wounded Warriors in Action weekend

Who says America doesn't have heroes anymore? I had the absolute pleasure of hosting 3 wounded veterans this weekend as part of the Wounded Warriors in Action organization. Daniel Smith from South Carolina - wounded in Iraq, Nick Colgin from Wisconsin Rapids - wounded in Afghanistan, Nick Schoon from Texas-wounded in Iraq and founder of the program retired Col John McDaniel were all guests of ours as we had the opportunity to expose them to the great hunting and fishing of Central Wisconsin. Both Saturday and Sunday were full of turkey hunting, fishing, telling stories, and most importantly building lifetime friends. We had a great time fishing on Lake Wausau and the Wisconsin river with a mixed bag of northern pike, perch, walleyes, crappies, smallmouth bass, and catfish making there way to the Frabill. We caught a ton of crappies on Lake Wausau with enough to send home some fresh fish for fish fries. Considering the heat and fog - turkey hunting was great. No birds were bagged but every group had gobblers that they worked but just wouldn't cooperate. Special thanks goes out to the many people who provided help, meals, lodging, etc for no cost to our veterans. The Grand Lodge by Stoney Creek put the veterans up for free, Tom Keenan of Gander Mountain who had the license process all ready to go, Keith at the Log Cabin who had a great dinner served Saturday night, special thanks to my wife for organizing a brat fry Friday, and certainly the hunters and fisherman from the area who gave their time and expertise to make this an outstanding and memorable weekend. Bill Gibbs of the Silver Pump Farm, our own chef - Luke Coenen, Justin Petroske and Eric Biezek - sales associates at Gander Mountain for turkey guiding both days, and Tony Kopchinski of the Mosinee Sportsman club.

The weekend was totally awesome and great memories and lifelong friendships were made. Stay tuned as Wounded Warriors in Action will be back next Spring, 2011. Any outdoor enthusiasts that would like to help should contact me

I will post some more pictures tomorrow

God Bless our country and men like these for protecting the freedoms and rights we have as Americans

Todd