John Crews & Reel American Heroes Foundation

I just wanted to publicly thank John here on the place where he is most loved. I had the honor of fishing this tournament on Saturday. We fished the Potomac River and had a blast. About 90 wounded active duty, retired, and veterans were able to fish in this annual tournament. Along with our very own John Crews was Shaw Grigsby, Michael Simonton, Paul Elias, and Timmy Horton. They are all class acts and the only BASS pros that attended. Though I am not sure who was invited and what events, if any, that those who could not make it attended, I am eternally greatful for these heroes of mine that donated their time, some gear, and boats and gas so that all us warriors could have an amazing day.John, if you are reading this man, you are one class act and a true gentleman. Guys and gals, this man does a lot for the troops and wounded warriors and in my opinion we need to support him and his company, Missile Baits, any chance we can. I know that from now on, Missile Baits will be the first place I go. I am not trying to take business away from anyone on here that is trying to build their business by no means. But if you had been there this weekend, and watched him interact with us and put smiles on all of our faces. He signed autographs and posed for pictures and never once did he ever even show a sign of wanting to leave. He was there, right amongst us, as was all the other professionals, until the end. The next time you see John, please thank him for all he has done, and continues to do for all of us that have served or are currently serving.This was probably the best weekend I have had since coming home from Iraq. Just dont tell my wife as we were married after I got home and on a weekend. But this was fishing with my heroes…lolI want to thank all of you here that are helping our troops and wounded warriors. You are heroes to us. If you have not had a chance to work with one of these regional fishing organizations, I can assure you from the testimony of John, Shaw, Paul, Timmy, Michael, and the President of Lews, Gary Remensnyder, it will change your life for the better. One last thing, I had the pleasure of spending an hour in the car, on the way to the airport with Mr.Gary Remensnyder. I was so impressed with him. Many CEOs that I have met over the years have two sides. The side that performs to the public and the side when not on stage. Mr. Remensnyder continued to insist that it was his pleasure to be a part of this and it was his honor for me to bless him with my presence to the airport. Once in the airport, he saw me twice in passing and made it a point to say hi. A real gentleman, humanitarian, and human being.I believe that I am now a Lews customer at least as long as he remains CEO. I will be a forever fan of his and will buy any products of the company he runs. Thank you all for indulging me and reading this. If you want more information and pictures of the event, just go to http://www.reelamericanheroes.org over the next few days and they will be posting pictures and probably articles in their newsletter.Now to get Bass Cat on board with Kentucky Pro Bass Warrior organization now that we have our 501c3 paperwork. Not sure if I should drive to Mountain Home or start with Legacy Marine, Sherms, and Jeff Jones. I know i have searched high and low for a feasible solution for us to get our wheelchair wounded into and out of the boat as well as into and out of to riding seat and back fishing seat. I have ideas and spoke with Ivan so I am waiting to hear. I have seen the rail solution, dock mounted solutions, and a Champion bay boat solution. But we need a lift solution that can use a pro pole type design that can be easily attached or screwed into a bracket molded into and attached to the boat structure during the build for a solid and long lasting solution. I think it can be done just like the one – hand operated spinning reel produced by Ronald DeFrietas when a father of a soldier was told by a national organization that his son, a combat wounded veteran, would never fish again and he needed to accept that. He only has the use of one hand. Ron took it as a personal challenge to prove the national organization wrong and has done so. I want to the same thing and I want the patent to be shared with our organization and the developer/company.Anyway, keep your lines wet and tight. Dont forget the annual Open tournament fundraiser we are having. Chance to win 3000 dollars for first.Last edited by Basscatdreams on August 6th, 2014, 4:01 am, edited 1 time in total.