Hello ITB Members! I hope your archery season was as wonderful as mine, even though I didn’t bring home any meat. I enjoyed being out in the woods and was able to appreciate the wildlife, just not quite close enough! I did take a long shot at a calf elk while sitting in a “bowhunter challenge” position, but my arrow fell short. If you were successful or not at harvesting, I’d love to hear your stories.
Our regular October meeting will not be happening. Our next Zoom meeting will be on schedule, November 9th, the second Thursday of the month, 6:30 pm MT.
Some information about what’s happening with the club to keep you updated. Shawn is working on the design for the Western States logo. He hopes to have it done by our November meeting. Shawn also updated our membership application so it will include a notation of the region each member is in. This will allow us to give member information to the regional directors.
Our treasurer, Lisa, reports that the bank account balance has remained about the same as her report last month.
I have been in contact with Riley Savage and Bob Bourland about the tri-state Expo/Banquet gathering. I am going to LaGrande for an archery course so I can be certified to teach beginner archery, and we will travel the extra 50 miles to Pendleton and rendezvous with Jim Akenson to check out the proposed Expo/Banquet venue. The Oregon group is very excited about the event, Washginton is undecided. Bob Bourland will be talking with the Compton folks to try and get some financial support. I’ll keep you posted with new developments.
I completed the application for our use of the WMA at Black’s Bridge for Fallen Archers Shoot and got approval for March 23, 2024. The Fish & Game informed me that they cannot give permission to camp overnight in the parking lot, so we need to contact the local sheriff or county commissioner to get that approval. I’m asking Dave Hall to take care of that.
I haven’t heard anything from our southwestern regional director (Jordan Alves), our northern regional director (Dennis Michaels), or our Director at Large (Mike Schlegal), so nothing to report there.
Mike Ewing, our Eastern Regional Director, has opened a Facebook group called “East Idaho Traditional Archers” to try to make connections with traditional archers in the eastern part of the state. Any of you eastern archers reading this, please check it out, or give Mike a call (208-317-4341).
Ray Gorney, our Central Regional director, and Don Schroeder, an active member from the central region, informed me of a grant opportunity through Fish and Game to help fund the building of an archery range. Don Schroeder located a promising Niagara Springs WMA area not far from Twin Falls, so my husband and I took a trip over to meet with Don and check it out. It’s beautiful and perfect for a range. Our goal is to meet the November 1 grant application deadline of 2024. I think this area could be a fantastic location for an ITB club shoot sometime in the future. We are proposing it be named the “John Turner Memorial Archery Range” in honor of our recently passed founding member who was from the central region of Idaho. More details to follow as we continue working on this project.
Thom Tash reported that he has a target list but was unable to verify which targets we have while at the New Meadows shoot, so we won’t be able to get that put together until Fallen Archers shoot. That will be when we will select 15 targets to take to Western States in Northern Idaho.
Alex Martin agreed to go to the shoot card meeting happening in November and get our shoot dates on the new 2024 cards.
I am looking forward to seeing many of your faces on Zoom, November 9th at 6:30 pm MT. Please don’t hesitate to text me (houlijan@yahoo.com) or call (208-630-4304) if you have questions, concerns, or ideas for our club that you would like addressed in our next meeting.
Have a beautiful fall! The aspens and huckleberries are vibrant and the snow is already on the peaks around our Cascade, Idaho home. Blessings to all! Janet Houlihan