The Extra Mile Award recognizes people in the community who have made outstanding contributions and have “gone the extra mile” through their endeavors, according to the nomination letter written about Heitkamp and his crew.
Heitkamp has offered the use of his private pond for the derby for the past six years. Neil, Heitkamp Construction and the Heitkamp crew purchase supplies and cook and serve a meal out on the ice for the kids and parents. They also spend many hours preparing for the event by setting up warming houses so the kids have a place to go to warm up, and set up a portable generator to run the weigh-in scale.
 Neil Heitkamp (left) accepts the Extra Mile Award from Greg Gerou, President of the Red River Area Sportsmen’s Club Tuesday night. Heitkamp and his crew have organized the youth fishing derby at Heitkamp Pond for the last six years. Daily News photo by Kristin Anderson. Advertisement |
In 2008, over 230 young people participated in the derby. Heitkamp’s crew also spent time collecting donations that were used for door prizes and other items that were used to run the event or give prizes to the kids. The majority of the donations were used for door prizes and as in the past, every young person that participated in the derby received a door prize.
The success of this event for the past six years can be directly attributed to Neil Heitkamp, Heitkamp Construction and the crew of people Neil puts together every year that will tell you, “It’s all about the kids.”
Heitkamp believes the derby has been successful because it involves the whole community. “We’re getting more and more involved,” Heitkamp said. “It’s a good thing.”
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