Last summer, during the 26th Annual Fishing Derby, Lieutenant Kenneth Cotta was busy making the rounds along the edge of Mello’s Pond, offering tips and tricks on how to cast a line.

Cotta passed away earlier this month at age 67, leaving behind a legacy as a decorated cop and a man who helped kids connect with nature. Cotta co-founded the fishing derby along with Bob Peckham. In recent years, the derby has been sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, and the group has confirmed it intends to keep the outdoor tournament going in Cotta’s honor.

“I was looking to start a kid’s fishing program, and Kenny and I were both members of the Accushnet Stream and Lakers. I brought it up at a meeting to see if I could get it started, and it never worked out with them,” said Peckham. “But Kenny came up to me and said, ‘Let’s do this with the Dartmouth kids. I know a place where we can fish.’”

Last summer, more than 50 kids reeled in as many bass as they could at Mello’s Pond, a man-made body of water located off Old West Road.

Cotta was also the first D.A.R.E. officer in Dartmouth. The nationwide D.A.R.E. program began in the 1980s as a means to get police officers into schools to teach youths about the dangers of substance abuse. The derby extended that message. The idea was to “get hooked on fishing, not drugs.”

The two also introduced fishing classes to the community.

“We used to teach three classes at the town hall,” said Peckham. “The first classes were learning how to tie knots, what type of fish there were, the different kinds of hooks – things like that. The last day, Kenny would get the ice cream truck to come over, and we’d go outside and the kids would practice casting.”

Peckham said on the final day of classes, Cotta would bring in an ice cream truck. When the kids had finished casting line on various rods, they’d have frozen treats. Though the fishing classes started to wane as sport schedules became more demanding over the past decade, the derby continued.

“We had a lot of kids who fished who never would’ve gone fishing if it wasn’t for the program,” said Peckham.

The derby was initially funded by the Dartmouth Police Athletic League before the Knights of Columbus took over sponsorship several years ago. Ed Viveiros, a Knights member, would bring his son to the fishing classes and helped prepare Mello’s Pond during the early days of the tournament.

“Kenny was a great guy. He loved people,” said Viveiros. “When we talked about the derby almost disappearing, we got the Knights of Columbus involved and they’ve sponsored it. We don’t want to let it go.”

Viveiros said Cotta believed strongly in the derby because it gave kids who couldn’t participate in sports a chance to participate in an activity with others. He remembered one young fisherman, Austin Hayes, who came in his wheelchair to compete. When Austin was younger, he had brain cancer and a stroke.

“My son, when he had his first initial brain surgery, he lost everything,” said Austin's mom, Kristin Hayes. “He couldn’t swallow. He couldn’t lift his head. He has been gradually trying to walk again.”

Two years ago, when her son was 12 years old, Austin won a trophy at the derby, and, with his mom’s support, walked to Cotta to accept the award.

“Ken was in tears,” she said.

Viveiros said that Cotta’s commitment to the event will be acknowledged during next year’s tournament.

“He’s going to be greatly missed. We want to carry this on,” said Viveiros. “The future of the derby is good.”