protect the resource, not just for today but for future generations. He never loses this focus and makes sure we consider every decision carefully. Paul does a lot of the behind the scenes, not so glamorous work. He makes sure to do the kinds of things you don’t get much credit for. And he always makes sure JCAA follows the rules.