By Jessica Kenley
June 6, 2026

COUDERSPORT, PA — As runners prepared to tackle the challenging hills and winding roads of Potter County during the 2026 God’s Country Marathon on Saturday morning, another mission was quietly unfolding on the Potter County Courthouse Square.

Seated beneath a canopy alongside his wife and daughter, surrounded by information tables, food, drinks, and desserts offered free to marathon participants, retired Colonel, U.S. Army veteran Ed Fisher was spreading a message that has become his life’s work: hope, belonging, and suicide prevention for America’s veterans.

Fisher is the founder and driving force behind the LEEK Hunting and Mountain Preserve, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving veterans through therapeutic outdoor experiences, hunting, fishing, fellowship, and support. The organization’s mission is simple but powerful: to help veterans focus on their abilities without compromising their physical limitations by providing a friendly, handicap-accessible environment and meaningful outdoor activities.

“We want to include every single veteran that is out there,” Fisher said. “Serving all veterans, all wars.”

For nearly two decades, the organization has hosted multiple annual hunting events for wounded and disabled veterans, including predator hunts (coyote!), black powder hunts, pheasant hunts, bear hunts, turkey hunts, and winter rifle hunts. What began as a way for Fisher to stay connected to the military community after retirement has grown into a far-reaching support network.

Today, the preserve encompasses approximately 400 acres, with access to tens of thousands more acres available for veterans to hunt and fish.

“We’ve been doing this for 18 years now,” Fisher said. “It’s still an honor.”

But the preserve’s mission extends far beyond hunting.

Fisher is currently overseeing construction of a new 300-seat hall that will serve as a center for veteran-focused programming, including suicide prevention initiatives. He speaks passionately about the heartbreaking statistic that approximately 22 veterans die by suicide each day.

“When they come up, we’ve got a book called ’22 — I Will Not Be That Number,'” Fisher explained. “The only thing we ask is that if somebody calls you, listen. That’s all you’ve got to do. Don’t offer advice. Just listen.”

For Fisher, those conversations can save lives.

“Somebody had to step in and help,” Fisher said.

And so he did.

His commitment to helping veterans comes from a lifetime of service.

Fisher spent 27 years in the United States Army, serving around the world in some of the most dangerous and unstable regions on Earth, and says he “wanted to stay involved,” when asked why he started his organization. 

His military career included deployments during Operation Desert Thunder and a year in the Republic of Georgia, where he and his team helped train Georgian military forces to combat terrorist activity in the lawless Pankisi Gorge region following the September 11 attacks.

Because violence and kidnappings were commonplace, “We were told to vary our routes every time we went to work,” Fisher recalled. He said this was because the rogue operators were always trying to harm him and his team.

Yet, even after experiencing war zones and international conflict, Fisher remains deeply moved by the sacrifices of America’s military members.

During a recent Memorial Day address in Coudersport, he spoke about the more than 1.9 million Americans who have died in defense of the nation.

“A lot of people died for our freedom,” he said, his voice emotional.

Fisher’s service has not been limited to military operations. 

While overseas, Fisher helped raise an entire year’s operating budget for a Georgian orphanage, and even brought two 16-year old orphan girls to the United States during Christmas break so they could experience life beyond the orphanage walls.

Acts of service seem woven into the fabric of his life.

So, too, is resilience.

The Fisher family has endured challenges that would overwhelm many people.

Their daughter, Kelly, now 40, was born in Germany with significant intellectual and physical disabilities. Several years ago, Ed’s wife, Katie, nearly died after contracting viral encephalitis, a devastating condition that caused severe swelling and bleeding in her brain.

For 11 days, her survival was uncertain.

Doctors did not know if she would ever walk again.

But she did.

With determination, rehabilitation, and the steadfast support of her husband, she slowly rebuilt her abilities.

“If she yells at me, she talks,” Fisher joked, drawing laughter from those nearby. “But other than that, she doesn’t talk.”

Beneath the humor was unmistakable devotion.

As he spoke about his wife, there was a tenderness in his voice and a pride in her recovery that needed no explanation.

“She had to walk to kick my butt, so that’s why she’s walking!” Fisher exclaimed, while his wife, Katie, looked at him lovingly, teary-eyed.

The family has also experienced the heartbreak of losing a child, a pain that still resonates decades later. They did conceive a son, who is a barber in State College, and, of course, Kelly, who was seated nearby.

Yet despite everything they have endured—war, illness, disability, grief, and uncertainty—the Fishers continue to devote themselves to helping others.

Throughout the morning in Coudersport, veterans, runners, and community members stopped by their table to learn more about the preserve and its mission. Many left with information. Others left with something more valuable: the reminder that they are not alone.

That message may be exactly what Fisher hopes people remember.

His story is not ultimately about hunting, military service, or even survival.

It is about refusing to give up on people.

It is about answering the phone when someone calls.

It is about building a place where veterans can find friendship, purpose, and understanding.

And it is about proving that even after life’s hardest battles, hope remains possible.

The LEEK Hunting and Mountain Preserve is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving veterans from all branches of the military, and is all volunteer work. 

Community support and donations make its programs possible.

To learn more, volunteer, or make a donation, visit LEEK Hunting and Mountain Preserve (SAVAW–Saving All Veterans, All Wars) or contact Ed Fisher at 410-322-4610. 

To donate to the LEEK Hunting and Mountain Preserve via PayPal, just click right here: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=NSPXKKEEB5UXW&fbclid=IwY2xjawSRjX5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFLOGFSRks1cVBXQWdnWjk4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHh9QhWY7g1yQfzjWClR1OiZM3Qhwp9C7yWZx-4uJbd27kFzhNMFNHf-YPzV-_aem_pyuijWtEs-ScnA7X7aHm1A

Donations directly support programs designed to help veterans heal, reconnect, and rediscover purpose through outdoor recreation and peer support and a strong sense of love and belonging.