For generations, the Ocean City Marlin & Tuna Club has brought local anglers together around a shared love of fishing. But for members like Jack and Heather Davidson, some of the club’s most meaningful moments happen when fishing becomes a way to give back.
Founded in 1959, the club has grown from 23 original members into a longstanding piece of Ocean City’s fishing culture. Its history includes tournaments, social events and competitions, but charitable work has also been woven into the organization for decades. The club says members once volunteered their boats to take disabled veterans fishing, has contributed to artificial reef projects, and continues to support fishing-related organizations.
Today, that spirit is especially visible through three efforts: the Special Kids Tournament, the Gold Star Offshore Open and an annual scholarship for an Ocean City High School student.
For Jack Davidson, a past commodore who now serves on the club’s prize and Gold Star committees, giving back feels like a natural extension of the camaraderie that first drew him to the club.
Jack has been connected to the Marlin & Tuna Club since childhood and became more actively involved as an adult.
“Having been a member for my whole life, pretty much, and really been into it, and having gotten so much out of it, I decided that I wanted to start volunteering,” Jack said. “You volunteer for a little stuff, and then one thing leads to another.”
Heather Davidson serves on the club’s social committee.
A day on the water for special families
One of the club’s longest-running charitable traditions is its Special Kids Tournament, held each June in partnership with the Ocean City Yacht Club.
The event began in 1992 and invites children with special needs, as well as children connected with Big Brothers Big Sisters and other regional organizations, to spend a day fishing with their families. The club’s own history also traces the outing back to 1992.
Jack Davidson said roughly 30 boats and about 35 families can participate, supported by dozens of volunteers from the Marlin & Tuna Club and Yacht Club. Firefighters and police officers also help families board and exit the boats, including children who use wheelchairs.
The 2026 tournament was scheduled for June 20.
Although the event is called a tournament, Jack said competition is not really the point.
“It’s really for their families,” he told Shore Local News. “A really nice bonding experience, getting them out on the water, giving them a chance to do something that otherwise they might not have an opportunity to do.”
After fishing, families are treated to lunch at the yacht club. Some participants return year after year, with families telling volunteers they plan their summers around the event.
“The energy is fantastic,” he said. “They’re so excited. They have smiles on their face, and us volunteers are really enthused just to see them so happy.”
For club members, the event is ultimately about sharing something they already love.
“That’s what’s at the heart of it, is the fishing,” he said. “As volunteers, that’s what we enjoy the most, and that’s what we want to share the most.”
Fishing for Gold Star families
The club’s signature offshore tournament has also taken on a larger charitable purpose in recent years.
The tournament dates back to 1977 and is now known as the Gold Star Offshore Open. The club held its 49th annual event in 2026, putting it on the cusp of its 50th anniversary.
Its charitable partnership grew after club members met Charlie Strange, whose son Michael Strange was killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2011. Strange founded the Michael Strange Foundation to support Gold Star families, including by bringing grieving military families together and providing lodging, travel, workshops and other forms of support.
The Davidsons recalled Strange speaking before one of the club’s tournaments.
“When I say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, it was so emotional,” Heather said.
Strange had been organizing a separate fishing fundraiser, War on the Water. Eventually, the organizations decided to combine their efforts, establishing a nonprofit foundation around the Gold Star Open and directing proceeds toward the Michael Strange Foundation.
Twenty-two boats registered for the 2026 tournament, and the event generated approximately $15,000 for the Michael Strange Foundation.
The club hopes to continue increasing participation in the coming years. Jack also credited the tournament’s sponsors, whose support helps cover event costs and increase the amount ultimately directed toward Gold Star families.
Investing in the next generation
The club’s community work does not stop at the docks.
Each year, the Ocean City Marlin & Tuna Club also awards a $500 scholarship to an Ocean City High School student who is either planning to enter the Coast Guard or pursue studies in marine biology or fisheries.
It is one more way the organization connects its fishing heritage with the next generation.
That heritage remains a major part of the club’s identity. The club currently hosts tournaments stretching from late spring through the end of the year, including Marlin Month in September, Swordfish Month in October and a striped bass tournament continuing through December.
Membership is also broader than some outsiders may assume. Heather and Jack Davidson stressed that members do not need to own a large offshore fishing boat — or even own a boat at all — to participate. The club currently lists family, single and youth memberships and offers both fishing and social events throughout the year.
For Heather Davidson, the generosity surrounding those events says as much about Ocean City as it does about the club itself. She helps solicit donations from area businesses for the club’s opening banquet auction and said local businesses consistently step up.
“I just think our community is amazing,” she said.
For Jack, volunteering has also created lifelong friendships.
“What you get out of it is just immeasurable,” he said. “All the people you meet and the friends you end up with, because when you’re working on something like that with a common goal, that’s when you really get to know people.”
More than six decades after its founding, the Ocean City Marlin & Tuna Club remains rooted in fishing. But its members have also found that a day on the water can become much more: a family memory, a source of support, a scholarship opportunity or a way to honor someone who served.
As the Davidsons put it, the club is simply sharing what its members love most and inviting the wider community along for the ride.
