WHO WE ARE
Childhood buddies living the dream

Class VI Mission Statement

Here at Class VI, they call us The Boys. We are Jeff and Doug Proctor and Dave Arnold and we have been friends since our grade school days in Cincinnati. We got into paddling through the Boy Scouts and Morgan’s Canoe, had some adventures, and then went on to college thinking we would do other things. But after taking a summer job guiding for one of the first outfitters in this area, our lives took a permanent turn. Rafting got under our skin. It made us happy. We wanted to do it all the time and we saw our Big Opportunity. We borrowed money and got to work.

It all seemed glorious to us at the time, operating from our makeshift offices in a 1956 Safeway trailer. We were living our dream, and we knew it was only going to get better. Thanks to you, our guests, and the strong, talented staff of fun-loving professionals that has been our cornerstone, we were right.

We named Class VI after the river classification system. Class VI implies professionalism and emphasizes our intention to provide the utmost in service, and that’s still our goal. We are as thrilled to paddle the New and Gauley Rivers as we were that first season, and gratified that so many friends and staff are still with us. We are also happy to report that even after being business partners for 25 years, we’re all still close friends. Now that is truly amazing!

We are still living the dream. Now that things around here are bigger, faster and more complicated, we find that our time on the river is even more precious, and our appreciation for its restorative powers is even greater.