Liz Sanders of Brandon, Mississippi is the proud mother of twin daughters. One is a Lieutenant with the Plano, Texas police department and the other is a Medical Technologist in Alexandria, Virginia. As the Chief Embryologist at MS Baptist Medical Center, Liz has been involved in "making babies" for 21 years now, and still loves every minute of it. She says “I feel so blessed to be part of God's plan for many families.”

Having lost her father when she was 12, and being the only girl in the neighborhood, Liz grew up a tomboy. Her two older brothers let her tag along and taught her a lot about fishing. “I felt like the country music song, "Don't Take the Girl." That was me, always wanting to go with the boys.” When she grew up, the man she married also liked to fish so their two girls were involved in outdoor activities and also now share that same love of the outdoors.
 
Liz got started fishing tournaments in April 1999, at Toledo Bend, with the WBFA (Women's Bass Fishing Association). “Oh my goodness what a place to start as a rookie!”  Well in April 2000, Liz drew Pam Martin at Sam Rayburn, only one year after starting to fish tournaments. The weather was rainy and windy. Waves bigger than she had ever seen, dark skies, going down a body of water bigger than any she had ever seen, and having no clue where she was or where she was going. She knew one thing, she was with Pam Martin and she was the best.  She and Pam were somewhere (to this day Liz still doesn't know where exactly) in about 5 to 20 feet of water, basically a hump. Liz was throwing a solid chartreuse spinner bait and by 9:00 she had a limit. “I had never caught my limit before and really didn't know what to do.” Pam Martin, being the kind of person she is, stopped fishing and found her extra set of culling rings and taught Liz how to cull fish.
 
“Shortly after that Pam said loudly, "we have to get out of here."  She showed me a phenomenon I had never seen before. As she cast her line out it levitated over the water and never laid down in the water. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she said lightening could strike us any minute. She threw her rod down and strapped it in place. Now, I had heard of this happening before, but I had never experienced it before. If Pam Martin looked scared I knew I should be also. So by now I was getting a little nervous. You have never seen a rookie move so fast. Like "Jack Flash" I was in my seat, life jacket on and zipped.”

Well, the storm calmed down some, and they got wet, but kept fishing. At the end of the day Liz had 10.66 lbs and ended up in 15th place. Pam had 9.58 lbs (giving her a total of 29.67 lbs for the 3 day tournament) and she finished in 6th place.  “Being a rookie and getting to fish with Pam Martin, and having the opportunity to catch fish, will be an event I will never forget. As a rookie you are scared to death, and very intimidated, by the Pros on the tour, but Pam was so kind and easy to get along with and made me feel so welcomed, I continued to fish with WBFA and have not looked back since. Surely a day on the water I will never forget.”

Sponsors: Gray Daniels Chevrolet of Jackson; M.O.R.A. (MS Organ Recovery Agency-Donate Life); Chateau La Pooch; C & L Lawn Service; Phoenix Technical Services; Montgomery Hardware; State Farm Insurance; Martin Mechanical Company