A while back I wrote about a promotional event that Redington had on the Niangua River just downstream from where Bennett Spring and the river meet. Prior to the event, I emailed the contact person and told him that I would be attending the event and that I was looking forward to making some new friends that share a similar passion. I also informed him that if he had any donations for the middle school fly fishing club I sponsor that I would gladly take them back to the kids and distribute the materials to the newbies. Almost ninety-five percent of the club members had never touched a fly rod prior to joining the club and were quickly becoming big fans of fishing. However, none of them had any gear to call their own and would gladly welcome anything fly fishing related into their lives. Jay, the fella that replied to my email, said that he would see what he could do. First off, I was shocked that I even got a reply from anyone at the company because I didn't think a company as large as Redington would see a need to get back to one individual about a donation request. This was the first time that Redington and Jay would surprise me, but it would not be the last.
Fast forward to the day of the event and low and behold there was Jay and he actually remembered our email exchanges. Surprise number two! Jay was very welcoming and cordial offering us some hot dogs, drinks, and a chance to cast a two-handed fly rod on the Niangua. Austin, a former student of mine and former fly fishing club member, and I were extremely excited to hit the water and Jay was an excellent instructor that had the patience of a saint. Surprise number three because I have no doubt that it is hard to spend your life promoting a company, traveling around the country, dealing with donations, and teaching folks to do something that they have never done before. I think I have mentioned before that I am a teacher, and that job alone is enough but Jay is obviously multi talented.
After learning how to do some basic spey casting, our little crew started to get an itch to get back to Bennett Spring State Park where the fish had been biting earlier in the day. Prior to leaving, I asked Jay if he had anything for me to pass along to my club members and he did. Surprise number four. Jay followed through on his promise and sent me home with some very cool promotional items to pass along to the club members. It is difficult for me to find the words to express my gratitude and thanks to both Jay and Redington for taking the time and energy to help out one individual with a donation request. The fact that my email didn't fall on deaf ears, that they made a promise, that they followed through on said promise, and that they were so generous with their resources and time is something that seems rare in the day and age that we live in. It is refreshing and speaks to the type of company Redington is and the type of person Jay is that they are so willing to go out of their way to help others and genuinely care about their customers and potentially future customers. Both Jay and Redington are genuine, good-hearted, and thoughtful and I could not be a bigger fan of both. Redington employees, if you are reading this, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you did for my students as well as myself. And if my words aren't enough to get my point across, here are the words of some of the club members:
"Thank you for supporting the only fly fishing club in the state."
"When I was at Roaring River State Park on year, my grandfather asked me if I would like to learn how to fly fish. Since the, I've gotten closer to my grandfather."
"If you ever come back to Missouri, you should stop by and maybe go fishing with us to see how much your donations helped us out."
"I'm so happy that you donated and showed your appreciation for our club."
"I have been fly fishing for about 2 years now and I absolutely love it. Redington is one of my favorite companies and when I'm older I would like to work for Redinton."
"I mainly joined fly fishing because my whole family loves it and of course I didn't want to be left out of a family tradition. Now I don't need as much help anymore and can catch a decent amount of fish. I really appreciate what you did for our fly fishing club."
"We are very appreciative to the company and we will be customers for a long time."
Well said kids. I even decided to christen my somewhat new truck with it's first sticker out of appreciation. I really don't think I can show my appreciation any more than that.
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