Portland HOW Letter

Winter is waning and spring is just around the corner. The Portland Heroes on the Water chapter is starting its second season and is gearing up for this years veterans. We learned a lot last year. Whether it was needing more organized schedules, focused fishing strategies or showing our volunteers how much we appreciate them. As for the schedule, we have created, tested, and implemented  an overall daily schedule. The new schedule is focused on giving you (the Volunteer) and the veteran more time on the water. It is also designed to give you more one on one time with your charges throughout the day

I would like to thank Spot for showing us a new and more focused way to engage Veterans and volunteers at the beginning of the day. His beginning of the day tackle tying session not only slowed everything down. It brought the volunteer and veteran much closer together. This Mini-Clinic gave us, the HOW staff, time to organize materials and kayaks for the day.


Last, but not least, we the HOW staff did not communicate with you, the Volunteers, how important your time and efforts are. Without you we would not be a program.  I cannot find the words to explain what your help and participation means to me. You are the main component of this program, the guys/gals on the line. (Okay, that was a lame joke) This year we are going to host an end of the year Volunteer party. At this dinner we can relive great times,  forget bad ones and become the team that we are capable of being..

I want to thank those that helped last year. Without you there would not have been a Heroes on the Water chapter here in Portland. I would like to thank, in advance, all of you who will help this year. I hope to see you out on the water with us this year.

Our first, on the water session is coming soon,  March 29th to be exact. We will be at Lost lake (Clatsop County)  Please sign up and join  us for the day.


Steve VanDyke

Steve, Volunteering with HOW is by far one of the most rewarding kayak fishing activities I do.  I can't wait for this years season to kick off.   

Looking forward to helping out again this year.  Such a great way to give back!

Count me in on the 29th.

-Sam

I would love to do this, however I am just slammed with work (Tax Season) I would love to out and help with this sometime. Thanks Steve for the post.

Steve,  Can you provide some information on how to get involved as a volunteer?  I'm not a veteran, but I whole heartedly support those who lay their lives on the line in the armed forces!   What's the event on March 29th?  What do you need as far as volunteer efforts?  It's pretty cool that HOW has the common thread of kayaking and fishing...so what exactly is it that you could use help with??  I have a kayak, I like getting involved in a purpose that serves back to the community in which I live....  Let me know what I can do.   Thanks, Barb

Steve, count me in. Let me know if is anything you need in terms of supplies or boats.

Steve,  Can you provide some information on how to get involved as a volunteer?  I'm not a veteran, but I whole heartedly support those who lay their lives on the line in the armed forces!   What's the event on March 29th?  What do you need as far as volunteer efforts?  It's pretty cool that HOW has the common thread of kayaking and fishing...so what exactly is it that you could use help with??  I have a kayak, I like getting involved in a purpose that serves back to the community in which I live....  Let me know what I can do.   Thanks, Barb

Being a volunteer for Heroes On the Water (HOW) is very easy. You get to go fishing. The only difference is that you get to share your knowledge and excitement for the sport with one to two Veterans.You will also get coffee, doughnuts and lunch for the day

On the day of the Event you show up an hour before the Veterans and help set up the kayaks. The Event Coordinator will give you your assigned Veterans name, physical disabilities, and the kayak assigned to them. Using this information, you will help set up the kayak(s)to meet your Veteran(s) needs.

When the Veterans Arrive you will meet your charges for the day. Get them set up with immersion wear and participate in the site safety talk. The next item on the schedule is the tackle and fishing strategy workshop. You and your vet will select tackle and set up their poles for the days fishing event.

After the workshop it’s out on the water. Lunch will be served at a designated time and place in which you can share stories, reload tackle and participate in a group photo.

After the meal you are back on the water until 3:00. When you return to shore you will help with Kayak and equipment breakdown and storage. Then it is time for the afternoon snack and the days debriefing.

I hope this answers your question. We want to use your expertise as kayak fishermen first and utmost. There are other ways to help also. You could be part of the shore contingent and help with lunch and equipment dispersal. You can also join the HOW team and help with the event planning and staging. Last but not least, you can donate to Heroes On the Water, Portland Chapter

Wobbler/Steve VanDyke

Thanks Jake, Sam, Nate and Langston for volunteering for the HOW event on Saturday. I will send you a PM with the details on Thursday.

Wobbler.

Good luck out there people. Have a great day and please stay safe.

Wish I could be there. :-(

Hey count me in, please forward any calender or organization meetings. Do you need kayaks, I have my wife's Outback. On another subject I got back out once more for Sturgeon and got my one shaker .

I'm interested in volunteering for summer season if my work schedule cooperates. You have a link to the schedule?

Hey guys, thanks for the interest in volunteering. We haven't finalized all the dates for the year yet but these are the two upcoming ones:

May 17th Columbia, Hood River
April 26th Hagg Lake

Please send me a PM with you email address and I will put you on our contact list. Thanks!