• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

Clinton man among those honored for helping wounded vets

Posted at 10:45 am December 24, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Josh Callihan of Maryville and Buzz Buffington of Clinton have been awarded regional honors by Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing for wounded and disabled veterans—Callihan as Tennessee Valley Region Participant of the Year and Buffington as Tennessee Valley Region Volunteer of the Year.

Both men have been active since the start of the year-old Knoxville Chapter of PHWFF, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the emotional and physical rehabilitation of wounded and disabled military veterans through fly fishing.

Callihan, the first disabled veteran to sign up for the Knoxville program, has helped PHWFF volunteers understand veterans’ needs and has established protocols for volunteers to follow, according to Steve Thompson of Maynardville, program lead for the Knoxville chapter. Callihan also inspired his wife Jessica, another disabled vet, to join the program. He has also personally recruited other veterans and has joined Thompson at trade shows and other events where they could meet and recruit veterans.

Callihan is currently lead volunteer for a proposed Smoky Mountains fishing tournament for veterans. For his achievements, he was awarded a new Orvis fly rod outfit.

Buffington is a longtime member of the Clinch River Chapter Trout Unlimited, a partner organization of the Knoxville Chapter PHWFF. He organized and led the fly tying class for veterans that was the first activity of the Knoxville Chapter as well as a second class this fall.

Buffington has long taught the Clinch River Chapter’s annual Introduction to Fly Tying course (for details on the 2014 course that starts in January, visit www.crctu.org) and also serves with many organizations working to conserve the environment.

Buffington has participated in all of the Knoxville Chapter’s fishing events for veterans and regularly takes veterans fishing on his own. He has worked with TVA to ensure that the Clinch River generation schedule would accommodate veterans’ fishing events, has worked directly with the PHWFF home office, and has facilitated the participation of Chota Outdoor Gear in providing equipment for PHWFF.

For more information about the Knoxville Chapter of PHWFF, contact Steve Thompson at Stevethefishingguy@gmail.com or (865) 773-3343.

Information in this story brought to you through an agreement between Oak Ridge Today and WYSH. See more local news headlines on the WYSH website at http://www.wyshradio.com/local_news.html.

Filed Under: Community, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: Buzz Buffington, Clinch River Chapter Trout Unlimited, disabled vet, fly fishing, Josh Callihan, PHWFF, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Steve Thompson, Tennessee Valley Region, veterans, wounded veterans

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Community News

Outdoor Pool to close for season Aug. 12

Indoor Pool to re-open Monday The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool will closed for the season on Monday, August 12, and the Indoor Pool will re-open Monday, July 29, after being closed for a few months for renovations. The … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge announces Independence Day concert, fireworks

The City of Oak Ridge is sponsoring its annual fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day. The display will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park on July 4, and it is scheduled to begin at dark, around 9:45 p.m. The Oak … [Read More...]

First Oak Ridge Outdoor Festival is Saturday

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Explore Oak Ridge are teaming up to host the first-ever Oak Ridge Outdoor Festival on Saturday. The free event will be a day of fun activities at Oak Ridge parks, … [Read More...]

Lavender Festival is Saturday

The annual Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square. It's the 24th festival and presented by the City of Oak Ridge. It's scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the city's historic … [Read More...]

Volunteer team plans Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival

Volunteers from civic, charitable, and business organizations throughout the community are planning to welcome three renowned storytellers to Oak Ridge for the June 7 and 8 Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival at the … [Read More...]

More Community

Recent Posts

  • Democratic Women’s Club Hosts State Rep. Sam McKenzie
  • Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival Announces 2025 Storytellers
  • Laser-Engraved Bricks Will Line Walkway of New Chamber Headquarters
  • Democratic Women’s Club to Discuss Climate Change, Energy and Policy
  • Estate Jewelry Show at Karen’s Jewelers Features Celebrity Jewelry
  • Keri Cagle named new ORAU senior vice president and ORISE director
  • ORAU Annual Giving Campaign exceeds $100,000 goal+ORAU Annual Giving Campaign exceeds $100,000 goal More than $1 million raised in past 10 years benefits United Way and Community Shares Oak Ridge, Tenn. —ORAU exceeded its goal of raising $100,000 in donations as part of its internal annual giving campaign that benefits the United Way and Community Shares nonprofit organizations. ORAU has raised more than $1 million over the past 10 years through this campaign. A total of $126,839 was pledged during the 2024 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign. Employees donate via payroll deduction and could earmark their donation for United Way, Community Shares or both. “ORAU has remained a strong pillar in the community for more than 75 years, and we encourage our employees to consider participating in our annual giving campaign each year to help our less fortunate neighbors in need,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page. “Each one of our employees has the power to positively impact the lives of those who need help in the communities where we do business across the country and demonstrate the ORAU way – taking care of each other.” ORAU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, provides science, health and workforce solutions that address national priorities and serve the public interest. Through our specialized teams of experts and access to a consortium of more than 150 major Ph.D.-granting institutions, ORAU works with federal, state, local and commercial customers to provide innovative scientific and technical solutions and help advance their missions. ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org. Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakRidgeAssociatedUniversities Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/orau Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/orau ###
  • Children’s Museum Gala Celebrates the Rainforest
  • Jim Sears joins ORAU as senior vice president
  • Oak Ridge Housing Authority Receives Funding Assistance of up to $51.8 Million For Renovating Public Housing and Building New Workforce Housing

Search Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2025 Oak Ridge Today