For the fourth consecutive year, The Meredith Rotary Club will host a free ice fishing panel discussion on Friday, January 29, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center on Route 3 in Meredith to kickoff the 31st Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby scheduled for the weekend of January 30-31, 2010 in New Hampshire. Light refreshments will be served courtesy of The Rotary Club and its sponsors.

“The panel discussion events we've hosted since 2006 were such a great success, we’ve doing it again in 2010,” according to Rob Wichland, chairman of the 2010 Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby. Don Miller, of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and Travis Williams and Adrien Lavoie, licensed New Hampshire fishing guides, will discuss ice fishing tips, techniques and equipment. Light refreshments will be served.

The Ice Fishing Derby is one of the top fund-raising events in the state, bringing visitors to New Hampshire from all over the country. Fisherman, their families and friends come to New Hampshire in hopes of snagging the heaviest Meredith Rotary-tagged Rainbow Trout claiming the grand prize.

The Meredith Rotary Club, in consultation with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, as part of an ongoing fisheries management plan stocks tagged fish in several New Hampshire Lakes. This year’s stocked lakes include: Little Squam; Mascoma; Ossipee; Waukewan; Wentworth, Winnipesaukee; and Winnisquam.

The Derby has enabled The Meredith Rotary Club to donate more than $1.6 million back into the community for charitable projects, area improvements, scholarships and people in need.