(Lake Park)– A southwest Minnesota man has launched a special program that thanks veterans by connecting them with the great outdoors. Lance Peterson of Wood Lake, Minnesota is the CEO and founder of Warriors and Walleyes Outdoors. He says the program honors veterans by taking them on an all expense-paid walleye fishing trip to Lake of The Woods. Peterson says it got it’s start about eight years ago after a veteran of desert storm who’s from his nearby town passed away. Peterson says the program quickly grew…
“The next year we were going to take two veterans; that ended up to be 20. And then they go to take a guest so the year after that it was 30, 40, 50, and now we’re at 65.”
Peterson says the program is open to veterans from throughout the region…
“There is a website that we have, it’s called Team Vets at Warriors and Walleyes-dot-org. That’s one way you can get the online application. If you know a vet, you can talk to John or anybody here at SLP Marine, too, and they will get in touch with us. We also have a Facebook page, too, you can follow, it’s Warriors and Walleyes on our Facebook page. We try to post everything we can on that, also.”
Peterson says it started out as a once a year trip but has now expanded…
“We just started another one now in the fall so we have two trips now and the second one is really kind of fun. I’m not saying the first one isn’t, but it’s something different. We call it a Cast and Blast. So in the fall of the year pheasant hunting season opens so we take 20 veterans there and 10 of them get to fish one day and 10 of them get to pheasant hunt one day. And then it just switches. And this year was our first year of the Cast and Blast and we invited 20 purple heart veterans.”
Peterson says the reactions he sees from veterans on the trips is what makes it all worth while to him. Peterson spoke with us this (Fri.) morning during our morning show broadcast from SLP Marine in Lake Park.
