Rick Crawford
It’s the day before Thanksgiving and as I sit here typing and reflecting on this past year, it’s safe to say that 2020 has certainly been a difficult and strange year, but I can’t help but be grateful for all that has been given to me. Our little family is lucky to live on the coast here in the beautiful Lowcountry of South Carolina, with a roof over our head and plenty of food to eat. Some people aren’t as fortunate and my heart is full of gratitude. Looking back on 2020, I am grateful for time spent with my family; the support of my clients at Emerger Strategies & Fly Fishing Climate Alliance members, as well as all of the guests on The Sustainable Angler and for all of you for listening; and lastly I am grateful for this beautiful planet and the people we get to experience it with!
Even though COVID caused some challenges to our family, it also afforded Jodie and me the greatest gift, which is quality time with each other and our daughter. Since March, Jodie and I have both been working from home with full-time jobs and a toddler, which can be frustrating at times. However, being able to take our daughter to the beach on weekday mornings, when I would have usually been tied to my computer, was truly special. We took advantage of the pandemic by planting a garden, going camping and spending a lot of time with family that we don’t get to see as often, which was wonderful. We even got creative during the quarantine and transformed our back yard into “Crawhiti” beach!
Spending time outdoors with my family during the pandemic also helped to refocus my values and rethink why I am in business. I decided to lead by example and make Emerger Strategies a carbon neutral company. I also I started asking myself if I really am making any progress in solving the climate crisis? I concluded that while executing sustainability strategies would be worthy endeavors for my clients, it lacked the scale necessary to actually move the needle, so I decided to launch the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance, which now has 25+ members who are committed to going carbon neutral by 2030! By working towards a common goal, we can make fly fishing the world’s 1st carbon neutral industry! I am humbled and grateful for the support of all FFCA members and proud of the progress we have already made in helping members go carbon neutral.
I also decided to take advantage of the pandemic by increasing the number of The Sustainable Angler podcast episodes I had been releasing and appreciate everyone who took that time to do an interview; and am so thankful for all the positive responses and that our audience is growing, so thank you to all who have been listening to the podcast! Finally, I am humbled and grateful for all of my partners and clients at Emerger Strategies who continue to support me and protect what they love by using their businesses to solve the climate crisis by going carbon neutral and zero waste!
Finally, I am grateful for this beautiful planet and for living in one of her most beautiful corners right here in the Lowcountry! I love fly fishing for redfish, and in order to reach them, I usually take my kayak. It just so happens that paddling a kayak is the perfect speed to immerse yourself into the natural beauty that surrounds you. I am grateful to live twenty minutes from Folly Beach, which gets consistent waves, and I am especially grateful for putting my daughter on her first wave this year! I am grateful for our abundant natural resources from local organic veggies to oysters & wild caught South Carolina shrimp that make my favorite meal, the famous Lowcountry Boil (shrimp, sausage, potato, corn and seasoning). And I am grateful to get share these experiences like catching tailing redfish on a flood tide, or putting our kids on their first waves and sharing it all around a table covered with Lowcountry Boil and surrounded by friends and family!
