Great job fellas ! I plan on writing my next article for Coastal Angler Magazine on custom rod crafting and also featuring "Rods for Soldiers program and Pat Helton" .
After talking to Anna yesterday about it she said it would most likely be a national feature story.
Thanks for all that y'all do for the "Rods for Soldiers" program. There can never be enough gratitude that can be shown to our soldiers who have served, especially ones that have been injured or even killed in the line of duty. I have a friend PFC Bradley Thomas who was injured in Iraq. He volunteered to go over right after his best Friend PFC Cody Ford from Jones Creek was killed in the line of duty. Bradley was over there about a month when he was blown up by an AED. He has been in hospital for over 2 years recovering from the trauma. He has had major brain damage & is paralized. We (the local community) did a benefit in Freeport for him & his family a few years back to raise money for them. "Rods for Soldiers program and Pat Helton" built a rod for that event, and I believe that may even be where the program got started. Over 10 years ago their family was my next door neighbor. The boys (Bradley & Corey) were always the most polite & well mannered young men I have ever seen growing up. Their dad Rocky is a good friend & I also went to school with their mom Veronica. The family has had to endure a lot in the last few years with Bradley's rehabilitation.
