Each spring after tax season ends, former Flames basketball player Ed Vickers (’80) travels from Vancouver, Wash., where he runs his tax firm, to the port town of Westport. There, he unwinds by spending three weeks fishing on a charter boat, catching enough halibut, sea bass, lingcod, tuna, and salmon to feed the hundreds who gather at Heritage Church for its annual fish fry on the first Sunday in July.
The event is a community outreach for the church, where Vickers and his wife head up the welcome committee.
“We had over 650 people (in July), and we want to double that next year,” Vickers said. “I really want to see 5,000, like the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with fish and bread. I can’t tell you how excited I am for what God is doing with this; it is absolutely amazing.”
He often invites guests to come aboard his boat to fish with him and shares his testimony and the Gospel.
“I tell people, ‘If you want to know how to catch big fish, you need to talk to the Creator,’” Vickers said. “It’s not about Ed Vickers, it’s about elevating Jesus Christ and telling the story of how God has changed my life. I am living out Dr. (Jerry) Falwell’s dream and vision every day.”
Vickers was raised on a farm in Alabama as one of nine children in a three-room cinderblock house. He learned at an early age the value of blessing others. His parents would fry and give away the fish that he and his siblings caught in nearby streams — as well as their homegrown vegetables — to neighbors and the elderly in their community.
He said he was led to the Lord at the end of his first week on Liberty’s campus by fellow Hall of Fame guard Karl Hess, Liberty’s all-time leading scorer. Vickers quickly became an ambassador for Christ, joining a 10-player team from Athletes in Action on a basketball trip to Papua, New Guinea, Australia, and the Philippines in the summer of 1978. The team went 31-1, losing only to Australia’s Olympic team. But the real victory, he said, was winning over 10,000 souls.
“People wanted our autographs, and we shared our testimonies and Christ with them,” Vickers said.
In two-and-a-half seasons, Vickers netted 1,658 points and became Liberty’s second-leading career rebounder (1,012). He helped the Flames capture their only National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship in 1980 when they set a program record with 28 wins.
“He was a model student and a great athlete,” said Ed Gomes, Flames Football’s director of spiritual development who served as Vickers’ resident director. “He reflected Christ-likeness in his attitude and his actions.”
Gomes joined Vickers for July’s fish fry this year, cooking and serving the abundant catch. Next summer, the event will also turn into an alumni reunion of sorts. Four of Vickers’ former hallmates — football standouts Rod Gladfelter (’80), Jeff Reeves (’80), Rupert Wright (’83), and Glenn Inverso (’81) — plan to travel from around the country to help serve.
Vickers has become a fisher of men and sees Vancouver as his mission field. “There are probably more unchurched people in the Northwest than anywhere in the United States. I want to help change the culture … to treat people the way that Christ would treat them.”
In August, Vickers sponsored a new outreach through his church, giving away backpacks and shoes to over 600 children for the start of the school year.
“I am blessed to be a part of what is happening here and excited that we can have a positive impact in our community,” said Vickers, who personally purchased 450 pairs of shoes for the event. “God is good and continues to answer prayers. The Lord is taking care of His people.”
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