Local 85 members, USA help organize life-changing event for Atlanta kids

SMART members across the United States and Canada regularly enjoy all that the great outdoors has to offer: hunting, fishing, hiking and beyond. In a demonstration of our union’s values, SMART Local 85 (Atlanta, Ga.) member Dee Lee recently extended that same passion to area families.

On April 11, 2026, Lee worked with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and fellow union volunteers to put together the inaugural Greater Atlanta Kids Nature Day. Alongside the United States Army Corps of Engineers, union volunteers introduced 100 attendees to the joys of fishing and getting outside.

“I relived the excitement, accomplishment and achievement of catching my first fish,” Lee said. “It’s special knowing that these kids are going to have something they can look forward to for the rest of their lives.”

Kids Nature Day was the third community service effort Lee has helped organize in the last several years. Previously, Lee and fellow union workers installed an AccuDock boat dock at Lake Allatoona near Atlanta, and Lee and Local 85’s Nathan Allred put together a 5k for suicide prevention and mental health aware­ness just last year.

The 2026 Kids Nature Day event was part of a series of free, community-based youth outreach events organized under USA’s flagship conservation program, Work Boots on the Ground. Each kid took home a free rod and reel, plus a drawstring bag full of goodies.

Community member Renee White saw Kids Nature Day as the perfect opportunity to connect her nephew, Josiah, with the outdoors. As Josiah danced in his black cowboy hat and brown boots after catching a fish, she took in the moment and the time they spent together as a family.

“It means everything,” she said. “We’ll cherish the memories forever.”

That’s what SMART members do for our communities!

Photos courtesy of the USA.