07/25/2024
I know it has been a while since we have posted. I would like to take this time to give every one a little back ground on the club and kind of where we are today. So this is our story. PS this is a long post😁
Our Story
White River Bowmen is the brainchild of David E Wilson II and Brandon Beckett. The club was started in the Wilson & Company Barber Shop. Our goal was to provide a place in the Taney County region to hold 3-D archery shoots and tournaments. As we were sitting there discussing how we are going to achieve this, we started discussing our passion to help people. It was decided then and there that we would not just start an archery club, but also a 501 (c) (3) non-profit. We went about the next few months filing paperwork with the State of Missouri to form the White River Bowmen. Then we started the process with the Internal Revenue Service to apply for our 501 (c) (3) status. While we are waiting on all of this paperwork to come back to us. We started looking for land in the Taney County area that we can set up an archery course on. Much like setting up a golf course you need a fair amount of land. We wanted this land to not only be able to accommodate an archery course, but do it in a safe and fun way. Once again in the barber shop, one of Davy’s clients pipes up that he has land and is willing to let the club use the land. So, fast forward to November of 2016 and we hold our first membership drive and donation auction. At this auction we were able to raise half of the money needed to purchase the 3-D targets for the range. During the winter we started laying out the course, which entailed cutting down a few trees and clearing underbrush. Then the next spring, we were able to purchase enough targets to start holding events. So, over the next three years we held events and started giving back to our community through rent assistance, fire assistance, and other forms of donations. At the end of the third year we were forced to shut down due to some zoning issues where our course is located. We stopped having shoots and this was also right around when everything with COVID started as well and we did not have a place to hold events or were able to hold events for the next few years. Once all of the COVID things have settled down we began the search again for land within Taney County to start holding events again. That is when Richie Brown and Shiloh Archery came into the picture. Shiloh Archery is located in Kirbyville, Missouri and the owners were excited to partner with White River Bowmen by offering their land for a new archery course. So, for the last two years we have worked with Shiloh Archery to hold and co-sponsor events. We are looking forward to many, many more years of archery related events and being able to give back to the community.
