Blasting for the Brave
While I was at Walter Reed, I met all kinds of people. Some I lost touch with as we do in life, and some I continue to keep in contact with. Chances are, if they fly fish or hunt, I still see them. Such is the case with Ferris Butler. Ferris is a grunt like me. He was an Infantry Platoon Leader in 10th Mountain Division. In 2006, the same year I was hit on my motorcycle, Ferris was hit by an IED in Iraq. His long road to recovery, which we all still walk, has been done with two prosthetic legs. Although many people don’t even notice when he’s wearing pants; a testimony to the seamless way he’s adapted.
During our stay at Walter Reed, Ferris and I were both introduced to Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Needless to say, we were both pretty big fans. We actually had the blessing of being able to go on a trip to Canada with fellow PHWFF participants and some Canadian soldiers from a PHWFF sister program. It was here that Ferris and I became friends.
Every time we see each other, which is never enough it seems, we catch up and have a few laughs. Like me, he has a beautiful wife on the inside and out.
Laura and Ferris actually met while she was volunteering with a veteran non-profit. They are passionate about helping others. Recently, they both saw an opportunity to ignite support through awareness and funding to some of the most impactful military-based non-profits. Thus Blasting for the Brave was born. As the name suggests, Blasting for the Brave is what you would call a pro gun event. It is a shooting clays event with fun side events. The whole family is encouraged to attend, which is my kind of event. The location is at an incredible place in Maryland called The Point at Pintail. I mean seriously…this place looks amazing. Besides the 50 target clay shoot, this inaugural event will host a light breakfast, catered lunch, chainsaw carving, silent auction, pond fishing, moon bounce, face painting, shooting games, specialty food vendors, and of course door prizes! And Beretta sponsored exhibition shooter Travis Mears will be in attendance too! Travis is one bad dude with a shotgun if you didn’t know. I look forward to seeing him show off some serious tricks.
The inaugural Blasting for the Brave will take place on 6 September 2014. For this first annual event, Ferris and Laura have chosen the charities to support. Project Healing Waters and The Pat Tillman Foundation will get, wait for it……100% of net proceeds. That’s something easy to stand behind if you ask me. And y’all better believe we’ll be there!
So if y’all want to test out your skills, be there for the family fun, or support or volunteer, send them an email and they’ll get ya straight. They can be reached through email by clicking here. And make sure to pre-register because you don’t want to miss out on the great perks of early registration, to include reduced cost, customized gift and entry into a drawing for a Ruger 10/22 TakeDown! As I’ve stated, this is the first annual Blasting for the Brave. With that comes the disadvantage of awareness. So if nothing else, you can help this charity by simply sharing this post and info with others. You can also like and share their Facebook page. Please help out with this so this organization and those who will benefit from it will be blessed.