Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Kevin Winkler on February 18, 2014, 10:42:00 AM
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I am on Trad Gang most every day for at least 30 to 60 minutes and I see a lot of posts from people from Wisconsin.
I was wondering how many of you are members of Wisconsin Traditional Archers? And if you are not, do you have a specific reason?
I have taken care of the membership for WTA for several years and have come to recognize many of the names of WTA members, I see quite a few here that I don't know.
I have always be a proponent of supporting my local, State and National organizations of the things that I am interested in.
Just thought it would be interesting to get everyones thoughts and ideas!
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Check sent to you on Monday bud.. Glad to be becoming member now. I can honestly say I don't know why I have never joined. It never crossed my mind..
Happy to be a part of the WTA family :thumbsup:
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Embarrassed that I've been a member for a handful of years and my membership expired this year and I forgot to renew, even at the banquet last Saturday.
Sorry Kevin, i'll get on it.
Loved Monte Browning's presentation at the dinner by the way. Had my two young daughters there and they really enjoyed his storytelling. Nice work and thanks.
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I'm a proud member from Big Foot Archers in Lake Geneva, eventhough I live in Crystal Lake, IL.
Great organization which every trad shooter from the local area should join.
Sorry that I did not attend the banquet this year as I'm down in Texas visiting relatives (and getting out of the cold we're having this year}.
Bob
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Good idea starting this thread Kevin. I am very interested to see what kind of reply's we get here. Personally I have made so many of my closest friends through the WTA. I know I can say the same for my wife. She looks forward to each event as much as I do.
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The WTA is a great organization. Proud to be a member!
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The WTA is a great organization! My son Jay and I really enjoyed the show and banquet in Madison last weekend.
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
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I've been a member of quite a few different organizations, including at the local, state, and national levels. Without a doubt, WTA is the best of them all. Like Greg said, I've made more friends than I can count as a result of being a member. Not to mention the fun at shoots, banquets, and hunts over the years.
I'd love to hear from other WI bowhunters that don't belong currently. What aren't we doing now that we should be to get their support? No offense at those that don't - just tell us what you'd like to see? Or maybe they just aren't aware of what WTA has to offer?
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Been a member since the first year. The organization has grown into a first class operation.
In addition to the annual meeting and banquet, which brings in a lot of vendors and national traditional bowhunting experts, it also sponsors a bow building jamboree; traditional 3-D shoots, including a state shoot/rendezvous and championship; coordinates a fall deer hunt for members; provides a quarterly magazine, student scholarships, equipment and instruction for youth interested in archery; weighs in on regulatory and legislative issues affecting bowhunting; and provides financial support for other like-minded organizations working to promote traditional archery and bowhunting, etc.
Quite worthwhile, I think. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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I've been a member for several years now. I've been shooting a real bow since about 55. It is such a pleasure to meet and talk to other trad members. Monty was great as was Nathon last year.
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How about some info for us former Wisconsinites. Droppped my Wisconsin Bowhunters membership ,when they rolled over on the crossbow thing.
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I'm a member, just haven't got to any trad shoots (or banquets) yet. But I will when I can shoot well enough not to loose all my arrows! :wavey:
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Member here. And proud to be one!
1Longbow, I believe alot of the WBH members are feeling the same way.
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I've also met some nice people since becoming a member.A great way to promote traditional archery and stay in the publics eye.
Leland
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WTA is a great group of people with a history of great leadership in promoting "traditional" values in bowhunting. If you're not a member, perhaps you'd consider joining us.
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Been with the WTA since day one.
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Joined at the very first meeting at Rib Mountain Bowman, Life Memeber #4 I think. Moving back to Cheesehead land later this year so hope to make some shoots and maybe the banquet when it goes back up north.
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I and the wife were members for a while, we live in Oconto, and all shoots and such are always way south and west never anything around our area
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David, Bowjam will be in your neighborhood this year May 17,18 by Pound WI. Check the website for more info or our page here. I will get that up soon.
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I have made life long friendships as a member of the WTA. I joined a long time ago, maybe 12 years ago. Both my wife and I are members and it is probably the best thing I have ever done in archery/bowhunting.
Bill
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Been a member since taking up Trad in the late 90's. Time flies by, it's been 15 years....
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I am a member but I have never been to the banquet,I hear it's a pretty good group of bowhunters.
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1Longbow and Pappawoody, I've also noticed that many bowshops I have been to are very pro WBH (and members of) yet they were selling crossbows hand-over-fist and enjoying every bit of it. I guess $ always comes first....? :confused:
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I live in Iron Mountain Michigan and used to enjoy the shoots held outside of Eagle River but WTA has not had one there is some time. I would love to here more about the shoot in Pound. We have a good group of MTBH members in my area.
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Just signed up for three years,good to be a member of a
Trad-Only group.
Gary.
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thought about it. don't have time for the archery club I belong to. someday....
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Looking forward to moving to Wisconsin in a couple months and just signed up for WTA
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I'm a life member of the WTA born and raised in Sussex, WI. Don't live in WI anymore, was living in Kansas but moved to Michigan last Feb. Went to Kalamazoo this year for the first time enjoyed it, joined MTA as well.
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HabuJohn,
Where was the shoot near Eagle River held at? My parents are in Eagle River and I'm always looking for a new place to try out.
WTA does not have a home club or course per se. WTA sponsors the State Shoot at clubs who submit to host the State Shoot. So if there is a trad friendly club in your area that can meet the requirements of the State Shoot bring it to their attention. We all enjoy shooting different places and different set-ups.
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Living the dream with Wisconsin Traditional Archers. Problem is you end up with too many new friends with common interests. You just can't get rid of em. They want you to do this and that and go here and there. It becomes increasingly hard to live a life of solitude. You'll never regret getting to know everybody and who cares if you might not shoot well yet. The advice you get from knowledgeable folks just increases your rate of improvement. Just don't believe everything you hear.
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Please take no offense to this, but I am assuming non-members are welcome to chime in as part of the conversation.
I am not member as I am not sure there is value for me. First I am a life-long member of the WBA as their main value for me is legislative support for bowhunting. I know there is more there, but that is my reason. I don't attend any of their events and the newsletter is nice enough, but -seriously - it is a newsletter :-).
I contribute here as I find this place and the people interesting and entertaining and I have a sense I am part of this place. In a small way of course, but part of "the club" that is tradgang or at least my takeaway from tradgang.
Reflecting that upon the WTA, I know WTA has some political positions (which I support) but the group isn't large enough especially in the unusual political cycle we are in to affect change. And as we can see in the recent C-bow stuff, the WBA could only affect very minor changes :-( so scaling up the number of club members enough to affect changes is unlikely.
Now I may be missing more to the club, but frankly it seems hard to feel part of any club that is statewide for the sake of joining "a club". I will not be going to go to "the club" - physically or virtually - to shoot or BS, so the things I see in joining a club are missing. Even if I attended one event a year, I am not sure that is enough for me.
And I am not trying to diminish other folks reasons for joining. I respect them and think it is wonderful that they get what they need from the WTA. And I think it is great that the WTA exists.
Thanks for hearing my opinion, and would gladly hear what I am missing.
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Like in all things "life" you get from it what you put into it.
If you don't attend or become a part of something, you really can't expect that something to become part of you.
As in every group I have been a party to in my life, there are folks who won't become a member of anything (for a lot of reasons, there are members that join just to be a member, there are folks who join to participate and be a part of something, and there are those that jump in with both feet and do all the work. We need all of them. Well, maybe not the first group.
Even for those that chose not to become part of the big picture, understand, your number counts and your dollars help.
Yes I am a member of several local and national organizations.
ChuckC
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lt-em-grow. I can understand your position in wondering why to join an organization even though you don't intend to become active.
About the only response I can think of is that even non - active members help us do some of the other things we do such as the youth program, our financial support of a variety of causes, and the efforts we put in toward simply promoting the sport of traditional archery. There is a long list of things that WTA does that don't involve most of the membership yet do require dollars to accomplish. Membership dues are an important part of our budget.
Some recent examples include donations we made to help the DNR refurbish a deer decoy used to catch poachers, and another to help fund a video promoting our sport. We provide bows and equipment to clubs around the state to use in youth shooting programs . We help at events such as the deer and turkey show both with our own booth exposing our support to thousands of people, and also helping to staff a shooting booth where kids of all ages get a chance to spot a traditional bow. The list goes on.
Most of our members aren't actively involved in doing these things personally, but without the financial support of our members none of it would happen at all.
We don't have a club house or a place to meet and hang out. There are traditional shoots all over the state, but you don't need to be a member of WTA to attend those. The only one that WTA is officially a part of its the annual state shoot which moves around to different clubs each year.
I know we will never appeal to all traditional archers, and I respect your opinion. I really don't mean to come off as critical of it at all, so please don't take it that way. I'm just trying to give another reason some do consider joining us.
If you ever do decide to join in and end up attending any of the events you might find that you enjoy it enough to try others. There were a number of of group rabbit hunts recently, and they were pretty close to you.
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Chuck and Joe...thank you for the wonderful comments!
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The shoot over by Eagle River was held off hwy 70 in the Nicole Forest. There was no club there, they cut out a course in the NF and it was great fun. Northern Wisconsin has some great places to hold 3-d shoots.
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Joe, Well said. I would also add the community aspect. I know many of my fellow WTA members by name. My wife and I enjoy traveling across the state to other clubs 3d shoots and we run in to lots of WTA people through out the year. Many WTA people make the trip to Compton in Berrian Springs every year. There are so many WTA people there it almost feels like a bit of a home coming to me. Many of us camp together as well.
WTA is also active in the WI archery scene. I know first hand because my archery club (Bigfoot in LK Geneva) was a recipient a few years ago of some Black Rhino bows for archery classes we hold. Two weeks ago we had over 60 young people at one class.
Anyhow, We may be a state wide organization but we are surprisingly close. Like said above I guess you get what you put in. My wife and I have gone to many of the WTA events since we joined so I guess that is why we feel such a part of this organization.
Regards,
Bill
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E. Donnall Thomas Jr wrote a book entitled "How Sportsmen Saved the World".
Anyone who has read "E Don" knows his words are a pleasure to read. The book is not cheap, but it is an eye opener. I really heartily suggest each of us read it, if for no other reason than to gain the knowledge of our history.
Without going nuts here. . it shows, among other things, that the right folks, in the right time, that put themselves forward and take on important issues sometimes really do save the world.
It is easy to sit back and complain... we all do it. It is not as easy to actively support what we believe in, whatever that may be.
Read the book and get ready to see how close we came to losing... well, nearly all we currently hold near and dear and that many of us take for granted will always be there and available.
ChuckC
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That is a great book Chuck. And Don Thomas is going to be our speaker at next year's banquet.
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Can't wait to meet him. I feel like I already have. Read many of his books. I like his writing style.
I hope my words did not upset folks, that was not what I was trying to do. My apologies if I wrote the wrong words. I am simply trying to point out that it is important, not just in this day and age, but since the dawn of mankind, that we stand up and make ourselves heard. If we won't, the others most definitely will.
Anti hunters and anti realists are not necessarily the biggest threat to our prized way of life.
You may not currently have extra money to throw at a club, that is unfortunate and I pray will change for you soon, but most of us do, or will in the future. It isn't THAT much, but we can all be active in promoting and supporting what we hold dear. And... you don't have to be a member of EVERY club or organisation, but be counted in the big picture.
ChuckC
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Just renewed yesterday and got Feb. newsletter today.
Rick
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I guess i am in the same boat as lt-m-grow, i feel the same way, and he explained it perfectly. I also have been to the comptons shoot many times, but have never joined, because i know i will basically never really have any contact with the club, because nothing happens anywhere near my area.I would love to have a trad club i could go to and be involved in, but i dont want to drive 3hrs to do it.
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Great! I was wondering when the Stump Shooter would be arriving on everyones door step.
Rick, I got your online renewal and will be mailing out your membership card. The online membership is working really well!
If anyone wants to know more about WTA, just go to our website. We will be updating a few things very soon. www.wistradarchers.com (http://www.wistradarchers.com)
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As John F. Kennedy said more than 50 years ago, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." Substitute for country any organization that's working to preserve and promote bowhunting. Sometimes it's difficult to see the direct link, but without them, past and present, we wouldn't be enjoying the bowhunting priviledges we now have.
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It-m-grow and mooshkat,
The first WTA banquet I attended was about 7 years ago. Didn't know anyone there, just showed up and walked in not knowing what to expect. What I found was several hundred of the most accommodating, down to earth, and unpretentious people I've had the pleasure of meeting, (did my undergrad at Princeton... I know pretentious ;) ). It was a pleasure to just spend time conversing with genuine people who share your passion.
I am not an "active" member in that sense, heck I still have to renew my membership for this year, but just being present is important, just as having the WTA being present as a legitimate organization is important. Without it, there is no cohesive effort applied towards the exposure and promotion of trad archery in the state.
Case in point; the WTA booth at the deer and turkey expo in madison I believe is vitally important because it provides an alternative to the mainstream hunting spectacle. It's not hard to imagine that the pseudo militaristic, macho display of false bravado issuing forth from the majority of booths is hard to take for the average person just coming to check out the show. The WTA booth stands in stark contrast, intentional or not.
Aside from promotional or legislative leverage the WTA is important just by "being", not unlike the value of membership.
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Kevin, Just sent you a payment via Pay-pal for a 3 yr. single membership. Sorry I missed you last Sat. in Madison.
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Great comments, Jerry and Mike! Doing nothing or saying nothing speaks volumes.
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Mike
Thank you for the kind words and your perspective on the WTA booth at the Deer and Turkey Expo. This is a big expense for us and we often question if it is worth it. We do get good response at the show and believe it is worth it. In these days of ever increasing technology in the archery seasons it is more important than ever to let people know that traditional archery is alive and well and the WTA will be there to help when someone desires to take the step into traditional archery. Without the support of the membership we would not be able to do it.
Greg
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Mike,
No problem! Haven't talked to you for several years, good to have you back with us. I will get your membership packet in the mail next week.
Kevin
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My wife and I drove down to Green Bay this morning and through Pound Wi. Now I am thinking more about the shoot in May. Does anyone have any details on this? Is there a traditional club in this area?
Thank you!
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Originally posted by Kevin Winkler:
Mike,
No problem! Haven't talked to you for several years, good to have you back with us. I will get your membership packet in the mail next week.
Kevin
Kevin,
Did you receive the check yet?
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HabuJohn I have not been able to make a Bowjam event yet, even though I have wanted to. I HOPE I will make this one since I retired and now (again, I hope) I will have the time. Since I haven't made it there yet, I don't know for sure, but I believe that this is not so much a shoot as it is a self bow building jamboree. Someone please correct me.
ChuckC
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Chuck,
Yes that's right. The WTA Selfbow Jamboree May 17 & 18 is mainly a fun family event, where anyone can learn how to build a selfbow.
Primitive camping is avaiable and our host Brian Collins has a large workshop area that we will be able to use. WTA has some hand tools that will be avaiable for use.
Brian will have targets setup in the woods. Sat. evening is the pot luck dinner and campfire. Sunday morning will be a breakfast.
Free will donations help pay for the event. No competitive shooting going on, just a lot of fun and freinds sharing a weekend together
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I have to agree with the positive comments on here. The WTA has become my extended family for sure.I have made a bunch of lifelong friends since joining years ago.
The banquet and functions are top notch and so are the people.
They do a great job of promoting traditional archery, that alone is worth the life membership to me.
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I hope I get to see " all y'all " at the jamboree.
ChuckC
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After reading this thread I started to re-think my reasons for not being a current member. Was a member back in the 90's and early 2000's for years and just kind of drifted away from all my memberships. Was a member of WTA, WBA, PBS, NRA, NMLRA and the United Bowhunters of Illinois.
I'm happy to say that I have just sent in my payment and re-joined the WTA.
Thanks Kevin for bringing it to my attention
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It's great to see the response on this thread. Thanks for the constructive comments and the positive input.
I would like to welcome those of you that have just joined or have renewed to WTA and now are back!
As our mission statement says:
The mission of the Wisconsin Traditional Archers (WTA) is to promote responsible and ethical bowhunting practices, support other archery organizations that do the same, bring together those interested in traditional archery equipment and skills, and to ensure the continuation of the traditions and skills passed down by our traditional archery forefathers.
I hope to meet many of you at a future Trad activity. I have met so many great people and made new life long freindships through WTA and look forward to developing many more.
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I have been a non operational member of several clubs and groups over the years, mainly because my job took me away a lot and I really found it difficult to participate, as some are saying. Sometimes life gets in the way of fun.
That changed recently and I hope to participate much more.
The WTA, I am finding out, is a lot of fun. Like minded folks. More and more get together's. We had three separate bunny hunts this winter. At one of them, we discussed the possibility of other similar events, maybe a group bow fish day (or maybe several !), and others as we come up with them.
Anyway, the group is fun to be around, but it also
provides more. I hear about upcoming issues because someone of the group is always paying attention as needed, we donate our time, money and efforts to the archers community (and more), and we are active in reviewing, commenting and hopefully, driving legislation that affects us.
Yeah, our numbers aren't great, but with just a little help they can be that much greater.
Even the most experienced person started out at the bottom. A group starts with two, then gets bigger. Well, we are well beyond just two !
We are talking about Wisconsin and the WTA in THIS thread, but every state should have a similar entity and all of them are important and need your backing.
ChuckC
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Great question :) I just joined WTA today and this is my first post on TradGang. I hadn't heard about WTA until a friend left a couple Stump Shooters at our cabin this fall that I finally got around to reading due to this endless winter. I have hunted on and off with a recurve for the last 13 seasons...but finally harvested my first deer with it this fall. With all the changes going on here in WI (mainly crossbow and the Kroll ideas) I just felt now was the time to put my money where my mouth was and join up. We need a loud voice for those who just want to take to the woods bow hunting each fall. It just seems that as a state we're heading in the wrong direction...it's just so contrary to what those who came before (Fred Bear, LaHa, Pope/Young) would have thought was right.
I'm proud to be a WTA member and someone who has harvested deer I had to work for :)
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ArrowArrow
Welcome to the WTA. Congratulations on your first traditional harvest. Please send a pic to our editor for the Stump Shooter. Our members will be just as happy for you. I hope to meet you soon at an event and by all means let us know how we can improve on promoting traditional archery.
Greg
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I have to say I have really enjoyed this conversation overall and NBK, you have me rethinking my opinion.
Thank you all for the wonderful conversation and dedication to the sport.
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Greg Szalewski
I recently had a post on here about reaching more people, especially kids, promoting the joy of traditional archery. I got several great suggestions from TradGangers.
I began contacting schools in Wisconsin about sending them complimentary copies of TradArchers' World magazine. So far, we have 25 school districts involved. However, that is a drop in the bucket compared to what is possible.
I came up with another way to reach more kids, and that is to offer ANY school district free PDF downloads of TradArchers' World magazine. That could be downloaded to a librarian's computer and shared with network computers in the library or LMC. The major problem is reaching the tens of thousands of schools out there.
If TradGangers would pass this offer on to schools in their area and tell them to contact me at [email protected], that would help immensely in this effort. I want kids to at least be aware of the fun to be had with the lifetime sport of traditional archery and this would be a step in the right direction.
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Tom
That sounds like a great way to get more exposure for traditional archery. Perhaps you could write up something for the Stump Shooter and members can help you reach the various schools. Do you have an email that can go out that explains what you are doing?
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I just joined WTA a few weeks ago, mainly to check out BowJam I have to admit. I became interested in making longbows (mainly from boards) a little over a year ago so most of my time on this forum is spent reading the Bowyer's Bench. I do like to shoot them as well as make them (or try to make 'em) and hope I can get to a couple of the shoots this year. Hope to meet some of you along the way.
Greg in Neenah
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Welcome Greg. I share your passion for bow building and look forward to seeing your bows. Make sure you ask for me at the events, I also look forward to meeting you.
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Thanks Greg! Looking forward to meeting you, too.