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Heroes on the Water (HOW - www.heroesonthewater.org) is a non-profit organization that provides basic kayak fishing instruction, angling clinics, and paddling instruction for military and law enforcement personnel that have been wounded, injured or disabled. It started at the Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio and has spread globally. There is a relatively new chapter here in Houston/Souteast Texas. If you are on the facebook, you can find them here - http://www.facebook.com/#!/SETXHeroesOntheWater.
Dustin with the Lone Star Kayak Series provided five veterans and two HOW volunteers free entry into last weekend's LSKS fishing tournament. I was lucky enough to be one of the volunteers and got to tag along as we fished the back lakes in the Pierce Marsh.
To say I was humbled by the experience would be an understatement. All four of the vets (the fifth was the spouse of one of the guys) have some real challenges ranging from limited use of both legs to missing one or both legs. They hit the water like pros and had a big day. All of them caught fish but most of them were rats, one placed 20th in the tournament with a nice slot redfish. I got skunked as usual. Sitting around at Louis' after the day of fishing, I heard some incredible stories and had some good laughs with the vets. What a great bunch of folks.
Here's a photo of one of our Heroes, a retired SSGT US Army with his tourney fish.
So why do I tell you all this? HOW is a great organization for veterans. Since we don't have a military medical center in Houston/Galveston, one of the challenges seems to be getting the word out to veterans that HOW exists and makes available 'adaptive' kayaks, kayak fishing classes, etc. to veterans trying to get reengaged with their new abilities. If you know a vet that could benefit from HOW, please send me a PM and I will put them in touch with the local chapter leader. Next time I know an outing gets scheduled, I will make sure to let you all know because I know how strongly many of you feel about supporting vets and will want to help out.
Take a minute and read through the HOW website if you are unfamiliar with the organization. Some amazing success stories.
Thanks guys for taking the time to read a long post.
JYC
Dustin with the Lone Star Kayak Series provided five veterans and two HOW volunteers free entry into last weekend's LSKS fishing tournament. I was lucky enough to be one of the volunteers and got to tag along as we fished the back lakes in the Pierce Marsh.
To say I was humbled by the experience would be an understatement. All four of the vets (the fifth was the spouse of one of the guys) have some real challenges ranging from limited use of both legs to missing one or both legs. They hit the water like pros and had a big day. All of them caught fish but most of them were rats, one placed 20th in the tournament with a nice slot redfish. I got skunked as usual. Sitting around at Louis' after the day of fishing, I heard some incredible stories and had some good laughs with the vets. What a great bunch of folks.
Here's a photo of one of our Heroes, a retired SSGT US Army with his tourney fish.
So why do I tell you all this? HOW is a great organization for veterans. Since we don't have a military medical center in Houston/Galveston, one of the challenges seems to be getting the word out to veterans that HOW exists and makes available 'adaptive' kayaks, kayak fishing classes, etc. to veterans trying to get reengaged with their new abilities. If you know a vet that could benefit from HOW, please send me a PM and I will put them in touch with the local chapter leader. Next time I know an outing gets scheduled, I will make sure to let you all know because I know how strongly many of you feel about supporting vets and will want to help out.
Take a minute and read through the HOW website if you are unfamiliar with the organization. Some amazing success stories.
Thanks guys for taking the time to read a long post.
JYC
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