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Awesome Mom Edie Wren

 

It only takes a few minutes of talking with Edie Wren to know why her son, Hunter, nominated her, and she was selected, as “Awesome Mom” in our Mother’s Day contest.  

 

Edie works in the ophthalmology clinic at the Veterans Admin and last fall, talking with a veteran there, she heard about Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.  Edie believes that when you hear the voice – whether you call it the Holy Spirit or the Great Energy – you need to follow the call.  So she contacted Kiley Battaglin, Lead of the PHWFF – Colorado Springs Chapter, and said she would like to volunteer.  Kiley said she could always use help “to cook, clean, those kind of things.”  Not long after, she was on her first volunteer outing with PHWFF and watched Kristina Dougherty mentor one of the veterans in fly fishing.

 

“Want to try?”  Edie couldn’t turn down Kristina’s offer at the end of the day.  Not too much later, Edie was landing her first rainbow trout on a fly rod.  

 

This past April, the 16thto be exact (she remembers the date because it is her birthday), she took the Discover Fly Fishing class at Angler’s Covey.  She didn’t know at the time, but the class was taught by Becky Leinweber, co-owner.  

 

“The class was really the beginning” of Edie’s adventure in fly fishing.  Having grown up in Kansas with a stepdad and five brothers who enjoyed the outdoors, she is not new to outdoor adventures.  But the Discover class and the urge to get out into the mountains more has set the hook in her new passion for fly fishing.

 

Edie says guys are great, but “I want to hang out more with like-minded women, fish with women.” She’s thrilled about Orvis’s 50/50 by 2020 initiative – to grow the number of women enjoying this adventure of fly fishing.  “I would like to see more women veterans involved in Project Healing Waters, too,” she says.

 

“Being out there, being in Mother Nature, is so very healing.”  And she is driven to share that healing power with others.  

 

 

This past Wednesday, Edie was the photographer for the Project Healing Waters women’s trip.  As evidenced by these photos (courtesy Kristina Dougherty), Edie (in the red hat) put down the camera and picked up the rod.  “We taught her a few things.  Got her to net her own fish and then net somebody else’s. It was so fun to see her light up,” Kristina said. “Edie is so determined to give back and help others.”  

 

 

And that giving back doesn’t end at the river bank or lake shore.  Almost every Saturday, Edie takes reading glasses to veterans who are incarcerated at the Criminal Justice Center.  If the vets are indigent, the glasses are free.  If a veteran needs glasses but is not indigent, she helps him get a prescription filled at the commissary.  Edie started this program in January, and delivers about ten pairs of glasses every two weeks.

 

It’s this spirit of giving back to others, being of service to her community, and having a new passion for fly fishing that her son, Hunter, nominated her for Awesome Mom.  

 

She was awarded a ½ day guided fly fishing trip for two through Jon Easdon, Director of Services at Angler’s Covey.  

 

Edie says, “I’m very grateful for this.  Very appreciative. Thank you.”

 

Ummm, no, thank you, Edie. 

 

1 Comment

  1. Lizard on November 29, 2023 at 8:00 pm

    Edie is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. She’s helped me more than anyone ever has and is like a mom to me. I love her unconditionally. This woman deserves the moon. I wish I could give it to her.

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