Who we are is best captured through the lens of a camera. Every cast, every smile and every prayer is held in focus, so the moments we share live on long after the boat comes back to shore.
In 2008, Pastor Tommy Cook answered a calling on the shores of Clearwater Beach. He discovered something powerful - that time on the water, surrounded by nature and people you love, could restore what hardship had broken.
Those early fishing trips for children with cancer became the foundation of Wishing and Fishing - and from that seed grew Reach and Teach Ministry, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit now touching thousands of lives across Florida and beyond.
The kids come out of their cocoon, casting and laughing. Parents sit back and watch their children in a happy environment - sometimes for the first time in months. RTM captures every moment on photo and video, so children can watch those memories during chemotherapy and smile.
"When God demands more of you, it's because He sees more in you."
Real people who faced real struggles, found real grace, and chose to give it all back.
Pastor Tommy is the heartbeat of Reach and Teach Ministry, Inc. He began Reach and Preach on the Beach in 2008 - gathering families on Florida's shore for worship, community and connection. Having known the healing power of the water since he was a child, he began taking kids out from the Children's Cancer Center in Tampa, and Wishing and Fishing was born.
Pastor Tommy has appeared on the Christian Television Network and spoken throughout Florida. His gift is simple and rare - he reaches the hurting, the overlooked, and the searching with authentic faith and no agenda except love.
Steve serves RTM as volunteer operational support, bringing the same discipline and strategic thinking he applies in his professional roles. He is Executive Director of The Hawthorne Cancer Foundation and also serves with Palm Coast, where he has built a reputation for steady, mission-driven leadership.
At RTM, Steve is the tech and operations backbone - the person who makes sure the mission has the infrastructure it needs to show up for families consistently and well.
Julie supports RTM from behind the scenes, offering suggestions and consulting as needed. Through JMA Management Group LLC she works in digital strategy and content, and she is glad to lend that experience to the mission. RTM's leadership guides how the ministry is run.
Over the years, dozens of volunteers, board members, captains, donors, photographers, church partners and friends have given their time, their boats, their skills and their hearts to this ministry. Many of them never asked for recognition and never expected it.
We could not possibly list every name - but every fishing trip taken, every meal served, every hospital room visited and every family lifted up carries their fingerprints. If you have ever shown up for Reach and Teach Ministry, Inc. in any way at all, this thank you is for you.
With gratitude, from all of us at RTMImages tell what words can't. Every photo is a life touched, a memory made, a family reminded they are loved.
