Winners of 3-Month-Long Hickory Shad Fishing Contest:

 Male Adult First Shad Stanley Malpass of Pink Hill, Jan. 30 in Neuse River at Kinston at Queen St. bridge. Largest Shad Ricky Moore of Grifton, 2 lb.

Female Adult First Shad Jane Meads of Greenville, Feb. 3 at Pitchkettle Creek. Largest Shad Samantha Eubanks 1 lb. 15 oz.

Male Youth First Shad Joey Willis of Beaufort, age 12, Feb. 23 in Contentnea Creek. Largest Shad Conner Bowen of Grifton, age 11, 2 lb. 1-1/2 oz.

Female Youth First Shad & Largest Shad Jenna Barrow, age 9, of Winterville, Feb. 12 at mouth of Contentnea Creek, 12-1/2 oz. She set a new Shad Festival record of catching the First Shad for the fifth consecutive year. 

Winners of Miss Grifton Pageant:

Miss Grifton 2007 and Poster Award and Essay Award: Casey Litton

First Runner-Up: April Braswell

Second Runner-Up and Miss Congeniality: Kenyatta Best

Third Runner-Up: Kayla Overstreet

Courtney Paige Smith Spirit Award: Tyra Harris

 Winners of Shad Festival Parade:

 Best Marching Unit & Best Band: Ayden-Grifton High School Marching Chargers

Best Unit Representing a Fishing Theme: Bobby Smith Family with several golf carts

Best Unit Representing the 2007 Theme “Spirit of the Past, Vision for the Future”: Cub Scout Pack 921

Honorable Mention: Interpretation Dance, African-American Arts

Mayor’s Award (best overall unit in parade): Ayden-Grifton High School Future Farmers of America 

Winners of Shad Toss: 

Saturday: Age 6-10 Isaiah Carr 88 ft. 2 inches. Age 11-14 Kirsten Burt 126 ft. 1 inch. Males age 15 and over William Morning 183 ft. 8 inches, a new record. Females age 15 and over Brandi Hughes 91 ft. 5 inches. 

Sunday: Age 6-10 Derek Jones 41 ft. 10 inches, Age 11-14 Kirsten Burt 162 ft. 1 inch, a new record for females of any age. Men age 15 and over David Bynum 190 ft. 3 inches. Females age 15 and over Branid Hughes 87 ft. 2 inches. 

Winners of Casting Competition: 

Age 6-10 Cole Harrison 6 of 6. Age 11-14 Adam Grimes and Justin Smith tied with 3 of 6. No adult competitors. 

Winners of Grifton Shad Idol Talent Show:

First place: Tyra Harris, second place Ashley Johnson, third place Bridgett Prescott. All were singers. 

Winners of Basketball Big Shot Free Throw Competition: 

Males age 6-9 Dakota Manning, age 7, score 6.

Males age 10-12 Vincent Anderson, age 11, score 34

Males age 13-15 Charkex Huntley, age 14, score38

Males age 16 and over Mike Jones, score 15

Females age 6-9 Wileiah Perry, age 7, score 21

Females age 16 and over Bridgett Jones, score 7

There were no competitors in female age 10-12 or age 13-15.

 Winners of “Fishy Tales” Storytelling Contest: 

Grades K-2: Christina Davis

Grades 3-5: Shana Miller

Grades 6-8: Samantha Easton

Open Individual: Terry Strickland

Organizations Represented by a Youth (age 15 and under): Aaron Cox representing Poplar Hill Youth

Organizations Represented by an Adult (age 16 and over): Casey Litton representing HOSA (Ayden-Grifton High school Health Occupations Students of America) 

Winners of One-Day Hickory Shad Fishing Tournament: 

First place: Robert and Buffy Moore, 16 lb. 15-1/2 oz.

Second place: Wayne Moore and Ricky Moore, 16 lb. 12 oz.

Third place: Brian Boyd and William Lewis, 16 lb. 12 oz. (tied with Wayne and Ricky but Brian and William’s Big Fish was half an ounce less than Wayne and Ricky’s and the rule says that in case of a tie the team with the largest Big Fish wins).

Biggest Fish of the Day: Conner Bowen, age 11, 2 lb. 1-1/2 oz. 

Winners of Bass Tournament: 

First place: Randy Brown and Eric Brown of Seven Springs, 12.94 lbs.

Second place: Tony Smith and Jesse Stilly of Cove City, 12.84 lbs.

Third place: Mike McCullough and Cassandra Blake of Goldsboro, 12.08 lb.

Fourth place: Ricky Moore and Randy Moore of Grifton, 11.46 lb.

Fifth place: Jimmy Maynard and Tommy Holland of Grifton, 11 lbs.

Sixth place: Larry Thomas and Neil Smith of Wilmington, 10.54 lbs.

Seventh place: David Godwin and Jeff Godwin of Kinston, 10.14 lbs.

Eighth place: Jared Sasnett and Kevin Sutton of Kinston, 8.72 lbs.

Cathy and Josh Farley of Kinston, a mother and son team, just missed winning in the money by the slimmest of fractions. Their catch was 8.62 lbs.

Biggest Fish of the Day: Mike McCullough and Cassandra Blake of Goldsboro, 5.73 lb.

2007 Winners, Art Show