Carl A. Rettenberger is a retired professional engineer and land surveyor currently residing in Frederick County, Virginia. He is an avid fly angler and fly tyer since the young age of 10. He has channeled his loved of fishing into his artistry by carving brook, brown and rainbow trout replicas. All the templates used to create his carvings are created in AutoCAD from photographs of actual trout that he or other fly fishermen have caught. He begins each carving by cutting out the general shape of the replica on a bandsaw and then using hand tools, he carves the fish from Basswood blocks. When the hand carving part of the project is complete, he carefully and faithfully paints each fish to match that shown in the given photographs using both an air brush and hand brush. On average, these hand carved Basswood replicas take seven hours per inch of carving to complete!

2018 PHWFF Fly Plate by Steve Jensen - Steve, a famous maker of fly plates, created this piece that showcases the winning flies tied from PHWFF's disabled veterans and disabled active military personnel during the national fly tying competition along with their picture and name.

Steve enlisted in the United States Army Reserves in 1974 and retired in 1994 as a Lieutenant Colonel. In December 1990 through May 1991, Steve served in Saudi Arabia and Iraq as a Preventive Medicine Entomologist during Operation Desert Storm/Shield.

In 1986 Steve became interested in fly plate design and construction through a class offered by the late Darwin Atkin through the Federation of Fly Fishers (now Fly Fishers International) at their annual show. He worked with Darwin until 2000 when Darwin retired from framing and has been framing for the FFI since that time. It is estimated that Steve's efforts in designing and building fly plates, including the time that he collaborated with Darwin, has resulted in sales approximating $300,000 in revenue for FFI. Steve is a life member of both the FFI and the FFI's Fly Tying Group. He is a Board member of the latter group.

The framed plate measures 18.5" x 32.5".

Tom Herr has been tying flies for over 50 years. He has a passion for designing and tying patterns for our military veterans. This fly is an absolutely breath-taking piece of art but what truly sets it off is the inspiration behind the creation of the fly. When Tom started to tie this fly, he wanted the design to honor our country and the sacrifices all of our citizens have made throughout history to make it great. After completing the pencil drawing for it and spending over eight hours of time on the fly, the news broke about the events that occurred during the El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio shootings from August 3rd to Aug. 5th. Tom was heartbroken by the tragedy and when he sat down to continue the tie that he had started, he felt the need to start the fly over. Tom took a razor blade to what he had already started, cleaned off the hook and proceeded without a drawing or design in his mind which he almost never does when tying. There were 31 individuals who lost their lives in those shootings and within the fly, there are 31 individual "curls" tied to represent those innocent lives that were taken too soon. It took Tom 23 hours to create this masterpiece.

Materials: Hook: 6/0 blind eye handmade hook by Yuji Wabe, Hook eye: Twisted colored silver wire, Tag end: Pure silver twisted ribbing. Pure Japanese silk in red, white, and blue. Tail: Dyed white turkey in red, white, and blue separated with strands of bustard and married together. Main wings: Red, white, and blue dyed white turkey separated with strands of bustard married together, Cheeks over the wings: Jay coverts, Body: Antique pure silver ribbing and embossed tinsel. Pure Japanese silk in red, white, and blue. Each body section separated by black herl., Curls: 31 curls were created by utilizing individual barbs of red, white, and blue turkey and carefully either marrying them together again or tying them in individually. Head: pure silver thread

Lidded "point" basket by Passamaquoddy basket maker Jeremy Frey, six inches wide and five inches high, of traditional black ash with woven top ring.

Jeremy Frey is a Passamaquoddy basket weaver in Maine who comes from a long line of native weavers. He specializes in ash fancy baskets, a traditional form of Wabanaki weaving. His work has been featured in the Changing Hands exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, and his pieces are in the Smithsonian, as well as many other prominent museums around the country.

In addition to many Best of Basketry awards, Jeremy won Best of Show at the Santa Fe Indian Market and at the Heard Museum Market in Phoenix in 2011. This is only the second time that someone has won both shows in the same year and the first time a basket weaver has achieved this honor at the Santa Fe Indian Market in its more than 90-year history.

Countless hours go into one of these Native baskets. Jeremy scours the forests for suitable black ash trees, brings the 300-pound logs home, pounds them for many hours to separate the tree rings to create the splints, sizes and sometimes dyes the splints, makes wooden molds around which the baskets are woven and then weaves the basket.

The emerald ash borer from Asia is destroying the black ash trees traditionally used by Native basket makers. Because of predictions that all the usable ash trees will be gone within ten years, Jeremy has begun to experiment with other materials in order to be prepared for the loss of the black ash.

On the stunning and picturesque remote northern tip of the island of Key Largo, you will find your dream get-away waiting for you! Surrounded on three sides by ocean and bays, and by protected tropical forests and parks on the fourth side, the Ocean Reef Club is the legendary playground of presidents, heads of state and business executives who have discovered its wealth of recreational activities. The Ocean Reef Club offers you fishing and diving, championship golf courses, tennis, a magnificent marina and a private island with a beach as beautiful as anything you'd find in the Caribbean. This is your opportunity to discover an unmatched combination of amenities, superb lodging, incredible weather, restaurants, shopping, and cultural events that no club or resort can duplicate. You and a guest will spend 4 days and 3 nights experiencing all that Ocean Reef Club has to offer. This package includes a round of golf for 2, daily use of a utility vehicle and a $1,000 gift card to use toward food and beverages. Airfare is included-restrictions apply. Escape to your paradise in the Keys and let the fun and relaxation begin!

Looking for a unique gift for your little ones? The world-renowned author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of books, Jeff Kinney, has offered to personalize and sign all thirteen books in this series. In addition to receiving the signed, personalized series of books, Jeff welcomes your family to his studio in Plainville, Massachusetts for a private tour! There are currently 220 million books in print and the books are available in 62 languages. The winning bidder just might receive the books BEFORE the holidays!

Designed by: Lynda Jameson Henglein, Owner Silver Linens Jewelry

Renowned artist, Lynda Jameson Henglein, created and donated this beautiful, handcrafted piece of fine jewelry that honors and remembers those in NYC that were most affected by 9/11. It also honors the members of our military who made the ultimate sacrifice or were wounded as a result of military operations after 9/11.

This one-of-a-kind piece features a sterling silver pendant with 24k gold orbs and includes a 20.5-inch sterling silver necklace with clasp featuring 17.5 karats of pave' diamonds. For the body of the pendant, Lynda chose an apple, since the world knows NYC as the "Big Apple".

It was important to Lynda that all elements of the pendant be a tangible and visual symbol of that horrible day on 9/11. She used a real apple, sliced it in half and then traced the outline for the body, as opposed to simply drawing an artist version. The apple with its heart ripped out, represents the Twin Towers that became rubble with steel beams jutting out.

A heart has been placed in the hole where the apple core was ripped out, held in place by steel beams. The heart cannot completely fill the hole, since the people lost can never be replaced!

The necklace also features 24 karat gold orbs of different sizes and shapes placed on the heart that symbolize the people lost on that day, but also the thousands of NYC citizens who rose to the occasion to help those affected by this tragedy. The true heart of gold of the Big Apple are the New Yorkers who lived in the city. In the aftermath of 9/11, they showed the world the strength and resilience of the NYC community!

The apple leaf on the pendant symbolizes the regrowth of the spirit of NYC. The leaf came from the farm of Walter Chandoha, world renowned photographer and WWII veteran, who hailed from NYC. To honor the military, the 24k gold on the heart is reclaimed from USAF jet engines that flew over Iraq & Afghanistan after 9/11.

Lynda spent 30 years as an Army wife and understands the outstanding work that Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing is doing for our disabled veterans and active duty personnel across the United States of America.

This is an official New York City fire helmet and is the same type worn by first responders on 9/11. The front piece has the number 343 which represents the 343 firefighters killed on 9/11. This helmet was donated by Bill Hayes who is in attendance tonight. Bill is both a PHWFF participant and the Regional Coordinator for New Jersey. He was among the firefighters who responded to the world trade center on 9/11. This item will also include a signed and framed photographed of the NYC firefighters in attendance tonight.