Sportsman Serves Feeding Program at Chicago Navy Base

For the first time, Sportsman Channel is bringing its long-running Hunt. Fish. Feed. program to a live military installation, as it will play an integral role in the network’s "Salute to Service" initiative that honors service men and women.

Teaming with Comcast, Sportsman Channel is hosting its annual Hunt. Fish. Feed. event on July 2 at Naval Station Great Lakes, where it will serve up more than 400 pounds of locally harvested salmon to more than 1,000 Navy personnel and their families.

Part of  Sportsman’ s Salute to Service initiative, which will also manifest with on-air presentations on Independence Day, this year’s Hunt.Fish.Feed. event, begins at 5 p.m., and will include Melissa Bachman, host of Winchester Deadly Passion, and TV host and executive chef Scott Leysath. He will pan-sear salmon caught during the PFC Geoffrey Morris Tournament that was held last month on Lake Michigan.

 “The opportunity to bring Hunt.Fish.Feed. to Naval Station Great Lakes is an honor and represents Sportsman Channel’s continued support of our year-long Salute to Service initiative,” said Ben Lines, vice president of marketing of Sportsman Channel. “As the country prepares to celebrate July 4th, Sportsman Channel recognizes members of our military past and present, along with first responders, who fought to achieve the many blessings we enjoy today as American citizens. Sportsman is pleased to partner with Comcast Chicago, which is the leader in community service in the cable industry and a long-time supporter of Hunt.Fish.Feed.”

“Comcast is thrilled to participate and partner with Sportsman Channel on this very important event,” said David Williams, vice president of marketing and sales for Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region. “This event not only provides food for military men and women and their families, it’s a wonderful opportunity to show appreciation to members of the armed services.” 

The Gary Sinise Foundation also is a key supporter of Sportsman’s Salute to Serviceinitiative, which celebrates American servicemen and women and raises awareness of issues and opportunities facing veterans year-round and especially on key dates like Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day and the Fourth of July.

“This program, which utilizes natural resources to feed those who serve and protect, is a perfect fit with our Foundation’s Serving Heroes initiative,” said Sinise, founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Sinise will be front and center as the host of Sportsman Channel’s Independence Day Salute sponsored by Bravo Company  on Independence Day. From noon to 8 p.m., Sportsman will feature a schedule dedicated to the people and issues that are in the forefront of what makes America the country it is. The marathon will pay tribute to all military, first responders and families of those who put their lives on the line everyday they go to work, with every program having a connection to those who serve and sacrifice.

The stunt will culminate in the 7 p.m. hour with the first-season concluding episode of Amazing America with Sarah Palin, in which Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer visits her family’s Alaskan home.

Throughout this week Sportsman is encoring the first season of Amazing as part of its third-quarter programming push that will see it launch 16 new series and 700 fresh installments of extant shows. Plus, the network is continuing its focus on the No.1 big-game animal – whitetail deer – with 22 series and more than 780 hours of big buck madness during the season. 

“Our network programs are some of the best in outdoor television and we are poised to bring viewers even more of what they love,” said Marc Fein, executive vice president of programming and production,“With new series and more than 350 episodes of whitetail hunting, Sportsman Channel continues to assert its dominance in outdoor programming.”