A big adventure trip to remember

Mike Miller is the area coordinator for the Kicking Bear Archery camp, a national mentoring program.

During the 2009 school year, Becky Miller, a Linton High School teacher, approached Mike about speaking with her class. Miller took a day off to talk about his program and spent some time answering questions.

At the Archery Trade Association show in Indianapolis, Paul Vaicunos, senior vice President of Parker Bows, gave away a free fly fishing weekend. The value of the package was $2,000-$3,000 and included lodging, food, and a personal guide. The winner decided not to claim the prize. Mr. Vaicunos spoke with Ray Howell, the originator of the Kicking Bear program. He offered the package to Howell.

Ray Howell immediately called Mike Miller and said, "I would like you to take this and take a kid with you on the trip". Mike got in touch with Mrs. Miller to ask her to recommend one of her students. Jayce Stoop was chosen to accompany Miller on the trip and he was happy to be going.

Mike said, "I met with Jayce's mom to introduce myself and then made several contacts before the trip. She needed to become acquainted with me. I was taking her son on a three day weekend trip". Miller and Jayce took off for Cleveland, Ohio on the first of May. Their trip lasted until Sunday, May 3rd. They stayed at a luxury resort called the Pine Tree Trout Club. Mike related, "We actually fished in a Cleveland city park in a 3 ft. deep stream. There were joggers and park goers all around. They thought we were crazy for fishing in the stream When Jayce hooked his first fish, you couldn't have wiped the smile off his face". Crazy or not, these two anglers caught some very large fish. They began fishing at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. each morning and didn't quit until dusk. Miller said, "We taught Jayce how to fly fish, fillet the fish, and everything else he needed to know to have a great time". All the normal stuff that takes place on a trip happened on this one. Jayce fell in the stream, got in over his waders, and so on. To make the experience even more rewarding, Mr. Vaicunos, his father, and brothers came along to help and enjoy the fishing.

Kicking Bear Archery camps are free to all interested young people. This year, the Kicking Bear Archery program will host a banquet in July. The purpose is to raise enough money so that every young person who wants to attend the camp will have a chance to do just that.

Flyers will be available in the near future.

The actual camp takes place in August. Interested volunteers or youngsters interested in attending the camp can find information on the websites RayHowell.com or kickingbear.org.

Tawni is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by e-mail at tawniprudhomme@gmail.com