“Following your passion will always put you where you need to be” is Destin DeMarion’s time-tested advice. Recognizing that this is not necessarily an easy path, DeMarion adds that one must be willing to work hard and endure inevitable struggles along the way. He credits Gannon University and his professors with helping him become organized and disciplined and adds that both have helped him professionally and personally.
His company is DeMarion Bass Fishing Enterprises LLC/DuraEdge Products. He works in both the bass fishing industry and the sports turf industry. Within the bass fishing world, DeMarion travels and competes in upper level professional tournaments in BASS and FLW circuits. He is also a Coast Guard-licensed captain and operates a bass fishing charter business near Jacksonville, Florida and in Erie. Additionally, DeMarion is a freelance writer and does freelance work for various channels, including “Mystery Tackle Box”. DeMarion also works with DuraEdge Products, a baseball/softball infield soils manufacturer currently operating a marketing program called the DuraEdge Bass Fishing Experience. DeMarion travels the country providing customer appreciation events for both Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball customers of DuraEdge.
While a student at Gannon, DeMarion played football and founded the bass fishing club, which he still helps with when he is in Erie. It is no surprise that his favorite course was Fisheries Biology and he truly enjoyed doing hands-on work in the field aboard the Environaut and performing electrofishing surveys on Presque Isle Bay and tributaries of Lake Erie. DeMarion says he really enjoyed the small class sizes at Gannon and the individual attention given to students.
In his free time, he enjoys fitness and traveling with his wife Meghan, whom he met at Gannon. He is also a fan of lifelong learning and enjoys audiobooks, podcasts, YouTube and the like.
DeMarion says he is fortunate to make a living doing something he loves. He works hard at his career and looks forward to many more years of pursuing his passions.
(published January 2019)