Nearly a decade ago Sue VanRuff had some concerns about planning the fishing derby.

“We had just invaded Iraq in March of 2003,” VanRuff said. “We were a little hesitant. Should we do this?”

VanRuff, executive director of the Greater Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce, said that first year coordinating the event brought many challenges among which was timing.

Yet, the chamber members found it was perfect timing, VanRuff said.

“We discovered at that time the value of a simple community event that everybody can enjoy,” she said. “What was true then is still true now.”

As this year’s Hooked on Fishing opening day trout derby, as it’s officially known, approaches VanRuff said the lessons the chamber learned in its first year organizing the event have informed its planning since.

“We silk screened some special T-shirts this year so the logo is a little bit different to celebrate those 10 years,” VanRuff said. “Other than that, everything is staying the same. We build on that success. We’re not changing the formula.”

There are a few minor tweaks, however, to the event which happens April 27-28 at Lake Wilderness Park in Maple Valley.

For example, campers can set up tents in the park at 4 p.m., an hour earlier than in years past. It is the only time camping is allowed in the park which is owned and operated by the city. Those who plan to camp must also plan to participate in derby-related events.

And this year, to build on the long-term partnership the chamber has had with Fred Meyer as well as celebrate the impending opening of the Maple Valley store, employees of the retailer will offer kids games Friday night.

VanRuff said Eric Georgia, the director of the new Maple Valley Fred Meyer which is set to open in late May, is excited to get out to the park and play games with kids from the community.

“That’s what we’d like to see on Friday night when you walk around the camp ground, grandmas and grandpas and moms and dads and kids playing,” VanRuff said. “What an opportunity to get away… turn off, find joy in a very simple, basic event of just camping and fishing. There’s nothing else going on other than some good food and some family games. We don’t need all that other stuff to have a good time and bring families together. There aren’t many activities that every generation can come and enjoy together.”

Maple Valley Rotary members will server burgers and hot dogs from 6-9 p.m. and the fisherman’s breakfast starts at midnight as does the fishing.

This event takes more than 100 volunteers from the chamber as well as throughout the community to organize it and pull it off successfully, VanRuff said.

Sometimes when new volunteers join the effort, VanRuff said, she has to explain why the chamber coordinates the fishing derby. People will ask why they’re doing and what does fishing have to do with the chamber.

“It goes back to collaborating in the community and providing a broader community event and that’s part of the mission of the chamber,” VanRuff said. “But we have to remember to tell people why we’re doing it, to tell the story. This is what unites people in the community, that shared experience.”

In 2003 when the chamber first put on the event, VanRuff recalled, Steve Murray’s son Cameron caught the largest fish.

What Murray, who is pastor of Real Life Church, said to her is something she won’t ever forget.

“What Steve said was, ‘Sue, I’ve been trying to figure this out for years. How do we bring grandmas and grandpas and kids and moms together? Who knew it was fishing,’” VanRuff said. “It’s a gathering place, it’s this opportunity to come together, to have a common experience and talk about it for generations.”

Real Life remains involved in the derby, offering sponsorship support, but Murray also goes to the park every year whether he plans to fish or not.

“Bottom line is there are fewer and fewer opportunities for communities to gather together with the entire family,” Murray said. “Maple Valley Days, the fishing derby, parades, things like that are events where Grandma and grandchild can come together and experience it. here’s something healthy when old and young can join together… there’s something about these kinds of events that unifies families but it also unifies the community.”

Events like this, Murray said, are not just good for families and the community as a whole — they’re good for the spirit, as well.

“That is an experience that is super healthy for people’s, well, I would describe it as their soul,” he said.”Your soul is healthy when you interact with people who are different than you. Your soul is also healthy when you interact with your family. The problem today is we’re too busy, we’re not taking enough time to get away from cell phones and technology, we need to get outside, we need to get on a boat and we need to have the experience of putting a worm on a hook together and even if we don’t catch a fish we were united.”

In that brief moment in history, Murray said, people find something they search for their whole lives: peace.

Sometimes people look in the wrong places or buy things in search of that moment of peace.

Instead, they should go to the fishing derby and find peace in creating memories with their families, Murray said.

Plus, in this tough economy, the cost of the event is just a few bucks per person something that also bring a little peace of mind to cash-strapped families while still allowing them to have fun.

“The other interesting thing is that people I think have forgotten how beautiful it is when a community works together to put on an event like this,” he said. “Some businesses sponsor these kinds of events so they can advertise. Other businesses sponsor this kind of event because they believe it’s the right thing to do. The sponsorship for most of these businesses, you can tell by the way that they talk, they don’t even ask where you’re going to put their name they just give you the money. That spirit is what you see at the fishing derby.”

Fishing for trout has become a vehicle for a community gathering. And VanRuff said that is why the majority of the event’s sponsors return year after year. They get excited about it.

The three major sponsors return this year, she said, Fred Meyer, Johnson’s Home and Garden as well as Voice of the Valley while BECU sponsors the camping in the park, Patty Jenson’s All State branch supports the Fins and Grins picture booth while this year’s tagged fish is sponsored by Puget Sound Energy. The fish has been named B. Ready as part of PSE’s emphasis on disaster preparedness this year.

In the end, it’s about having a good time, VanRuff said.

“The adults, the kids, everybody, we want everybody out there having fun,” she said.

And Murray will be there even though he doesn’t particularly like fishing.

That community spirit which embodies the fishing derby will bring him to Lake Wilderness.

“Sometimes we don’t even fish, sometimes we just eat,” he said. “We love the environment. It’s not just about fishing, it’s about community.”

For more information call the Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce at 425-432-0222 or send an email to info@maplevalleychamber.org.