Catching up with Crew founder Denny McFadden

Kayaking had long been a part of Adventure Crew founder Denny McFadden’s life, but the adventure sport was almost entirely out of reach for most of his students at Hughes High School.

Denny thought a kayaking trip would be the perfect team-building experience for his students, so he rounded up a few colleagues to join the group for a paddle down the Little Miami River at the beginning of the school year. It went so well, they began adding more kayak trips and other outdoor adventures, leading to the official launch of Outdoor Adventure Clubs of Greater Cincinnati during the 2012-2013 school year

Last week, Denny and I met for the first time at Burnet Woods in Clifton, another site of the early Adventure Crew outings. Many stories of the “Denny Years” had made their way to me, but I was eager to hear in his words how the organization unfolded.

It was already clear that Denny had a gift for inspiring others to get behind his mission, and each reminiscence was dotted with stories about individuals, families, groups of work colleagues and small business owners who were compelled by the vision of eliminating barriers for city teens to experience the challenge and thrill of outdoor adventuring.

Denny rallied countless others to share their passion for the outdoors on the Saturday outings. There was the Hughes biology teacher who adapted an anatomy lesson to the adventures, bringing frozen fish for the teens to learn to filet after their morning of catch-and-release fishing at the Burnet Woods lake. And the canoe and kayak livery owners in Loveland, who gave steep equipment rental discounts, skill instruction, and offered summer jobs to the teens. Local outdoor gear outfitters also rallied to provide discounts, donations and partnerships to help expand opportunities to more teens at more public schools, and OAC (renamed Adventure Crew in 2018) continued to grow on a swell of grassroots energy, goodwill and the shared joy of seeing kids experience nature, often for the first time.

Denny retired from teaching after that first year, and retired as the founding Executive Director of Outdoor Adventure Clubs in 2017, leaving his “outdoors for all” legacy firmly established across the city. The biggest highlight for him throughout his time leading the organization was seeing the teens who had been quiet and reserved become proficient in their adventure skills, emerging as natural teachers and leaders for their peers, often the opposite from their classroom experience.

When asked what his 10-year birthday wish is for Adventure Crew, there was no hesitation: “My wish for Adventure Crew is that it continues as long as possible, with as many kids as possible.” Denny continued that he hopes the organization never loses sight of one of the founding principles, giving teens a big dose of freedom to explore new challenges and take on risks where they can push their boundaries and learn to see themselves as confident and capable.

Denny was thrilled to learn that two of his former students, Beth Knox and Jake Morris, are now on staff as Outdoor Specialists for Adventure Crew. Please consider joining our circle of supporters that make experiences like Beth and Jake’s possible for over 800 teens each year.