Fly Tying Group
(first posted November 19, 2008; last updated March 7, 2011)
   

Dick Nelson Fly Tying Teaching Award

This award began in 2000 and is to be presented to an individual who excels in teaching the art of fly tying to tiers at all skill levels. It is named after Buszek Award-winning tier, Dick Nelson, who taught fly tying for many years and chaired the fly tying classes at the San Jose Flycasters for 35 years.

Dick's great love was teaching tying. He would rather teach tying than tie, he would rather tie than fish. Such was his dedication to teaching that two weeks before his death, confined to a wheelchair by a stroke and in declining health, he was giving private lessons in his home to a student who could not make the regular San Jose Flycaster’s Tying Classes. Donations in his memory can be made to the Dick Nelson Fly Tying Teaching Memorial Fund.

The criteria for the award are described as follows:

THE DICK NELSON FLY TYING TEACHING AWARD

this award is to be presented to an individual who excels in teaching the art of fly tying to all skill levels.

A. Must be a member of the FFF in good standing for a minimum of five years.
B. Must be able to demonstrate and teach the varied skills of fly tying not necessarily an innovator. But able to teach techniques developed by others or themselves to tiers of all skill levels.
C. Must have experience teaching both in group and individual environments.
D. Service to the Federation may either be at the national, council or club level.
E. The person should embody the spirit of the Federation, imparting both only a love of fly tying, but also of fly-fishing and the conservation of the resource.
F. The person should have not previously won this award.

 

2000 Chuck Newmeyer
2001 Michael Verduin
2002 Buck Goodrich
2003 Benson Kanemoto
2004 Grant Davis
2005 Cliff Adams   
2006 Bob Trowbridge
2007 Andre Puyans
2008 Bob Lay
2009 Don Van Buren