RICK TILSON

Hometown:
Smyrna, GA

ABA Director - West Georgia Division 99

Pro Staff :
American Bass Anglers
Team Triton
Royal Purple
U.S.Reels
V&M / Cyclone Baits
ProBass Networks

Tournaments:
ABA American Fishing Tour
BASSMASTER Weekend Series

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
-2010 BWS Lake Lanier winner

-2009 BWS Championship - 62nd place

-2007, 2008, & 2009 ABA Pro Staff Angler of the Year

-10th Place Georgia Power Rankings - 2007

-Toyota Tundra BASSMASTER-
Weekend Series - 2nd Place in Division 9 - 2007

-Georgia State Tournament of Champions - Qualified and participated for 6 straight years, starting in 2004.

BACKGROUND
Growing up in Northern New Jersey and fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass since the age of 5, I moved to South Carolina. Located on the coast, I did not get in much bass fishing for a couple of years but then moved further inland and to some great bass fisheries where my bass fishing tournament career began. I started tournament fishing in local clubs at an early age on lakes such as Lake Murray, Santee Cooper Lakes, and Clarks Hill. When we relocated to Smyrna Georgia, I found the American Bass Anglers tournament trail and began fishing the American Fishing Tour. After fishing ABA tournaments for three years, I decided to take on the responsibility of a tournament director. During this time I meet my wife of 11 years, Shannan. Whenever possible, Shannan enjoys traveling to the tournaments and volunteering her help as well as working the boat shows with us. During the 2010 season we had a new addition to the family, Rick “Wesley” Tilson Jr. Now 1 year old, he has already been to 2 Championship events including the BassMaster Classic and he was present for my first major tournament win. For the 2010 tournament season, I am fishing the American Fishing Tour, and the Toyota Tundra BASSMASTER Weekend Series.

WORK BIO
• Employer: Lafarge North America
• Occupation: Quality Control Manager for Ready Mixed Concrete
• Territory: North Georgia / North Alabama (North of I-20), 40 plants
• Experience: 17 years
• Education: Horry Georgetown Community College
• Certifications: NRMCA Level I & II, Det Norske Veritas Safety Management, Lafarge Leadership Training, 3 Public Speaking Courses
• Responsibilities: In production quality testing of ready mixed concrete, Troubleshooting technical problems, Claim resolution, Training Internal and External customers on properly placing concrete, concrete problems, and new value added concrete mixes
• Nominated for Presidents Commitment to Excellence

Lafarge North America is a worldwide company with over 70,000 employees in 70 countries. At Lafarge, we pride ourselves on technical innovations that provide value to our customers. One of the responsibilities of the Quality Control department is to create these concrete mixes. Then, we are responsible for training our employees and customers on the uses of these concrete mixes and how to properly place them. On average, I give one training seminar per month. The seminars have ranged in size from 10 to 50 people and last between one and four hours. I also work with many customers one on one explaining these new concrete mixes or helping them work out technical problems.