How much is too much for Sealy's tournament?
By ROGER KLINOFF Jasper

Seems there's just a mite of controversy over the Big Splash issue. It boils down to just how much the City of Jasper should pay Bob Sealy, or anyone, for promoting the McDonalds tournament.

There are some interesting questions that haven't been addressed in the public forum.

Like how much money does Sealy pocket for organizing the tournament? Was the city reimbursing Sealy at the on-set because it wasn't very profitable to start?

Could the city's money be better spent sponsoring something else that would last longer than just part of a week? Does the city know enough about promoting tourism?

Doesn't the sponsor, McDonalds, have any say in where it is held? Would someone besides Sealy be interested in organizing the tournament, or does Sealy have exclusive right to it?

I've been told that when Bob Sealy started fishing local tournaments he had to buy his tackle on credit. Seems like he's come an awfully long way financially for a businessman whose livelihood is based on public assets; ie. lake and boat ramps.

Did the city do their homework in getting answers to these questions before they laid down their ultimatum?

You will recall some people said the city had no business taking this function away from the Chamber of Commerce because they didn't know the tourism industry.

Doesn't Mr. Sealy owe some kind of allegiance to the community of people who got him started in a very profitable business?

There's a lot more here than meets the eye from the account given in the Sept. 26 issue of the Jasper Newsboy.