The PHWFF-Denver Program kicked off their rod building classes on September 8. This was their first in-person rod building class and first participant class in 18 months. The participants and coaches were very happy to be in-person again!
The class took place at the American Legion Headquarters in Denver, CO.
“The class went really well,” Volunteer Patrick Higgins said. “All of the participants were all very excited to start their first ever fly rod. We had a few technical difficulties, but that should be corrected on the second night of class on September 15.”
According to Higgins, the most memorable moments were just watching the interactions between the participants and fly rod building coaches.
Higgins would like to thank the coaches, as they are the ones who make this class operate and work.
The final class took place on Wednesday, September 22 and volunteer Jonathan Miller helped run the class as a coach.
“This is the first time I helped teach as a rod building coach,” Miller said. “It was great to see people learn and they appreciated our efforts.”
One of the most memorable moments was watching a participant who had lost his legs accomplish something very difficult for him to do, but excelling at it. He came through like the hero he is and expressed his appreciation for the program for taking his mind off of his problems. He was totally focused on the tasks at hand and he was very proud to have built his first fly rod. It was a pleasure for me to help him achieve this.
JOnathan Miller-Denver PHWFF Volunteer
Miller would like to thank Patrick Higgins for putting everything together and leading everyone through the effort all while being highly professional.