Fall Rendezvous 2002
By David Tetzlaff

Going into my first shoot at a new site as TBOF President it would only be natural to have a number of unanswered questions and some unexpected ones as well. Like how high can Chris Savage jump with a large HD bear on his shoulders when he almost stepped on a snake? Answer: He'd make Spiderman proud! Chris was one of the fine twenty volunteers who helped make our Fall Rendezvous a shining success.

I believe the entire membership was experiencing a blend of excitement and trepidation going into our Fall Shoot in a new facility. We all had Crooked Lake wired after so many good years there. But here we all were in unfamiliar surroundings. Where's our cabin? The showers are which way? I can't find the Fun Range! Yep, there is always a learning curve involved, but all told, the enthusiastic feedback from all of you made us proud of our decision to set up at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Hunter's Education Camp. I thank Bruce Hamlin and Bob Carrier for the initial contact and follow up with camp manager Greg Workman in securing this incredible facility for TBOF. The staff members of this facility were invaluable to us at this shoot. It didn't matter if we needed a 1 ½" stainless screw, an air pump or transport vehicle, they were there for us. A few are now TBOF members!

The Board of Directors was on a collective high with all the positive elements this site provides for us. Air-conditioned cabins, bunkhouses and registration areas; showers and real restrooms, generator areas, more space for primitive campers, video night, pavilions for seminars and trade blankets and more. And we cannot omit that big bell used to maximum effect by Vice President Nick Coullias to summon us for events. Okay, so I'm gushing here, but with good reason. This facility is just this side of perfect for us.

Do we have some bugs to work out? Absolutely. The novelties will be moved to a more convenient location. We will discover means to spread out the ranges more. More directional signs are required as well. But these challenges are miniscule when compared to the phenomenal benefits the Hunter's Ed Camp provides for us.

And I am sure some folks thought we should have supplied shooters with hip waders on the last half of the Howard Hill Range. I can tell you honestly that before those two huge storms on Thursday and Friday there was in fact dry ground for arrow retrieval. We will address that concern next summer. In March that area will be good and dry for us during the Championship Shoot.

So, hoops and hurdles aside, it was a great first time shoot on this wonderful property. Your Secretary/Treasurer Bruce Hamlin and my family arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, set camp and began unloading the inventory needed to get the shoot up and running. We then began the initial stages of laying out target stations and planting the new directional signs that my wife Kelly kindly painted. The sign construction was provided by the maintenance crew at the zoo and one of my staff members painted that fantastic new road sign for us. Surround yourself with talented people and then orchestrate and delegate. A simple yet very effective plan! I also have no shame in giving Kelly a lot of credit for upgrades she has dreamed up and the list is long indeed. You may have noticed how nicely arranged and displayed all of our merchandise was at this shoot. You can see what you are buying and by having each style and size with its own container it's a breeze for a volunteer to find for you. I am sure Cass Vickers and our other sellers appreciated this new convenience. I know a lot of the membership took advantage of the TBOF Ten Year Anniversary shirts on sale. We thank you for supporting the club with your purchases. At the Spring Championship, check out our new shirts that many of you bought already. New colors and styles and our logo never looked better! And I promise to have more of our new hats. We sold out by Friday afternoon at this shoot.

Thursday morning found Bruce and Kelly readying the registration area and a great group of volunteers (see following list for recognition) assembled for the range set up. As President, there are many, many serious details and obligations but the one task that I enjoy the most is the ordering of new targets. McKenzie manufactures such a variety of 3-D's now, the temptation to procure them all is nearly irresistible. And I can hear a few light hearted mumblings about us being deer and hog hunters so that's what we should be shooting at, but hey, you can't tell me some of these new targets aren't too cool for words. Blesbok. Chamois. Hyena. And didn't that alligator look awesome at the water's edge on the Howard Hill Range?

The remainder of Thursday and most of Friday were spent attending to the various details and dilemmas that accompany any shoot. By noon Friday the Fun Range was good to go and we are grateful to Bob Carrier's mother, Patsy, for managing the Fun Range the whole weekend. With each shoot, we hope to make this activity more enjoyable and interesting. Along with the ideas from the Spring Shoot, a new dimension was added this time with the addition of Chris Savage's famous rats and rabbits. If you can ace one of those pesky rat targets, you are my hero.

With each passing shoot at the Hunter's Ed Camp we will benefit from the alleviation of some of the Crooked Lake mandates. By not setting up the big top and other pavilions we saved hours of work and applied those efforts elsewhere. And even had a few moments to spare for a welcome change. Bruce and I actually had a free hour to shoot the Fun Range, an almost unheard of opportunity previously.

Friday evening found most of us on the Coon Range and also during the evening John McCormick made use of the in-house video system in the registration area to play some archival hunting videos. Pop corn and Papa Bear. Doesn't get much better. I believe this will be a consistent new feature. We also may just have videos running continuously in the main building at future shoots for those who want to relax in the air-conditioning.

Saturday began like any summer morning in Florida, humid and buggy, but the ranges were still enjoyable. I was pleased to note that aside from the a few areas on the Fun Range, the mosquitoes, with a little help from DEET, were kept at bay. These insects were actually worse on the set up days than the shoot days, thankfully.

Following the morning round and lunch, a nice crowd assembled beneath the main picnic shelter for Ron Weatherman's Shooting and Tuning Seminar. Ronnie had sixty archers attend this extremely informative program. He has made a precise science out of tuning and shooting a traditional bow. He kept us captivated for over two hours. I am sure Ron didn't expect the seminar to last that long, but there were so many follow-up questions from attendees it made for a lively and very interesting afternoon. The Board of Directors is indebted to Ron for taking the time to share his knowledge and insights with the membership.

Charlie Wheeler rounded out the afternoon with some novelty shots including a long shot raccoon. The accuracy by some of your fellow members is quite commendable. I saw some groups of three arrows drilling the target at forty plus yards. These guys can shoot!

The always-favorite trade blankets were held Saturday evening. Charlie Wheeler handled the adult trade blanket and Chris Savage coordinated the kid's trade blanket. Thanks guys!

Sunday found us shooting the second round of the event. For the first time in many years, we relied on TBOF volunteers to pull and load targets. This is a big effort but will save precious funds to be directed elsewhere. Thank you to those dedicated members who hauled, heaved and sweated in the August heat for us. Remember for the next shoot, the sooner the targets are pulled the quicker we can begin the ceremonies and raffles. In other words-your help is needed!

With the arrival of the new targets, twenty- one other targets were made surplus. These targets were still in good condition and were put up for a silent auction. The bids closed at noon on Sunday and from 11:45 a.m. to the closing, the bidding got hot and heavy! Ron Weatherman, Ray Johnson and I were circling like feeding sharks chasing one another's bids from target to target until the cut off time. Ronnie came off best with five animals to load up. Thanks to all bidders for supporting the auction. The monies are vital to the operation of our club.

It was a real pleasure to present the post-shoot ceremonies in an air-cooled and comfortable building. Congratulations to all the winners whose practice obviously paid off. Following the general and special raffles, a knife courtesy of Buddy Manley was raffled off and won by the only man who has more Manley knives than Buddy does, Jim Zetwick.

The most anticipated event for this shoot was the raffle of a custom Black Widow Bow, courtesy of Mr. Ken Beck and his Widowmakers. The winner was a very fortunate Jim Knowles. We hope he enjoys the new MA II he chose. This type of raffle was a first for the club and in light of its success we will do so again. Our collective plan is to contact a different bowyer for each event. We realize that many of you have your personally favorite bowyers and we want to cater to those desires.

I will take this moment to personally thank the following individuals who made this shoot great. Without volunteerism, TBOF would not be the incredible organization that it is.

Bruce Hamlin. Ron Weatherman. Nick Coullias. Wayne Carter. Rich Nichol. Cass Vickers. Chris Brodeur. Kelly Tetzlaff. Jim Zetwick. Bob Carrier. Charlie Wheeler. Chris Savage. Ray Johnson. John McCormick. Pam Brodeur. Chris Kuhn. Gary Brodeur. Cliff Richardson. Bill Clark. Todd Waldeck.

My closing thanks to all who participated in this Fall Rendezvous. See you all in March 2003!