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2009 Outdoors Without Limits Ultimate Adventure Deer Hunt

WINTERVILLE, Ga. - The deer woods surrounding Troy Alabama will be filled with disabled hunters January 15th -18th as the Outdoors Without Limits (OWL) Troy Chapter plays host to the 2009 National Ultimate Adventure Deer Hunt. The hunt will consist of approximately 100 disabled participants and there non-disabled guides. Event participants must register for the event. OWL usually uses a draw system to fill awarded opportunities. Because of the number of hunting opportunities associated with this event there was a preliminary drawing held to insure maximum participation. However, there were some unfilled opportunities held open to insure additional interested participates the opportunity to register for the event. The final drawing will be held January 4th. OWL is an inclusive organization and participation is open regardless of a person’s disability or age. Interested participates can register or ask for additional event information by calling the OWL National office at 706.788.9878 or by contacting Regional Vice President Michael Hatten at 770.722.5005. People interested in volunteering for the event need to contact Mike or Todd Swindall at 334.566.8353 or 334.482.2444.

Kirk Thomas the Founder and CEO of OWL said “There’s no way we could pull off an event this big without the assistance of the Troy chapter and the 31 local landowners, guides and volunteers that are helping provide this opportunity. It’s really hard to explain what all it takes to put together an event of this size, there’s so many moving parts, from the planning to the cleaning up afterwards. Without volunteers and partners stepping up to help there’s absolutely no way we could offer this opportunity. Mike and Todd Swindall owners of Swindall’s RV Park in Troy Al. are providing there location as the events base of operations. I actually met Mike in the fall of 2007 at the Troy chapter “Awareness Benefit and Dinner”. It didn’t take but a few minutes for Mike to volunteer to host the chapter’s first OWL hunt last year and I wasn’t surprised at all when he Mike volunteered to host a national event this year. I remember asking Mike how big he wanted to make it and without hesitation he said the biggest in the country. On January the 15th he’ll have it”, Thomas said.
   
National Ultimate Adventure events are usually larger in size than the “Opportunity Events” hosted by local chapters because of the additional expenses and work incurred. The 2009 Ultimate Adventure will not be an exception. “It’s hard to believe the detail, effort, work and expense that goes in to an event this size. As an example, figuring just the food cost of preparing and serving eight full meals and three continental breakfasts for 400 to 500 people per meal is unbelievable. Not to mention the hard work of a lot of volunteers. As a matter of fact before our volunteer food staff get’s through with one meal, their already preparing the next”, Thomas said.

As mentioned above, there will be a vast amount of expenses associated with this event. “There’s no doubting the fact that the biggest challenge we’re facing right now is raising the necessary revenue to pay for the event. It’s really a monster. We’re going to have to manage our spending to the penny and keep a very close eye out for any opportunity that will help us cut our cost,” said Thomas. To raise the needed revenue OWL is currently recruiting corporate partners and individual partners as well as accepting cash and product donations. Thomas said, “Most organizations refer to their supporters as sponsors. We don’t, as a matter of fact I can’t stand the word sponsor. Our supporters are our partners and we want them to be able to establish ownership in the program by getting directly involved in our success. Here’s an example, one of our partners wants to help so much that their allowing their employees the opportunity to miss work for two days to come help out the event. This is not a sponsorship, it’s a partnership”. Interested “Partners” can contact Kirk Thomas at 706.788.9878 or 803.480.0167, Michael Hatten at 770.722.5005, Mike Swindall at 334.566.8353 or Todd Swindall at 334.482.2444.

At the current time there are several things planed to help offset the cost of the event. The first will be a “Kick Off Dinner” Thursday January the 15th. Doors will open at 5:30. The evening will begin with social time, silent auction, raffles and entertainment followed by dinner at 7:00, event announcements, introduction of special guest followed by a live auction at 8:00. Tickets are $15.00 each and will be available at the door. Anyone interested in donating items for the auction may do so. They would certainly be beneficial. On Friday night January 16th there will be a “Welcome Party Dinner and Dance” featuring the band Flat Creek. The doors will open at 5:30 beginning with a social time with dinner being served at 7:00 followed by the dance at 8:00. Tickets are $15.00 each and will be available at the door. On Saturday night January 17th  there will be an “Appreciation Dinner” honoring the events partners, participating land owners, guides, and volunteers. The doors will open at 5:30 beginning with social time with dinner being served at 7:00 The Appreciation Program will begin at 8:00. Tickets are $10.00 each and will be available at the door. Sunday morning January the 18th there will be a “Southern Style Breakfast” from 9:00 to 10:00 with Special Music and a Worship Service beginning at from 10:30 to 11:00. Closing ceremonies for the event will conclude at 12:00. Tickets are $10.00 each and will be available at the door. A special “Event Meal Pass” will be available for purchase for $30.00 each. The “Meal Pass” includes all the above plus all other meals and liberties within the event. Thomas said, “It’s going to be a long and busy weekend filled with a lot of fun and excitement. We wanted to make it unique and different and I think we’ve done this. We don’t want to come across looking like we’re trying to raise money every night, but we have to do what we have to do. I’m sure people will understand this. As for the event itself, we couldn’t be more excited because we know in our hearts they’ll be many lives changed during the event and you can’t put a price on the value of this.      

Another vital component to the events success is coordinating the details of the hunt. The hunt is completely controlled by a Hunt Master and his team of assistants. “We place safety first and foremost. With a hunt this big you certainly can’t be to careful, you have to take the extra step with every detail. We have to cross our I’s and dot our T’s again and again”, Thomas said.
A scheduled mandatory in-depth safety meeting is held before the first hunt for participates, guides and landowners. All participants must participate in shooting exercises at the firing range before the first hunt. “We take the extra step when it comes to safety. For example, our guides carry our participant’s guns to and from the hunting location. The only time a participant is allowed to handle his/her gun is when they are in a shooting position”. said Thomas.

Each disabled participant is paired up with at least one guide forming a hunting team. In some cases more than one guide will be assigned to a team if the participant has special needs. Each team has a lead guide that is in total control of each hunting opportunity. The Ultimate Adventure event has approximately 31 different landowners, hosting approximately one hundred hunting teams. The events Hunt Master keeps a list of all team members and knows each hunting team’s location at all times. Teams are required to sign out and back in to the Hunt Master before and after each hunt. “Our Hunt Master carries a tremendous amount of responsibility. He has to be on his game to keep proper records. Scott Adams is the events Hunt Master. He and team of assistants have been handling this duty for us for years. It’s certainly re-assuring to know that this very important responsibility is not only handled but handled right, Thomas said.

The OWL organization understands the importance of family involvement and encourages family participation. If logistically possible, family members can even participate as a hunting team member. “If there’s an opportunity for a family member to actually go along with the hunting team we encourage it. We realize this creates excitement and adds so much more to the overall experience. For an example, imagine the excitement and joy of a parent when they see their child actually participated or better yet being successful. It’s priceless”, says Thomas. The family value concept and inclusiveness of the OWL program provides a direct avenue for family members and volunteers to establish personal ownership in the success of the event. They do this by jumping in to help anyway they can. “We want people to understand and realize when there involved with an OWL event, there family. You can’t believe the difference this makes. We have had some really talented people jump in and help. It’s really powerful medicine when people realize they can have ownership in the success of the event. They get so much more out of the overall experience knowing they did there part. It’s really cool”, said Thomas.

The Outdoors Without Limits program is heading into it’s second year carrying some amazing organizational growth and a very bright future. It’s clear to see that Thomas, his staff and the National Board of Directors of OWL certainly have the OWL program headed in the right direction. But given the opportunity Thomas will tell you quickly that OWL is a volunteer dependant organization and its OWL volunteers that are making it happen. He say’s there the heart and sole of this program and without volunteers starting and developing OWL chapters across the country the organization will not develop into what he knows it can. “I’m proud of how far we’ve come and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish thus far. But I’m more focused on what we haven’t accomplished and the lives we can still touch in the future. We’ve got a lot of hard work to do and we have to be careful doing it. It’s tough out there with the economy in the situation it’s in. I’m a proud man but I’m not to proud to admit that our financial stability is not what it needs to be. So far we’ve been able to stay a float, pay our bills, experience some growth and help a lot of people. It’s been and still is a struggle everyday keeping things on track. I’ll be the first one to admit that we don’t have a perfect program. We’ve made mistakes and I’m sure we will probably make some more but we realize it takes time, money, patience, knowledge and a lot of hard dedicated work to make things happen. If we can hang on, our future looks very promising. We have been able to establish some good partnerships thus far. One of these is with the Pursuit Channel. Their running a couple of commercials for us right now and there really bringing a lot of awareness to the program. We have people all over this country contacting us about getting involved with the program”, said Thomas.

 Kirk Thomas was disabled and confined to a wheel chair in 1992 as a result of hunting accident. This certainly hasn’t slowed the 6’5” inch mountain of a man down. He has been involved with changing the lives of both the disabled and non-disabled people long before founding the Wheelin’ Sportsmen program in 1996. His dedication to helping people has brought him celebrity status in and out of the outdoor arena. He has received numerous local and national awards for his efforts. He’s testified before Congress and chaired hearings in DC concerning outdoor related assessable issues for people with disabilities. He is a well known and sought after motivational speaker. “I’ve been involved with helping disabled individuals a long time. And yes, I have received a lot of credit and attention for what I have done. But the credit I don’t get is for being smart enough to understand that I needed to surround myself with thousands of great caring individuals who have and are still willing to step up and actually make a difference in the lives of some very appreciative disabled people. The volunteers that have helped me personally, or helped with Wheelin’ Sportsmen and now with Outdoors Without Limits are my hero’s. There the ones that need the credit and it’s been a bunch of them over the years. A prime example of this would be Mike and Todd Swindall, the Troy chapter, all the volunteers, the participating landowners, guides and partners that are stepping up to help make a difference in Troy Al. the 15th. -18th. These people are my hero’s and the medicine I need to keep me pushing on. Without them OWL or the Ultimate Adventure could not and would not be able to offer the opportunities associated with the event. After all, this is all that’s important”, said Thomas.

To learn more about the Outdoors Without Limits program visit their web-site at www.outdoorswithoutlimits.net. To request additional information contact the OWL National office at 706.788.9878. If you would like to volunteer to help or make a donation to the OWL program or to the 2009 Ultimate Adventure Deer Hunt you can do so by mailing it to Outdoors Without Limits 333 Briarwood Trail, Winterville GA. 30683 or simply drop it off at Swindall’s RV Park in Troy AL. If you’d like to volunteer to help out with the Ultimate Adventure event simply give one of the aforementioned guys a call. They would appreciate hearing from you and besides there waiting to introduce you to a life changing experience!