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"Fly Fishing News" on Newsvine I recently launched a new column on Newsvine.com called "Fly Fishing News." The focus is national and the content is very "newsy." This allows me to feature content that is less news oriented on my fly fishing blog...entertainment, humor, how-to's, feature articles, and so forth. And the hard news items will now be found on my news column. So be sure to visit http://flyfishingnews.newsvine.com and add it to your RSS feeds. Need Equipment Sponsors for Tournament Team SGT Daniel Grace, a National Guard soldier from Gassville, AR (where the tornadoes just destroyed 80% of the town on the White River near Mountain Home), and me have been invited to fish as a sponsored pro-am team in the 2008 Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing 2-fly Tournament on the Rose River in Virginia on May 4th. Last year, a fly fishing club from that area and the owner and members of Rose River Farm raised over $60k for PHWFF at this tournament. Corporations sponsor the 2-man teams for $2,500 each, and then we have a bunch of other fundraisinig activities surrounding the tournament. There are 30 teams. Typical measured fish, timed fishing, C&R event. Last year, it was covered by regional TV shows/news, Washington Post, Washington Times, NY Times, National Public Radio, etc. This year, we have appointments to also promote the event on FoxNews and CNN.
SGT Grace was wounded in Iraq. He is rehabilitating from both the physical wounds and the PTSD brought on by a traumatic brain injury. He is good looking, well spoken, positive, personable, and his hometown was just destroyed by a tornado. In fact, he had just closed on a house 2-weeks prior.
We are currently seeking equipment sponsors for: waders, boots, technical clothing, rods, reels, lines, rain gear, polarized sunglasses, luggage, packs/vests, and more. Mostly, we need to equip SGT Grace. I kind of already have most of what I need. If you are interested in sponsoring our 2-man team, email me at ken@kenmorrow.net right away. We are already talking to major labels for all of this stuff. Old Boats for a Good Cause I'm sure many of you have heard about Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing and the work we do with wounded warriors and disabled veterans. If not, you can go to http://projecthealingwaters.org to learn more.
Well, I just want to toss this out there because we've already had a couple of boats donated...
If you have a drift boat, inflatable pontoon, sit-on-top kayak, or canoe that is SEAWORTHY and TRANSPORTABLE that is collecting dust or taking up valuable storage space that you intend to use for a NEW boat or something, we would love to accept such watercraft as donations.
We will either USE THEM to take the troops/vets fishing, or pimp them out and auction them off to raise money...depending upon the needs of the organization and the particulars of each boat.
The BEST candidates are fishing pontoons, catarafts, river johns, rigid inflatable fishing rafts, and drift boats. Minor repairs don't scare us and actually give us projects to work on with the patients.
Feel free to contact me directly at ken@kenmorrow.net with questions or to work out details. PHWFF, Inc. is a 501©(3) not-for-profit corporation and official partner of TU and FFF.  Springfield, MO - On a cold winter evening, wounded warriors from Fort Leonard Wood’s Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) gathered with Project Healing Waters volunteers and the Recreational Therapist from the WTU, Kevin Amschler, to learn to tie fishing flies as a proven part of their healing process. Gathering around the heavy oak conference tables inside the Log Cabin Room at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World superstore in Springfield, Missouri, five soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood learned how to tie the ubiquitous Wooly Bugger, a popular fly that is half fly – half marabou jig. It is literally a Wooly Worm with a marabou jig tail attached, tied on a long streamer fly hook.
 The Wooly Bugger
The soldiers, who are all recovering from wounds suffered in the Global War on Terrorism, each received a White River Fly Shops fly tying kit from Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF, Inc.) and were instructed by volunteers from Missouri Trout Fishermen’s Association and Southwest Missouri Fly Fishers on how to tie the Wooly Bugger. The class meets weekly at Bass Pro for six weeks. During that time, these American heroes learn to tie at least six different flies commonly used to catch trout and pan fish in the Ozarks, several fly fishing specific knots, and some basic concepts of sportsmanship and fly fishing etiquette and traditions. Simultaneously, Project Healing Waters volunteers from Roubidoux Fly Fishers Association travel to Fort Leonard Wood for weekly fly casting classes, where the troops are taught to cast a fly rod. When each six week course is completed, the participating soldiers are eligible to participate in Project Healing Waters sponsored fishing trips and other fly fishing related outings. The six week courses are repeated once each quarter of the year. And at least one fishing trip is scheduled quarterly near the end of each class rotation.
The volunteers teaching this first session of classes are local residents Larry Wegmann, President of MTFA and science instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College; Russ Doughty, a retired recipient of the Purple Heart from the Vietnam War; Ralph Eicholz, a retired school teacher and Vietnam-era veteran; Kevin Smith, an IT trainer for DataLink and Coast Guard veteran; and Ken Morrow, a disabled Gulf War veteran and Regional Coordinator for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.
 2LT Elizabeth Dilg (right) and SGT Daniel Grace learning about the materials in their new fly tying kits
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing began over three years ago as wounded troops began returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Founders Captain Ed Nicholson, USN (retired) and Chief Warrant Officer John Colburn, USN (retired) started up the fly tying and casting classes at Walter Reed under the oversight of the Chief of Occupational Therapy. The benefits were evident almost immediately and the program quickly became very popular. After a couple of years, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing affiliated with the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) and began to expand to other military and Veterans Administration hospitals around the country. In June of 2007, Ken Morrow, a local member of both FFF affiliated fly fishing clubs in Springfield and himself a disabled veteran with a brother and a nephew in Iraq, contacted Colburn and Nicholson to inquire about starting a Project Healing Waters program at Fort Leonard Wood. Organizing and training volunteers, raising funds and soliciting donations of equipment, and educating area FFF and Trout Unlimited clubs about the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing program from June of last year until now; Mr. Morrow is now responsible for Project Healing Waters programs launching in seven locations in five states. Ironically, the Fort Leonard Wood program only became a reality on January 16, 2008; and is the second PHWFF program in the state of Missouri. Capital City Fly Fishers launched the first PHWFF program in the state at the Harry S. Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, Missouri, in the early Fall of 2007. Morrow said, “When I got involved, I just wanted to take a few wounded troops from Fort Leonard Wood fly fishing. But this thing just grew and grew. I soon found my efforts and attention divided among fly fishing clubs, VA hospitals, and military Warrior Transition Units wanting to start their own PHWFF programs from Kansas to Mississippi, and from Texas to Columbia, Missouri. The Warrior Transition Units are all brand new…something the military has never done before. So there were some understandable delays in getting things rolling on that end. Finally, here we are. The vision I set out to accomplish (with a lot of help from friends and regional businesses like Bass Pro Shops, Price Cutter, Backcountry Outfitters, Global Dorber, Peak Fishing, and Sysco Foods) is finally a reality. But that means the real work is just beginning.”  Ken Morrow (Springfield) demonstrates how to tie in a soft hackle collar for Wounded
Warriors from Fort Leonard Wood
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity affiliated with the Federation of Fly Fishers. It is a totally grassroots, volunteer organization made up mostly of military veterans who are avid fly anglers.  From left to right: PFC Joshua Young (Springfield), SGT Jose Pacheco (Modesto, CA), Ralph Eicholz (Springfield), Russ Doughty (Springfield), 1SG Michael Grantham (MO), SGT Daniel Grace (Mountain Home, AR) dig into their White River Fly Shops fly tying kits at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World on January 16, 2008.
To get involved or to inquire about Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, you can contact Ken Morrow via email at ozarkangler66@yahoo.com or logging on to http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/
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