SHERIDAN — As one exits Joey’s Fly Fishing foundation at 109 S. Main St., they read “Casting for a better future.”
Once only participants, the now-junior board contributes to casting a better future by fostering the love of fly-fishing through its position of leadership within the foundation.
The junior board, which started earlier this year and has had four meetings, schedules, coordinates and conducts events, classes and offerings for their peers and younger children throughout Sheridan and Johnson counties. Thursday night, four out of five junior board members — most ages 14 and one 17-year-old — conducted a rod-building class in the shop by themselves.
The mission? Exactly the same as the foundation and the junior board’s adult counterparts, only with a closer tie to the key age demographic.
“(My favorite part is) being there for the kids, making sure they’re having fun, not sitting in a corner wondering when they’re going to go home,” junior board President Stephen Richards, 17, said.
With a “by kids, for kids” model, mentor and board liaison Jace Brown said it helps make all children feel welcome at the shop.
“Some kids are a little more reclusive, and I think having each one of these boys, these men, here, because they’re all so different, having the five of them here, there’s somebody that quiet person can connect with, or that person that feels left out can connect with, because they all have their very own characteristics and personalities,” Brown said. “I think having the range here really helps bring everybody out of their shell when they’re here.”
Since the inaugural meeting, the five young men — Richards, Vice President Anthony Kindle, Secretary Ian Gale, Treasurer Chase Walden and Chair Orrin Kopmann — have scheduled multiple class offerings and partnership opportunities throughout Sheridan and Buffalo, launched a podcast and anticipate starting partnerships with the Tongue River Valley schools this year. Kopmann lives in the valley and already offers rod-building classes through the Tongue River Valley Community Center with his father, according to the young men.
The junior board receives gentle help from foundation founder Joey Puettman, who provides fresh ideas for them to implement; board training and mentorship from foundation adult board member Kristen Jennings; and guidance from 14-year participant Brown.
The junior board provides an opportunity to give back to the foundation that gave them a lot, the junior board said, from mentorship to future career goals.
“It’s based so much on mentoring, it’s almost a therapy,” said Kindle. “Doing things like fishing, building a rod, you can just sit down with somebody one-on-one, and it’s one of the most positive reinforcement things you can do for a human being. Just be there for them and help out in a way where they’re not only learning but they’re taking from it as a human being.”
Kindle started with Joey’s around the age of 5 and has since turned his passion for the club into future career goals, including working in fish and wildlife management.
Despite going to school full time and participating in other activities and working, each junior board member said this is their first big leadership position in the community, and they have mostly dedicated their extracurricular time to furthering the mission of Joey’s.
Those efforts can be seen at the schools, virtually through a podcast and YouTube channel and after school in the shop nearly every day of the week.
Ashleigh Snoozy joined The Sheridan Press in October 2016 as a reporter before moving into the managing editor position in November 2018. She is a native of Colorado and graduated from Biola University in Los Angeles.
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