The second weekend in April found Jim and I instructing the archery classes at our North Carolina BOW program (Becoming and Outdoors Woman). The BOW program is coordinated through the wildlife commission in each state. This program provides women an opportunity to be a part of the outdoors for a weekend and leave with new outdoor skills or hone old ones.
This year the program was at Camp Cheerio in beautiful Glade Valley, which is nestled on the top of a mountain, in Alleghany Co. and the views are nothing short of awe inspiring. The abundance of wildlife that is present there is an added bonus, even though I will admit it is hard being there during turkey season with the population of turkeys that call Cheerio home.
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B.B. Gillen, she always gives you her best smile.
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B.B. Gillen is the BOW coordinator for North Carolina. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that the ladies who participate in this program are provided the best instruction in each skill they attend during the event. The ladies have a huge list of classes they can take: shooting sports are well covered with intro to firearms, rifle marksmanship, into to archery and basic shotgun. They also offer fly fishing and fly tying, small game/fish field dressing, canoeing, tree trivia, intro to bird watching, nature journal writing, digital nature photography, geocaching, pond and stream ecology, orienteering, wildlife tracking and turkey calling. One of the classes that is a favorite is outdoor cooking and dutch oven; I can taste the peach cobbler now. They also offer classes on GPS skills, a climbing wall, and many others. There is something for everyone no matter what you love to do outdoors.
This year there were 110 ladies in attendance and 20 of those signed up for the two intro to archery classes that we taught on Saturday. Each class is three hours, thirty minutes, which gives us plenty of time to give safety instruction and the proper way to shoot a bow. The ladies get plenty of hands-on experience which is most important.
Our daughter Leah, aka Bud, drove up from college to spend the day instructing the ladies as well. She is the youngest instructor the North Carolina Wildlife Commission has ever recognized. Bud began helping us teach children’s events when she was nine years old. The first year she helped instruct the BOW program she was twelve; she began shooting a bow at the age of four and loves helping others learn that there is no age limit for shooting and enjoying archery.
Saturday morning greeted us with rain and distant thunderstorms but did not dampen the spirits of the ladies in the least. They learned that shooting the Mathews Genesis bows was not as hard as they imagined. They were amazed at how quickly they were on target and then began shooting for the bulls’ eye. I think a few of them were ready to wager on who would be the next one to pinwheel the center!
After a great lunch we were back on the range with our afternoon class. We had several member of the wildlife crew come down and spend some time learning to shoot. At the end of each class, we had our students asking us to circle the bow we would recommend and accessories for their set up in each catalog; they were adding archery equipment to their Mothers Day, Birthday and Christmas lists.
We met several new people that work with the wildlife department in our area. We will be spending some time with them this summer at the Pisgah Center where we do introductory archery classes for children.
After a great day of shooting fun, we were off to supper and then for a night of festivities in the Sloan Center. B.B. had set up a silent auction for the women and had asked for donations. Thanks to our sponsor we had plenty of products to donate to the cause. We donated some of Quaker Boy Game Calls new Foam Fit Turkey mouth calls for the table. Quality Archery Design sent an Ultra Rest to add to the table. Wildlife Research Center sent Scent Killer products to add to the mix, along with some scent lures.
This year the proceeds from the silent auction had special meaning. The Wildlife Commission has started a new scholarship fund for women who cannot afford to be a part of the BOW program. It is the Mel Porter Scholarship Fund. Mel was not only a great member of the team but also a huge supporter of the BOW program who recently passed away. He was there to do all he could to help the women with skills and most importantly, to have a great time. If it meant dressing up as a lady he would slip into his poodle skirt and entertain the women with skits and his quick wit.
B.B. Gillen explained how the scholarship program would help pay the way of ladies that could not afford to come and how much it meant to her and the department to have it named after Mel. She and the other members of the department were hoping that the auction would bring in enough to send 3 or 4 ladies to the next BOW. At the end of the evening they were overwhelmed they had made over $1,300.00 for the scholarship program. Tears of joy flowed for the generosity of the ladies and for what it would mean to so many women who wanted to attend a weekend at BOW.
Jim and I would also like to thank Real Tree, Mathews Solocam, Wildlife Research Center, Quality Archery Products, Quaker Boy Game Calls, SHE Safari, St Croix Rods, Thompson Center Arms, Muzzy Products, Nikon Sport Optics, ThermaCELL, Limbsaver Products, Tru-Ball Releases, Bass Pro Shops, Carbon Express Arrows, Weatherby Rifles and Shotguns and Danner Boots for their generosity.
Each of the ladies who attended our archery classes received a great goodie bag that included all the great promo items and catalogs that our sponsors sent. Thanks to SHE Safari, they also went home with a great backpack that held all the items. We had plenty of giveaways so no one went home empty handed.
At the end of the event on Sunday afternoon, we said our good-byes. We all left knowing that we have made new friends, rekindled old friendships, and that a great time was had by all who attended. We already have the calendar marked for next year’s event.
Jim and I would like to thank the North Carolina Wildlife Commission for continuing to make the BOW program stronger each year and for allowing us to be a part of it. B.B. Gillen and her crew are what make our N.C. BOW so special. I am not sure if B.B. goes to bed the entire weekend, she is there for the women and her staff. She has a smile on her face no matter the circumstance and is very loved by all who have the opportunity to work with her.
If you have an opportunity to work with the BOW in your state don’t let the opportunity pass you by. Jim and I are always the ones who bring home the most from these events. It is the special women and a very special time that we are proud to be a part of.
