RC Receives Coveted Patriot Award

Jan. 17, 2011. Phil Johnson, Regional Coordinator for The Virginias was recently honored by Ed Nicholson, Founder and Board Vice Chairman of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. with the organization’s prestigious Patriot Award.

Johnson was recognized for his selfless dedication and untiring commitment to PHWFF’s mission and the recovering active duty military and veterans it serves. Phil became involved when Project Healing Waters was just starting, and he’s credited with organizing and serving as the Program Lead (PL) for programs at several locations, including the Hunter McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Richmond, Virginia and Ft. Lee Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) which transitioned into the Ft. Eustis WTU program in Newport News, Virginia.

Phil’s interest in PHW was piqued in the fall of 2006 after learning about the innovative program in the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) newsletter. He embraced the concept and decided that he, too, wanted to be involved. Within the next six months Phil worked hard to secure the support of the Fly Fishers of Virginia (FFV) and enlisted the help of local fly fishing shops to donate fly tying gear and materials to sustain the program he initiated at McGuire – which was the third program in a growing organization.

In 2010, PHWFF President Nicholson recognized the leadership and commitment demonstrated by Johnson and appointed him as the regional coordinator (RC) for the states of Virginia and West Virginia. While serving as RC, he continued his PL duties planning activities, managing volunteers, coordinating with government agency managers and working with veterans and recovering soldiers at McGuire and Ft. Eustis. In his capacity as the RC, Phil reached out and engaged other individuals to become involved and soon, new programs were started at West Virginia’s VAMC’s in Beckley and Huntington.

With his background in sales and experience working with other nonprofits, Johnson reached out and pursued contacts in foundations and the corporate world. Among them were Guilford Foundation and Dominion Power. In the last two years, Johnson secured grants totaling $24,500 from the Guilford Foundation to fund fly fishing events and purchase equipment for use by recovering warriors and veterans. The corporate support from Dominion Power resulted in far reaching television and newspaper exposure in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. markets and potential future opportunities.

Johnson continually looks for opportunities to promote and further the goals of PHWFF, improve the programs in The Virginias region and share his best practices and expertise with RC’s throughout the United States. Other examples of his initiatives include securing copies of Fly Fishing 101 at no cost from Fly Fishermen Magazine to help educate the participants in his programs, he developed day events for wheelchair bound participants to fly fish in stocked trout and bass ponds at VT/VSU, Petersburg, Virginia, and he developed urban fishing events at the Salisbury Country Club to give participants an opportunity to fly fish in the ponds off the fairway.

“Phil is most deserving of Project Healing Waters’ most prestigious award,” stated Ed Nicholson. “His passionate devotion to our program has been instrumental in the formation and exponential growth of this organization, and he is an inspiration to us all. Thank you, Phil, for a job well done!”