Beyond the Stars: Emanuel Owens, Service Manager

Treasured time on the lake while fishing with his father, created life-long memories that Emanuel Owens will keep with him forever.

By day, Emanuel is the service manager at the Montgomery location of Four Star Freightliner. But at night and during the weekends, you can find him on a body of water in and around central Alabama with Lake Martin, Lake Jordan, and the Alabama River being the most popular.

"I've been fishing since I was 5-years-old with my dad," Emanuel said. "It was our time to spend together since he worked all the time. I raised my kids doing the same thing because I know how much it meant to me."

He credits fishing with keeping him out of trouble as a teenager.

Emanuel laughed as he recalled, "You couldn't get me up to go to school, but I'd get up by myself to go fishing."

Emanuel took his son Noah fishing for the first time when Noah was just 3-years-old.

"He caught a striped bass using a Mickey Mouse road and reel. It actually broke the reel!"

But Noah, now 28, doesn't get to have all the fun with his dad. His has to share it with his sister. Emanuel's daughter Skyler started fishing with her dad about 10 years ago and loves it.

Emanuel loves fishing so much that he dedicates a lot of his time outside of work to the sport. He is a member of the WETumpka Worms Bass Club. They fish 10 tournaments each year. During a tournament, fishermen spend about 8 hours on the water. Then they choose five fish to weigh in at the landing. The fisherman with the highest weight wins.

Emanuel also uses his fishing skills to give back to the community through fundraising tournaments. Through these tournaments, he and his fellow fishermen have helped everyone from people with high medical bills to those suffering from cancer. He even recalls a tournament benefiting a widow who needed help with bills before insurance money was paid.

"Fishermen care a lot more about charities than people would think," said Emanuel. "When it's a charity involved, fisherman normally donate all their prize money. They were gonna fish anyway."

It's that love of fishing that provides enjoyment and peace that Emanuel deserves. He and his dad, now 76-years-old, still go fishing.

"That's our thing. That's the thing we both love to do. And weather-permitting, we're gonna fish at least one day a week."