Veteran Bob McCook did not know the impact Project Healing Waters would have on life. When we first met the retired Navy chief warrant officer last year, he told us he previously had mapped out a financial plan to end his life within two years.
"I actually developed a spreadsheet," McCook said. "The plan of the spreadsheet was all the things I would need to do to make sure (my wife) was financially okay."
But that all changed when volunteers from the Project Healing Waters chapter in Colorado Springs invited McCook and a group of veterans on an all-expenses paid fly fishing trip to Montana. On that trip was Desert Storm Air Force veteran and B-52 combat pilot Dave Ross. McCook credits Ross with saving his life.
"I come to this and I'm clammed up and I walk in and (Ross) is there, I'm good," said McCook.
Air Force combat veteran Woody Boyd says he was struggling when he first came into the program with Project Healing Waters. He said the way Ross invests in each person he meets has made an impact on him, too.
"Dave reached out to me and said, 'Hey, can I treat you to a cup of coffee?' and I was a little bit hesitant, but I said, 'Okay,'" said Boyd. "The way he spoke to me he just made it so personal, and he encouraged me to get back into the program."
The program uses fly-fishing to help veterans and active duty military cope with disabilities from their service.
"It's a detailed sport, so everything you do you have to focus on," Ross said, "Everything from tying the flies, building the rods, every aspect of fly- fishing, there's a focus. That focus is what gets them out of their mind and puts them on the river."
Ross's wife, Sue, a retired Air Force pilot herself, nominated him to receive the News 5 Lighthouse Award, which recognizes people who go above and beyond to make their communities better.
"I think he deserved a pat on the back," Sue said.
She says her husband's volunteer work started with cooking for the non-profit's daylong fishing trips across southern Colorado. He then started to take on the responsibilities for coordinating overnight fishing trips, then fundraising. The national non-profit eventually recognized Ross as a top fundraiser.
"I really wanted to acknowledge the hours that he spends that people don't see," said Sue Ross. "He's on his computer looking for grant sources, editing grants, making sure that he has all the information that he needs, and making sure every trip is full and that the right mentors match with the right participant."
It's that kind of selfless service to others we knew deserved one more special recognition, the News 5 Lighthouse Award.
Project Healing Waters has nearly 200 chapters in 48 states. It started in 2005 serving wounded military service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. To find a chapter near you click here.
If you know someone in our community deserving of the News 5 Lighthouse Award we want to know about them. Click here to submit your nomination now.
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