April Conrad stood behind the podium and with a gentle, yet determined vo
ice asked the question, "What would you attempt to do, if you knew you wouldn't fail?" All eyes were upon this thirty-something year old brunette mother of two. All ears strained to hear each word she spoke. Her message was eloquent, yet simple.
Among those who were listening intently to April's message were flyfishing celebrities from sixteen different states; Duane Hada, Rick Rouff, Mel Kreiger, William Tappley, and Dave and Emily Whitlock to name a few. Also seated in the room were members of our very own WomenAnglers Online Magazine, fly fishers Marla Blair and Constance Whiston, and new writer, Chris Chimo.
These were only a few of the elite guests who filled the room. Among the other fly fishing celebrities and guests, there were also members of the press, fishing guides, local fly-shop owners, representatives of many companies and organizations, friends, family and a host of other supporters. April's determined efforts had brought them together and they met this night with a single purpose in mind.
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Wanda, Marla, Constance, & Chris
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Being an only child and the center of her father’s attention, April's dad had introduced her to fishing and golf at an early age. By the age of nine, she owned her own tackle box, rod and reel, and yes, even her own paddle-it-yourself aluminum boat. When she wasn't fishing in the pond behind their home, she was at the golf course dreaming of one day being a pro-golfer. Although her family moved many times over the years, they always lived on or near the water, so she continued her pursuit and love of fishing.
The little girl grew into a beautiful young lady and attended the Pepperdine University, where she was captain of the Women's Golf Team and represented the United States in the first women's international golf competition in the People's Republic of China. At the tender age of 19, her performance was good enough to give her a shot at the qualifying round of the U. S. Open. After graduation, April played professional golf for four years. It was her passion of golf and fly fishing that brought her before this elite group of individuals.
April recently wrote, “I did grow up to live my dream of playing professional golf, retiring from competition only when a nagging shoulder injury and desire for a family led me down a different path. The passion for fishing continued into my adult married life, and fly fishing in particular, now holds a special place in my heart. If it were not for this precious combination, I don't think I would have been fortunate enough to stumble onto what has now become my life's work...”
In 1996, April’s life changed drastically when she was asked to be the guest at the Ladies of St. Jude annual Golf Tournament. Part of her responsibility would be to give a golf lesson to a child being treated at St. Jude’s Children’s Cancer Research Hospital. This experience left an impact on April’s life and in her heart. The time she spent with that young patient was life-altering. April developed an over-whelming desire to be more involved with raising money for St. Jude and after several years of planning and with the loving support of her husband, Will and others, the first “Hooked on a Cure Celebrity Fly Fishing Classic” became a reality. The inaugural “Hooked on a Cure Celebrity Fly Fishing Classic”, held on the White River in northern Arkansas in June of 2003, netted $30,000 for St. Jude. It was just the beginning.
Immediately, plans for the second annual “Hooked on a Cure” event were put into motion and it was at this event that my husband, Tommy and I sat listening to this special lady. Again, I heard her ask the question, “What would you attempt to do, if you knew you would not fail? Some might use it for bad, but most would work to make our world so much better. If we are content to live in our 'cities of normalcy' , always afraid to try , where does that leave us? Modern society has taught us to attempt and fail is to indeed be a failure - I submit that to attempt and fail, means at least you had the courage to try - it means you live. Hooked on a Cure would still be just a neat idea if we hadn't tried. We've had many failures along the way, but the biggest one would be if we stopped trying to help the children of St. Jude. If we all try together, we CAN beat childhood cancer one cast at a time - and if we do that, none of us can ever really fail."
Failure is not an option 
for April Conrad… not this night. This particular night, April is not playing golf, she’s not trying to catch fish, she’s not casting for distance. She trying to help save lives; the lives of children in a battle with the devastating disease of cancer.
As the three-day event came to a close, I leaned over to April and asked, “Working on next year’s event already?” Without hesitation she replied, “You’d better believe it.” I did. Maybe it’s her competitive nature. Maybe it’s her love for children. Maybe it’s knowing that it might be her child or grandchild one day in a battle to survive the horrible disease of cancer that drives her to work so hard for St. Jude. Regardless of what motivates her, her efforts are being noticed. This beautiful lady is making a difference… one cast at a time.
