PHWFF Chairman Is Finalist For L.L. Bean Award
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. (PHWFF) is proud to announce that Douglas Dear was named a finalist for the prestigious L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes Award. Mr. Dear, PHWFF’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees, is one of 10 finalists selected from a field of over 600 nominees nationwide to qualify for the final voting process. The winner of L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Heroes Award will be determined by popular vote through on-line voting that begins July 1. Click on the following link, scroll down to Douglas Dear and vote todayhttp://www.facebook.com/l/0AQAR48Q2AQDWrekV4B_eskHMLEQMGY-Xt4Lux5Y2tDmY0w/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.llbean.com%2FoutdoorsOnline%2FconservationAndEnvironment%2FoutdoorHeroes%2F%3Fnav%3Dftlink.
A $5,000 donation will be made to the winner’s 501 (c)(3) nonprofit and the individual with the most votes will also receive a $500 L.L. Bean gift card. Douglas stated, “If I am fortunate enough to win the $5,000 for Project Healing Waters, I will donate the $500 to the organization as well.”
Douglas Dear was recognized in the nomination for the L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes Award for his passionate leadership and tireless efforts which brought about significant and sustained program growth in just four years. From the program’s inception at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to more than 100 programs in 2011, PHWFF volunteers have assisted disabled veterans and recovering soldiers by exposing them to the therapeutic benefits of fly fishing. The number of PHWFF volunteers and participants has increased every year, and, in 2010, some 3,000 disabled veterans and recovering military service members were involved in regularly scheduled classes and fishing outings offered by PHWFF. Through fly fishing instruction, fly tying classes, fly casting lessons, rod building and fly fishing outings, participants learn new skills that help them enjoy the healing properties of the outdoors and lessen the symptoms of their disabilities.
Dear’s advocacy of fly fishing and his responsible stewardship of fly fishing waters have been instrumental to the success of the PHWFF program as well as other nonprofit organizations. He maintains over a mile of private water on the Rose River, in addition to a trout pond and two bass ponds at his Rose River Farm near Syria, Virginia. He hosts Casting for Recovery retreats and Trout Unlimited youth programs in addition to many Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing events. Douglas has dedicated time, effort and considerable personal resources to conservation initiatives and environmental issues.
“We are grateful to Douglas for all he does,” stated Ed Nicholson, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Founder and Vice Chairman of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, “not just for us but for others as well. He’s generous and committed, and others deserve to know about the wonderful things he does. It would be a fitting tribute for him to be selected as the L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes Award recipient for 2011. I urge everyone to cast their vote for Douglas Dear.”
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization with over 100 programs run by volunteers in 38 states. Funding for program expenses comes from individual and corporate donations and foundation grants. For information, visithttp://www.facebook.com/l/xAQAJjOPtAQAX6ovxFnsWB9Ek_NKZ-LrnJ2kmZ7rIYdm1Gg/www.projecthealingwaters.org.
