Since 2007, the Gulf Coast Council has annually honored those members and clubs for outstanding contributions to our mission. This year, we recognized four individuals for their promotion and advancement of fly fishing, fly tying, conservation and community within the GCC.
Each award recipient recieves a personalized mug with their name and award. The mug features an abstract of a redfish tail. It makes for a great ornament on bookshelves or coffee tables, as well as functional for enjoyin hot beverages.
The list of nominees and their achievements was published in the Summer issue of our newsletter, The Gulf Streamer. Below is a summary of that info. Please refer to the newsletter for more details on each of our honorees.
Fly Fisher of the Year – Donald Dehm
Awarded to individual(s) who demonstrate unusual devotion to the sport of fly fishing. Their contributions have benefitted one or more aspects of fly fishing, the fly fishing community, the FFI, the Gulf Coast Council, or fishing in general.
Donald resides in Foley, AL, and serves as GCC Treasurer and Educational Director. He’s been a “Swiss Army knife” resource to our clubs and partners. He played a major role in organizing our inaugural Gulf Coast Classic and Fly Fishing Film Tour. He’s been involved in conservation activities, and has been a longtime advocate for fly fishing from kayaks. His kayak fishing videos and articles have recognized him as a strong voice in the kayak industry.
Education Excellence Award – Dino Frangos
Awarded to individuals or clubs that have made outstanding contributions in teaching one or more elements of our sport to others, including fly fishing basics, fly casting, fly tying, rod building, or advanced fishing techniques.
Dino is a retired urologist from Mobile, AL. As a member of the Gulf Coast Fly Fishing School, and through other venues, has taught over a thousand folks how to fly cast! He’s an FFI Master Certified Casting Instructor (MCI) and in 2021, met requirements to become a Level 1 Examiner. In addition to teaching, Dino has written numerous articles on flycasting, especially targeting those pursuing the MCI certification.
Excellence in Fly Tying
Now a lifetime achievement award, it recognizes those who made oustanding contributions to the art of fly tying, though any combination of accomplishment, innovation, enhancement of the art, instruction of others, or media education. This year, we had two nominees, both of which we felt very worthy of this honor.
David Buckner
David is a nationally-recognized tier, with a wide range of patterns from salmon flies to trout flies, and to his specialty, saltwater patterns. His willingness to share his knowledge with others was key to him being awarded the Gulf Coast Council “Excellence in Education Award” in 2022. That same year, he was named to the FFI Fly Tying Group Board of Governors.
Some of David’s favorite creations are mashups of popular flies. For example, combining spoon flies and clousers, combining bendbacks and spoon flies, hair streamer jig flies, and more. He donates many flies to several events each year.
Kevin ‘Doc’ Andry
Dr. Kevin Andry is a nationally-recognized educator and music director for St. Micheals High School in Baton Rouge. He ties a wide repertoire of patterns from traditional nymphs and streamers to inshore saltwater favorites with an eye for exact details and proportion. But his love for bass fishing – at which he’s been highly successful – has led Kevin to mastering Crease Flies, Hard-bodied Poppers, and Deer Hair Bugs. The latter of which he’s earned a national reputation.
Kevin participates at demonstration tier at various events, and teaches workshops on fly tying specific patterns. He’s also given presentations to clubs on kayak and marsh fishing and maintains a popular kayak fishing blog. He also started a fly fishing club at St. Micheals High School, now in it’s fifth year, where dozens of young people have learned fly casting and fly tying.
President’s Award – Chris Williams
Selected by the Council president, this award is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions. Not just to the Council, but also in service to helping our members advance in the FFI mission of either casting, tying, conservation, environmental, or other aspect.
Chris served as Tournament Director for the Gulf Coast Classic, but more importantly, was directly responsible for a number of sponsors who donated fantastic events for our event, insuring it as a financial success.
A degreed marine biologist, Chris is an accomplished fly tier who ties at club meetings and events, and enjoys traveling to many locations in search of new and familiar species on the fly rod. He chronicles his adventures and his favorite fly patterns on his “The Fat Fingered Fly Tyer” blog. In 2022, he initiated a monthly casual tying event called “Flies and Flights” at a local brewery which has become a blueprint for other regional casual tying events. He’s also involved in the Mayfly Project, a national non-profit organization which uses fly fishing to mentor and support children in foster care.
For more on each of these and other awards, as well as listing of previous honorees, check out the “Awards” page under the “Resources” menu.
