SHALIMAR, Fla. -- “Every day I hear people say I would love to do that as a living and I ask, ‘Why aren’t you doing it?’”
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Sean Cramer, 33rd Fighter Wing chief of inspections, spends his down time and days off running a fishing charter around the Emerald Coast of Florida. It’s a calling, much like serving in the Air Force, which he has had as long as he can remember.
“My first (fishing) memory was when my dad first sent me off by myself. He would start the motor, send me off and say, ‘I’ll see you at sunset.’ That’s one of my favorite memories, being eight or nine years old with my own little john boat.”
As he got closer to retirement, Cramer began looking for careers he could pursue after the Air Force. Naturally, fishing was an easy first choice.
“When I got back here it really hit me, I’m coming to the end of my career and I have to start looking to something I can do to support my family."
Throughout the years Cramer never lost his love for fishing, but with this new venture, that love matured into a new purpose.
“I don’t get the excitement anymore of waking up in the morning, going out and catching the biggest fish I can. But I’ve gained the joy of watching families and children who have never done it before. Seeing their smiles and helping them create memories excites me more than catching fish. Creating those same memories that I had with my father. Knowing I was a part of making it possible.”