Hi, my name is Lee Francis, I am Rebecca Francis's husband who is a competitor in this contest. I have been watching this site for months because I love the info on how to build bows, strings, etc...I built my first bow when I was 13, and I have built several since. I have been an avid archer all my life. My favorite bow is a sinew backed flat osage self bow.
I haven't wanted to enter into this discussion, but I feel I need to make a couple of comments. First, the heading of this forum it says:
"Tradgang.com has a zero tolerance for disrespect directed to anyone. If you want to disagree, then please do so in an adult manner".
I don't feel it is necessary to run down one contestant just because you prefer another one. (Elkherder and HomerDave) My wife does not pimp herself!!!
Disparaging remarks, especially if they are untrue, do not make your preferred competitor look better, but make you look small. I really believe that if my wife were not in this contest, Connie would be mine and my wife's first choice, as we have had a lifelong interest in traditional archery also. Both me and my wife think Connie is awesome and has collected magnificent animals that anyone would be proud to have. She is obviously a great hunter. My wife and I would love to meet her! But I don't believe that Connie is the type of person that would encourage or condone this type of behavior. My wife has never spoken an unkind word about any of the other contestants. In fact, when asked, she has always made very positive comments about them.
For your information she has been a traditional archer for the past 15 years ever since I built her an antler tipped recurve bow. She has also taken trophies with her recurve. But not yet her long bow, but we hope to remedy next week in Texas.
Rebecca has also contributed countless hours in our community with conservation groups and womens and childrens groups, instructing them in archery.
I want to commend those in this forum that have integrity and honesty (George D. Stout and others) who vote for the person they choose because they think that person is best. You don't have to run others down.
The point of this contest obviously is to bring in exposure for Tahoe films. The only way these girls can get their votes is to let everyone know who they are and what they are about. Hopefully this can be done by building up your contestant of choice rather than degrading others.
Lee Francis