Meet Your Neighbor: Peg VanVleet honored 2023 SHORE Award
PORT CLINTON - Captain Peg VanVleet, owner of Blue Sky Charters and one of Lake Erie’s most passionate advocates, was presented with the 2023 SHORE Award during the Shores and Islands Ohio Annual Meeting held at Lakeside’s Wesley Lodge on April 23.
The SHORE Award, which stands for Superior Hospitality Recognition, is awarded annually to individuals in the tourism industry who display a high standard of hospitality, customer satisfaction, and commitment to service.
VanVleet, who was nominated for the award by more than 40 Shores and Islands business partners, was honored for superseding the spirit of the SHORE Award by her commitment to create a connection between her customers and the lake she works tirelessly to protect.
VanVleet called a 'champion of Lake Erie'
Mackenzie Toll, Shores and Islands Ohio partner relations manager, presented the award to the charter boat captain and described her as a “champion of Lake Erie and all things fishing.”
“She is a wonderful ambassador for the lake, the sport, and for the charter and hospitality industry," Toll said.
VanVleet’s efforts to promote the lake are intertwined with her efforts to protect it. In 2022, she was appointed as vice president of environmental issues for Lake Erie by the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, and the association named her Captain of the Year in 2015. After this summer, VanVleet will retire from the charter industry to invest more time in championing lake environmental issues.
Captain Paul Pacholski, president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, wrote of the importance of VanVleet’s lake advocacy when he nominated her for the award.
“You could not ask for a better cheerleader for Shores and Islands than Captain Peg VanVleet. She understands the importance of the Islands area and promotes not only the fishery but all that Shores & Islands has to offer,” he wrote. “She is very educated regarding the environmental concerns and the fishery on Lake Erie.”
VanVleet grew up loving the lake, Ottawa County
VanVleet became enamored with the lake as a child during her family’s frequent trips to Ottawa County.
“One of the reasons she was nominated for the SHORE Award is because she loves this area so much. It’s all she talks about,” said VanVleet’s wife, Susie McLaughlin. “Because she’s been here so long, she knows every nook and cranny.”
In addition to VanVleet’s knowledge of and advocacy for Lake Erie and the lake region, there was one more reason she was chosen for the award: her passion for impacting the lives of children.
VanVleet is well-known for her compassionate care for the families who board her ship and the attention she gives to young anglers.
“Peg is phenomenal with kids. Kids gravitate to her,” Laughlin said.
VanVleet has welcomed hundreds of children on her boat, coached softball and soccer, and hosted a kids fishing derby at Tall Timbers Campground in Port Clinton for 20 years. The event features a fishing competition with prizes, lunch, and free gifts. Throughout the years, she has mentored young men who worked on her boat, training them in the fishing industry and in life.
“Three of my arms-length grandsons are now charter boat captains,” she said. “My philosophy for kids is, if I hook a child on fishing, I hook them for the rest of their life, and that’s one less kid on the streets.”
Throughout her life, VanVleet has impacted thousands of children and adults both in and off the water and has become an irreplaceable extension of the lake itself.
“There’s no doubt that Captain Peg is an excellent charter captain, but for her, it goes well beyond catching fish. She focuses on the experience of enjoying Lake Erie and making sure that customers appreciate Ohio’s most valuable natural resource,” Toll said.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Blue Sky Charters owner Peg VanVleet to retire
