Tim Burden Named JCAA Sportsman of the Year

One of my best friends growing up in Union City was Tim Burden and this year he did the neighborhood proud by being named the Jersey Coast Anglers Association Sportsman of the Year! I find this odd because the only fishing he ever did on 17^th street was for Spalding tennis balls that went down the sewer. That’s pronounced “spaldeen” for those of you not from Hudson County.

Among those in attendance at the awards presentation at the Crystal Point Yacht Club were US Congressman Frank Pallone 6^th District, Senator Joe Palaia, 11^th district, and a host of others including his old Union City Derelicts Hockey team of North Hudson Fire Captain Robbo Pisani, Ray Amato, Mitchell Gerrity, and John Ricci.

Tim was nominated by and is a member of the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association and is also a long standing member of the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association.

Tim and the NJBAA have been very active in cleaning up Island beach State Park from the huge amount of debris from Hurricane Sandy. Tim and his fellow anglers planted Christmas Trees on the beaches to serve as dunes and they did not move during the recent storm.

In addition to the Christmas trees, they set up snow fencing for four miles to further protect the beaches of Island State Park. The Manager of the park has submitted a letter to the White House for their “Challenge of Change Award” to honor all the work that Tim and his NJBBA members did to clean up the park after Hurricane Sandy’s damage.