BRACEVILLE, Ill. (April 14, 2025) Constellation’s “Fishing for a Cure” tournament, held Saturday, April 12 on Braidwood Lake, raised an event record $150,000 for the local charity K9s For Veterans, putting the tournament over the $1 million mark in donations during its 24-year history.
K9s for Veterans is a local non-profit organization that specializes in providing service dogs to area veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury. The $150,000 raised in this year’s bass fishing tournament surpasses the previous record set in 2023 when Constellation and employees of the Braidwood Clean Energy Center raised $77,000 for Megan’s Mission Foundation.
“The money raised from this tournament will be life-changing and in some cases life-saving for the veterans we serve,” said Michael Tellerino, Group CEO of K9s For Veterans. “This is far and away the biggest donation we have ever received and we’re incredibly grateful to Constellation and its employees who rallied around our mission to help veterans.”
About a dozen veterans with service dogs attended this year’s fishing tournament. K9s For Veterans provides training and medical care for the life of its service dogs, ensuring there are no cost to the veterans. Tellerino said the money raised by Constellation’s ‘Fishing for a Cure’ will allow the charity to provide approximately 20 service dogs to local veterans.
A total of 63 two-person teams entered this year’s “Fishing for a Cure” tournament. Nick Stuedemann (Morris, Ill.) and Matt Leimach (Braidwood, Ill.) took home first place and the $4,000 top prize. Their three-fish total of 14.77 pounds was best in the tournament field and in the history of the event.
Coming in second was Adam Marcolini (Broadview, Ill.) and John Vaitkus (Palos Heights, Ill.), who caught fish totaling 9.42 pounds for a second-place finish and $2,500. Third place and $1,000 was snared by John Luehrs (Manhattan, Ill.) and Jerry Luehrs (Lansing, Ill.) with 8.63 pounds of bass. Seven other teams shared the remaining $2,500 in prize money.
ESPN’s Chauncey Niziol broadcasted live for his “Chauncey’s Great Outdoors” radio show from Braidwood Lake and served as tournament host. A children’s fishing derby was held in the morning at nearby Godley Pond.
Braidwood Clean Energy Center and several local sponsoring businesses and organizations made contributions to the event. All proceeds raised through tournament entry fees, employee fundraising initiatives and sponsorships go to the recipient charity, which is selected annually by the facility’s employees.
Thanks go out to event sponsors, including Allied Power Services, LLC, Berkot’s, Burns and McDonnell Engineering Company Inc., Chad Ringler, Country Financial, City of Braidwood, CSS Building Services, Inc., Electrical Builders Ind. (EBI), Inman Electric Motors, Inc., JF Brennan Company, Inc., John Burns Construction, KCI Engineering, NALCO Water/Ecolab, NI Steel, SCI Corporation, Siemens Energy, Smith Painting Services Inc., Stevenson Crane Structural Group (Pullman), Zones LLC
###
About Constellation
Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG), a Fortune 200 company headquartered in Baltimore, is the nation’s largest producer of reliable, emissions-free energy and a leading energy supplier to businesses, homes and public sector customers nationwide, including three-fourths of Fortune 100 companies. With annual output that is nearly 90% carbon-free, our hydro, wind and solar facilities paired with the nation’s largest nuclear fleet have the generating capacity to power the equivalent of 16 million homes, providing about 10% of the nation’s clean energy. We are committed to investing in innovative technologies to drive the transition to a reliable, sustainable and secure energy future. Follow Constellation on LinkedIn and X.
If you are a member of the media, please contact:
309-433-6894
Brett Nauman
brett.nauman@constellation.com
Feb 11, 2025
Jan 15, 2025
