Founder of Zoom Bait Company William Edward Chambers Sr. passed early Tuesday morning. Chambers, an iconic lure designer, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called mantle cell lymphoma.
Chambers started Zoom in his backyard as a hobby, which included countless hours after his day job. It began in a one-horse barn with sawdust floors. This became the foundation and backbone of Zoom Bait Company, which was founded in 1977.
Zoom was family owned and operated since day one. As the saying goes, behind every man is a great woman. Faye Chambers stood by his side making countless sacrifices in the early days as the company was just getting started. Often, she was found on the living room floor bagging worms and loading their station wagon, so she could deliver them to UPS.
The company began to grow with the help of close friends and fellow fishermen from the Athens Bassmasters. Eddie Wortham, while still in high school, was the first employee hired by Chambers. Today, Wortham still works at Zoom as General Manager.
Shortly after Chambers started the company, Zoom experienced another growth spurt. Chambers son, William Edward Chambers Jr., while still in school, stepped in and began running routes delivering worms with Wortham, across the southeast.
In 1988, Chambers realized that his hobby had turned into a big business. At this point, Chambers believed it would take the entire family to make this work. Eddie Jr., graduated from UGA and returned to the family business, while younger sister Kym pursued a nursing career. Kym graduated from college and worked as an RN for several years. Eventually, she joined Zoom to fill her mother’s shoes, when Faye decided to retire.
Chambers was a humble man, who never saw himself as famous, according to the company obit. He was completely content working seven days a week seeking constant perfection. This was evident in his second hobby, making handmade balsa crankbaits. W.E.C. Custom Lures was his passion. W.E.C. was born around 1992 and, by the mid 90’s, was in full swing. With the help of close friends, Chambers developed many crankbait models that are highly sought after to this day.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced when they become available.
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