Casting, Catching and Championing

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A local man was recently re-appointed by Governor DeWine to serve on the Ohio Wildlife Council. 

Local Resident and Ohio Wildlife Councilmember Solomon Curtis shared how his passion for Bass Fishing and mentoring children have led him to being recognized by Gov. DeWine and U.S. Senator Jon Husted.

“All I wanted to do was fish and catch giant bass across this state,” Curtis said. “My love and passion for catching giant bass opened doors and led me to places I never ever thought I’d be before. So the state reached out to me. And they started asking questions and they learned my story. And once they learned my story, they came and met with me. And then the Chief… (Ohio Division of Wildlife) Chief (Kendra) Wecker, she’s amazing, they were like, do you mind if we give you the title Fishing Ambassador for the State of Ohio.”

That role led Curtis to events at the governor’s mansion, where he met the governor and former Lieutenant Governor and current U.S. Senator Husted, who has tapped him to serve on another committee that is currently under formation.

“I was up at Alum Creek with Senator Husted and I spoke at an event following him and right after, we went out on a boat and he’s an avid outdoorsman,” Curtis said. “So we just got to talking and he was telling me about his life, I’m telling him about my life and how I grew up and we just clicked. He asked me, hey, in the future, would you be interested in joining a coalition for sportsmen, on my team.”

The role with Senator Husted will allow him to represent Ohio’s sportsmen and women on yet another level. Currently, Curtis works as a Student Services Director at Foxfire High School and has impacted kids across the state through his nonprofit ‘Get Kidz Hooked’ on Fishing.