“There’s a place for us…”
Dateline: Backstage
“Chuck, he’s my right hand man and has been so for years, am I going to miss him, you bet I am, you bet.”
Trip Weldon
B.A.S.S. tournament director
“Chuck and I, we going to have fun.”
Glenda Harbin
Married to Chuck 38 years
Out here we call him “Nervous Nelly,” or “Walkie Talkie.” B.A.S.S. on the other hand calls him Chuck Harbin, senior tournament manager.
I call him, “Trip with a Twitch.”
And to all of those who work with him, to all the anglers who listen to him, he is simply, to us, known as…family.
This is Chuck’s last lap of America pulling a release boat, trailer or riding shotgun with his long time buddy, Trip Weldon.
“db you know, we go way back, me and Chuck, our boys played little league together.”
Chuck and I go way back as well, all the way back to when he almost blew out my right eardrum: “Boat 12, boat 12 get in line please…”
It was a decade ago, one of my first tournaments, I’m standing at the end of what some people call a dock, I call it a float since it is moving back and forth like the blow up we have in our pool. I’m focused on the Elite angler boats launching into something called, “first safe light” which to me is noon but to these guys a click or two after 6 in the a.m.
I do not see Chuck standing next to me at the end of the dock, I especially do not see the megaphone in his hand.
“Kevin Short, Kevin Short where are you, get in line please.”
Actually, truth in journalism more like this: “KEVIN SHORT, KEVIN SHORT WHERE ARE YOU, GET IN LINE PLEASE.”
Said a foot from my first safe light right eardrum.
“Oh sorry, you okay man?”
“Huh…what…huh?”
“…somewhere a place for us…”
“Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher
Chuck is the guy who builds the stage the Elites stand on. I understand many of you may have no idea who I’m talking about so I’m going to introduce you, here we go this is what some of Chuck’s job is:
“I coordinate all the Marshals, handle all the tour logistics getting permits and working with the local police and fire department, I order all the ice (several hundred pounds a day to keep the fish cool in the holding tanks…and sometimes my sweet tea), coordinate all the volunteers, manage the backstage staff, oh and yeah line up all the boats for takeoff in the morning.”
Yep, that I know.
Chuck’s being doing stuff like that for the last 20 years, “My first tournament was the Bassmaster Classic that Denny Brauer won in 1998.”
He’s also been an assistant tournament director on stage running the Opens, drove the trucks that pull our stuff, but his favorite part of all this is what’s favorite to many of us…takeoff.
“I’m a morning guy db, I love watching the day wake up and come alive, it’s just a special time for me, be it on a dock or out in the woods.”
By the way, Chuck is telling me this at lunch, the floor is shaking under us, I smile, it’s not an earthquake or volcano, it’s “Nervous Nelly,” with the left foot going up and down banging an unseen drum kit Hi-Hat Cymbals.
All of us out here will miss that comforting quake.
“…peace and quiet and open air…”
“In family relationships,love is really spelled T.I.M.E.”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“We are building a house and moving back to where I grew up, Dothan, Ala., we’ll spend more time together, he’ll fish more, I’ll see my family more, I can’t wait.”
That’s Chuck’s wife, Glenda Harbin talking. Glenda just recently retired after 23 years with B.A.S.S. where she was the expense report whisperer. I once bought a hamster at Pet Paradise and got the money I spent through on my ESPN expense report under, dinner.
That my friends would be a child’s play catch to Glenda’s eagle eyes.
“I have seven grandkids aged 10 to 4, db, my son has four, my daughter three, my son is the dean of discipline at a school, my daughter is an elementary school teacher…”
Chuck is now playing with his salad, his right foot is starting to bang the imaginary bass drum: “Travel db, travel, is tough, and then you know, you know my daddy…”
Chuck’s dad, Bernard AKA “Nardi,” is 90. “I want to spend more time with him as well, as well.”
“…time together…”
“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.”
Michael J Fox
Me: “Give me one word to describe Chuck.”
Trip: “Honest.”
Trip and Chuck have worked side by side out here since 2002, have driven thousands and thousands of miles together all the while eating “nabs,” which is Trip and Chuck-ese for some kind of cracker snack.
“He’s my sounding board, takes so much of the pressure off of me, oh heck yeah.”
Trip, Chuck and I are all great friends, many breakfasts, dinners and a few “nabs,” together over the years. Within a couple of years, we all will be off the trail.
Before his tour with us, Chuck had a two decade tour with the Army National Guard as a heavy equipment operator, if you see him backstage thank him for his service to our country … and to all the fans of B.A.S.S. as well.
“It’s just time db, we are downsizing to a bigger house, four bedrooms so all the kids and grandkids can come over, I’m building a media room for the grandkids, nothing I like more than going into it, putting on some movies they like and just hanging in it with them, nothing better.”
Chuck told me he was also going to grow a garden, plant some trees, fish some, enjoy time with family more and, “…miss all you guys out here as well.”
“…and time to spare…”
“You don’t just have a story – you’re a story in the making, and you never know what the next chapter’s going to be. That’s what makes it exciting.”
Dan Millman
Chuck never wanted to do this story, but all of us wanted to do it for him.
Until now you may have never heard of this man’s name but we all wanted you to know of the man who has dedicated the past 20 years of his life, all pretty much hidden backstage, to making sure you the fans have the best experience possible when you come out to one of our gigs.
I am in the final dance generation, those of us out here on a steadily shrinking dance floor listening to the first few notes of the final stanza’s.
It is important to me to tell you the stories on those less known on the dance floor.
Simply put, Chuck Harbin is a loving husband, father, son and grandaddy.
Simply put, Chuck Harbin served both his country and you the fans of B.A.S.S. for a combined 40 years of his life.
Simply put, Chuck Harbin is a kind and decent working stiff.
Forget not those like him on their own personal dance floor, honor them as well with more than just a gold watch and handshake.
To Chuck and Glenda, you will be missed, you made the joint a better place for being in it.
From all of us out here behind, on and in front of the stage, much love, much respect.
Enjoy,
db
“…someday, somewhere.”
Somewhere
Andy Williams
“To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”
Dr. Seuss
