When Charlie Beale is out on the water, he will tell you that he’s there strictly for pleasure, and not for business. "Fishing is something that I enjoy a lot and I have no aspirations to be a pro fisherman. I am an average fisherman and always will be," Charlie says of himself.

Although Charlie claims he is an "average" fisherman, he started the 2003 season off all smiles by tying for first place as a non-boater in the BFL tournament March 29 at Smith Mountain. His partner that day was Wayne Burchett who is the president of the Pulaski County Bassmasters and Ranger pro-staff for Shelor Motor Mile Outdoors. Wayne said, "It was Charlie’s very first BFL he ever fished but I could tell Charlie had been on the water a lot. Charlie was very upbeat and more worried about getting in my way than catching fish. He’s a real considerate angler. We had a great day," Wayne said.

But Charlie’s seriousness of purpose about being Vice President of the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation and his many other volunteer roles is obvious to everyone who knows him.

"Charlie has been a major asset to the Federation and especially to me as President," according to Roger Fitchett who is the Virginia Federation President. "He shows up at 99 percent of the Federation and charity tournaments just to help out. Charlie is always willing to jump in when needed." As an example, Charlie and his wife recently volunteered to serve as co-editors of Tightlines until a permanent editor is found. "He’s very dedicated to the cause," Roger said.

Another long-time Old 97 club member Kenny Reynolds describes Charlie as "the best Region 5 Director we ever had." According to Kenny, "Charlie handles our club very well. He’s very dependable, very likeable and puts forth a lot of effort. He is very well liked in the region and well respected. You can always count on him." Besides that, Kenny says, "Charlie is a good fisherman."

A cousin of Charlie’s first got him involved in the Federation in 1986 and he has been volunteering his time and talents almost from day one. He first got involved as a volunteer as Region 5 Youth Director, then served as Region 5 Director from 1996 to 2000. He stepped up to Vice President in 2000. He is still a member of Old 97 in Region 5 and tries to fish as many tournaments as possible.

Charlie enjoys what he does and loves his role as Vice President. He has no aspirations of becoming President. "I really enjoy working alongside Roger supporting him as President and I feel like we complement each other very well." According to Charlie, "My biggest challenges are trying to keep all the members satisfied and doing what is in the best interest of the fishermen. Sometimes the members don’t realize the Board is acting in their best interest whether financial or otherwise. An even harder part for me and all the other directors is trying to look at what is best for the Federation and not just my own region."

Besides the usual challenges membership organizations such as the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation face, most everyone knows that membership in the Federation has dropped in recent years. Charlie suspects the membership growth has slowed down because of competition from other tournament circuits, and because of the weak economy. He would like to see the Virginia Federation grow and feels, "It would help to strengthen the Federation if more members took an active role rather than just fishing the tournaments. I am thankful for the volunteers we do have, because they have shown real dedication."

Charlie has earned his living as a salesman since 1973, and has been with Nabisco for the past five years. He sells cookies to grocery stores and chain stores such as Wal-Mart. "I think people might say that I tend to talk a lot. Being in sales sometimes I guess I have a hard time shutting up," he said. Charlie grew up in Halifax County and has been in the Danville area all of his life. He’s 48 years old and has been married for 26. His wife is very involved in the Federation and is a member herself and is very helpful to Charlie. "We do a lot of this together and this is how we spend almost all of our vacation time together. We obviously enjoy it," he said.

There probably isn’t time for a whole lot else. Charlie works 55-60 hours a week on his sales job in addition to all the time he spends on the Federation. This year he worked as a volunteer at Bassarama, Mr. Bass, at both chapter team tournaments, and he plans to be working at all the upcoming Children’s Miracle Network tournaments this year, as well as working with the Virginia state team going on to the east divisional. "The divisional team is one of the biggest challenges because you are trying to budget for the state team almost a year ahead of time. It’s tough trying to stay within the budget," Charlie explained. Charlie pays all the bills, makes the reservations and handles all the logistics.

Not all of Charlie’s duties are enjoyable – tournaments this year have been a challenge because of all the rain, a lot of paperwork has to be done when applying for tournament permits and managing the budget is always a challenge. But Charlie will tell you, "Someone’s got to do it." And thankfully for the Federation we have people like Charlie who step in where needed and get the job done.

If you would like to contact Charlie Beale, he can be reached at 434.836.4721 or by e-mailing him at cbeale@mindspring.com