Dr. Warren Strickland is an
officer with the club and was on hand all weekend. When he's not at
his day job as a cardiologist you can bet he probably has a bow in his
hand. Dr. Strickland is very close to completing his Super Slam and
is a solid bowhunter & good friend. His daughter has taken several
trophies with her recurve bow. It was an honor for me to sit with Dr.
Strickland at both evening's dinners.
The Archery Hall of Fame's
Dave Staples and executive director Diane Miller were also at the
event. CJ Winnand, Sherwood Schoch, Jack Frost, Tom Hoffman, Michelle
Eichler, Fred Richter, Tim Reed, and Gail Martin of Martin Archery and
his family, Larry Jones, Dwight Schuh, and Bowhunter Education's
Marilyn Bentz were also there.
New faces I met included Ray
"Kicking Bear" Howell and his wife, Joe St. Charles, and The NFAA's
Bruce Cull. Archery is not only a family sport, you will find that
usually once you meet another archer they too become "family." I'll
try and write more about Ray Howell in a future issue.
Russ Richardson, Corky's
son, was my assistant for the show. He'd never seen my show but
agreed to give me a hand. Russ just recently graduated from college
and is working back in Arizona. As a former college football player
he's a big boy and I knew he'd do a super job as a thrower.
Saturday's luncheon was a
full house and around 12:30PM we started out with Ted Nugent's "My bow
& arrow" followed by "Fred Bear." That was a good way to set the tone
for the bow and arrow razzle dazzle the audience was about to be
exposed to!
MR James gave a very warm
introduction and talked a little about Rev. Stacy Groscup. This was
perfect because it gave me an opportunity to give the audience a
snapshot of my history and how I got into exhibition shooting thanks
to Stacy's influence.
Once the shooting started I
went through the show pretty quickly. I shot two arrows, three arrows
and six arrows at once--all behind the back of course. The balloons
got smaller and smaller and I hit them all but one the first shot.
Then it was time for the
moment of truth. I asked Russ to put three baby aspirin in his hand.
He did and I loaded three arrows in my bow. Shooting behind my back I
missed the first shot as the arrows darted by the pills. The next
throw I watched as Russ tossed the tiny orange baby aspirin into mid
air and as the baby aspirin traveled upward I sent three arrows into a
collision course with the three tiny pills--- and they suddenly went
to pieces -- I'd hit all three pills that second attempt!
After the shooting I talked
for a few minutes about the importance of promoting the sport to the
next generation. Then I took some questions from the audience and
closed the show. I was honored when the floor stood with a standing
ovation, it was a huge honor for me considering the caliber of
bowhunters in the audience.
I signed autographs for an
hour after the show. I met some great folks and always enjoy the meet
and greets after my shows. This is the time folks can ask questions
and tell me their stories. It's a great time.
