Every job has it's good points and bad points. Over the last 15 years or so I have had to travel quiet a bit to promote my archery business. Some of it I have dreaded, some of it I have been indifferent, some I have looked forward to. When it came to my trip on the last weekend in May of 2003 I had actually looked forward to it with great anticipation. More so than any trip I can remember, even my hunting trips. Generally when I have allot of expectations about a trip I am let down when the trip happens because the actual trip doesn't meet my expectations. Not so with this one. In fact this trip would exceed my expectations by a long shot. I can't even start to explain how wonderful it was. I would go as far as to say that it changed my life in ways I won't fully understand for years to come.

Here is a quick play by play of the main events of the trip:

I was attending one of Ray Howell's Kicking Bear Camp for Kids. It is a Totally Free event for kids of which I am a proud sponsor. The event starts with a camp out of friday afternoon. At this one there was a cookout, marshmallow roast and fight, although there were allot more marshmallows being thrown than eaten. On Saturday morning the kids and adults were fed after which the archery events took place.

A prayer of the whole group was offered thanking God for the beautiful day, the children that were there and their safety during the day. The children that had never shot a bow were then gathered into groups by age, shown how to shoot then allowed to shoot their first arrow. I was asked to help and worked with the youngest group. To witness the reaction of the kids and the joy they all had when they realized they could actually shoot a bow was simply incredible.

All the kids were then paired up with their mentors which was generally about 3 kids per mentor. The arrows and bows that had been donated by PSE and Easton were then distributed and it was off to the 3-D course. The kids then shot the 3-d targets until lunch. Everyone then was fed again after which the kids enjoyed shooting at the novelty shoots that had been set up.

At 1.30 everyone again gathered and door prizes were given away. There were prizes for the kids and adults in attendance. There were however some really nice gifts that were given away to mentors who brought kids that were not their own. One of the main focuses of the camp is to bring kids into archery and the outdoors that would not otherwise experience it. Their were complete bow set ups and an over and under shotgun given away to some of these people. It is a way of rewarding those who gave the extra effort to accomplish the goals of the camp.

Over the years I have attended many shoots all over the country and by my standards it was an incredible event and success in all aspects. All the kids and adults that I talked with and observed had a really great time. There were no incidents with misbehaving kids that I noticed or heard of. Everything went very smoothly because of all the volunteers who worked very hard to insure it's success.

It was supported extremely well by the hunting industry. There was a very large amount of donations all of which I thought were some of the best items the different companies had to offer. There were so many that all the kids and adults took home at least two items.

Linda Burch from Fire Tacks and a writer for Bowhunting.net was also there to lend a hand. Look for an article from her on this event in the near future.I also need to mention it was supported well by different businesses in the community which donated food items and such.

All this and it didn't cost anyone who came a dime. It was simply terrific!

There was so many good things going on I can't mention them all. There are several kids that stand out in my mind that I will probably never forget. There was one kid I noticed on friday. I could tell by the way he carried himself that he had no confidence in himself or other people. I tried to talk with him some but never could get anything going so I never found out the story behind him. Something about him though made me realize he had never shot a bow.

The next morning when we were working with the other kids that had not shot a bow I saw him out on the edge of the people. Wanting to look and learn but not wanting to get involved with me other the other guys teaching. I called to him as quietly as I could and asked him to come and shoot with us but he ducked and ran saying he wasn't going to shoot. Later as I was cruising the 3-D course I caught him carrying a bow with a smile on his face. I stopped him and asked was he shooting and he said "man yeah!" That was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Who knows what kind of impact that will have on his life.

The above paragraph is exactly why Ray Howell come up with the plan to start these camps. If you don't know much about Ray go to his web site RayHowell.com and read up on him and the camps. He is one of the most accomplished bow hunters today, but even more important than that he is a good person. After getting to know Ray over the last several years I believe he is one of the finest people involved with the hunting industry.

We have talked to each other about these camps at length. He wants to see these camps put on in as many places as possible. I feel he has a great plan and has the resources, backing and determination to get it accomplished. Ray himself was mentored by a man while Ray was still in high school. The guy gave up time from his on hunting to take Ray hunting. As Ray put it while talking to the group "he gave me a dream and a goal in life. Where would I be now if it was not for him. You have the same ability to change someone's life."

I am committed to the cause as well. Working with Ray we have come up with a plan that generates some of the money it takes to run the Kicking Bear program and items to give away at the camps.

The first is called "The Kicking Bear Shirts for Shirts Program". We have come up with an initial shirt that has the Kicking Bear logo on the front and the logo for BowHuntingStuff.com on the back. They are very nice looking shirts, everyone who has saw them commented on how well they look, the kids even call them cool and neat.

The goal is to give every kid that enters the various Kicking Bear events a shirt that they can wear and enjoy long after the event is over. Every time they wear the shirt it will be a positive reinforcement of the fun they had shooting a bow, camping and enjoying the outdoors.The other great benefit is that they will wear it in school and various places where they will eventually tell people what the shirt means, what they did, how great a time they had,etc. This will help shed a positive light on archery, hunting and the outdoors in places that might not otherwise get it.

The initial plan of the "Kicking Bear Shirts for Shirts Program" is that it makes you a "sponsor" for some kid out there. It allows you to positively effect some child's life in a way that you otherwise could not and in ways it is not going to cost you anything.

Here's how it works. For every shirt you buy BowHuntingStuff.com will donate a shirt to be given to a kid at the Kicking Bear Camp. The shirts are average priced shirts so you get a good looking shirt (which you have to buy every year anyway).Each time you put the shirt on you get the joy of knowing you have given a shirt to a child that will enjoy it for time to come.

This is an opportunity for you to positively impact a child's life. If you would like to participate you can do so by going to this link Kicking Bear Shirts for Shirts Program.Thanks in advance

If you have comments or questions you can reach me at dougbesherse@bowhunting.net