As a member of the Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and as a fairly recent resident of Indiana County, I have often wondered who the man was that was deemed important enough to have a chapter of a national organization like Trout Unlimited named for him. So, I did some digging. This is what I found out about the man named Ken Sink.
Ken Sink is what we would call an activist. He was extremely active in the cause of conservation and was a man who didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk. He distinguished himself by providing personal outstanding service in support of conservation, not only of Pennsylvania’s aquatic resources, but also on a national scale. He organized and helped structure TU chapters throughout Pennsylvania to achieve better habitat, improve water conditions and better fishing wherever he went. He served as state and national president of Trout Unlimited and as National Chairman of Trout Unlimited. During his lifetime he was Mr. Trout Unlimited.
However, Ken Sink didn’t just limit himself to TU activities. He was active in youth organizations and garnered the Silver Beaver and Antelope awards from the Boy Scouts of America. He also was active in educating young people on the outdoors and spent countless hours doing so through such organizations as United Way, Camp William Penn, The Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club and the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recognized Ken for all his work in conservation and with the youth of Pennsylvania by awarding him the Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage award in 1991. Ken was the first recipient of this annual award. The accolades that came with the award demonstrated the life long effort of Ken’s support for the environment stating Ken, “... played a leading role in reclaiming and enhancing a major significant natural water resource within the Commonwealth”.
So now you know a little bit more about who Ken Sink was and what he stood for. We at the TU chapter that carries his name are working diligently to maintain the work Ken showed us what needed to be done back then. It still needs done today. Can you help? Sure! We’d love to have you join us in maintaining the work to keep our pristine waters open and available to all who wish to use them.
Like us on our Facebook page if you’ve a mind. If you are interested in joining our chapter leave a comment and our secretary will contact you with the “how-to”information you’ll need. And if you have a personal story about Ken you would like to share, by all means do by leaving a comment about that!
Tight lines, go fishing and remember: “Catching fish is just a bonus!”
About the author: Alexander “Barrie” Mann is currently serving as KSTU Vice-president and has been a valuable and active member. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our chapter and is much appreciated by his fellow officers and board members.
