Archery has allowed
me to meet people from all walks of life. From a President, country
music and rock and roll stars, actors as well as various other
celebrities. While I have enjoyed meeting so many famous people, I did
a show the other day that reminded me of why I do what I do.
I
was invited to a Boy Scout Jamboree of sorts in Point Pleasant, West
Virginia. (Home of the famous Mothman...) Anyway, they had about 1500
scouts from Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. The three day event was a
huge success and we were booked to do a show at Saturday evenings
closing ceremonies. I found out that Burley Hall had also been there
that afternoon to do a shooting demo.
This event took me
back 19 years ago to some of my first exhibitions. They were usually
held at a camp for 4-Hers, scouts or at a church camp. I also did some
county fairs, school assemblies, and even a Possum Festival once!
Anyway, when I first started doing exhibitions we once did 31 shows in
22 days. (That's 31 separate venues in 22 days!)
From Day
1 my shows have had a few consistent themes, including the importance
of SAYING NO TO DRUGS and for folks to get outdoors to explore archery,
fishing, hunting and camping. That's been a solid basic part of every
show.
I didn't make much back then, just what my father paid
me through his retail shop. He looked at it as an investment in the
future. Like Fred Bear, my father knew that my archery shows would get
young people interested in archery and that if archery grew his
business would grow. Pop was one of the first people in the archery
industry on the retailer level to send someone to every single school
in the area to do archery demonstrations.
The recent show
for the Scouts reminded me of how it all began. It was a fun evening
and you could hear a pin drop during most of the show. They were a
great audience and hung on every word. It was an outdoor show and was
almost too dark on the river bank at the levy to try the baby aspirin
shot, but we did it!
I really enjoy these type shows, even
though I rarely get to do them anymore. Coach Leon McCoy at Winfield
High School always preached that we should ALL strive to be
contributors to society. His basic message was that God had given us
all talent, and we should use that talent to do good. Hopefully by
tying in a SAY NO TO DRUGS message along with some positive thinking I
have followed Coach McCoy's footsteps. The bow and arrow razzle dazzle
entertains and the message teaches, that's my hope anyway.
It's
encouraging to me to see how patriotic and good these boy scouts are!
Clearly there are young people that care about building a strong
country and a strong future. They salute the flag, honor God and do
good deeds. It was an honor for me to be their guest at this event.
They are the "stars" in my book!
