|
|
We will start off with listing the participants in the Bash.
Guest of Honor - Jeff "TennBow" Coggins
Arch nemesis - Doug "GeneJockey" Smith
Sweet and demure - Christine "Deerdreamer" Appleberg
Just along for the ride - Jim "I have no handle" Appleberg
I'm too cool and I know it - Mike "Lumpy" Wilson
Mr. Amazing - Chris "Fishhunter" Cooley
Soon to be amazing - Nicholas "Seneca Slayer" Cooley
My handle is so clever - Lonny "Travis" Travis
The spittin Brit with no accent - Collete Travis
The best dressed couple - Rob "CAT" Williams and (I will be shot for this) his wife. Damn I hate when I forget a name. Apologies in advance
Beware the Bear - Barry "Papabear" Comer
Mr. Adorable (Awww..hecks...shucks...did my wife draw my name for the ScentLok suit? Geez, isn't that just amazing? ;) )- David "Salagai" & Kathy Good
Let me just show up fashionably late cause my handle is so cool too! - Jim "Jim Johnson" Johnson
And of course, da hosters -Michael "Blitzburgh" Kugler and Handan "Ottoman" Kugler
So there you have it. Now here is the story behind the story.
Jeff arrived here Thursday night ahead of the crowd for which I was really pleased. This gave me an opportunity to meet and speak with him firsthand. I have"known" TennBow the same as the rest of you through the Bowsite, but never had the pleasure of meeting him face to face. We had a small chat and then he turned in for the evening. We stocked his fridge with some Bud upon arrival. I learned later on that I should have just backed the damn truck up to the building. More on that later.
Next morning a few more people started to trickle in. Papabear was first, then Fishhunter and so on. Friday saw TB and Papabear out back doing some shooting. Jeff proceeded to give Papabear a custom made arrow. There are several shots of this beauty on the Bowsite. Congrats Barry. It is an arrow to remember.
For those of you that were not able to attend and did not see the BBB T-shirt we had made, you missed it. Without a doubt it is one of my most prized possessions period. Fishhunter went through a LOT of work to get these made and delivered and I am SO grateful to him and his hard work. The shirts are AMAZING and they were a huge hit with everyone. Thank you Chris!
Probably the only point of trepidation for me occured when Christine "Deerdreamer" arrived. We had some pretty hot words a while back on the Bowsite about "alternative" lifestyles and I was jittery at the notion that she would pick right up where she had left off. Easy to be a keyboard commando when the person you are warring with is 2,000 miles away. 'Nuther thing when they are 50 feet away! :) Turns out she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Same goes for her husband. Thank you both for coming.
Next was the Magnificent 7 show. The dinner was fair and the entertainment was okay as well. Overall I would give it a C or thereabouts. We went for something that was affordable and convenient. Having never seen the show we figured "What the heck?" and gave it a shot. Branson caters to the older passive crowd. With TennBow in tow, you are looking for something more along the lines of ZZ Top. In a nutshell, it was okay and got a bit better towards the end.
Back at the resort we hooked up with TB in his room. Here is where the fun began.
I have heard some funny stories in my life. Thought the bed scene from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was hilarious. Laughed myself sick watching the Holy Grail. But, I have never heard anything quite so funny as BUBA. My face was about to break in half! If you haven't heard it, I won't ruin it for you and will only advise you to get with TennBow and have him tell it to you. If you have heard it before, you know what I am referring to.
TennBow was like a chatty kaffie doll. Pull the string and let her fly. He regaled us with one story after another. We were rolling on the floor with some of them. Then it dawned on me. "What time is it?" I wondered.... 2 o'clock.... 2 o'FREAKING-CLOCK in the A.M.!!! I had to be up at 6, just four hours later for the 3D tourney set-up along with coffee and doughnuts from Wal-Mart!! I pardoned myself, hit the bed and was immediately awakened by the 6 o'clock alarm! >:|
Moose Allen Archery was up bright and early setting up the targets for the course, our neighbors went for the doughnuts, and I started the coffee.
Due to the previous nights events most people staggered out of their rooms around 9 a.m. to begin the event.
Moose set up a great course with 10 targets in all. The threat of rain loomed but our luck held out and the rain didn't come until the very end. Lonny Travis' son was the eventual champion with his single score of 35 on one target. Especially amazing when you consider that there is only a 12 ring. But he proclaimed to us that his shot was a 35! Good enough for the rest of us to concede. There were some amazing shots and some not so amazing ones, but with all things archery it was a blast! I especially enjoy watching the camaraderie we share with each other during these times and this one was no exception. Nice job Moose.
Later on that day we had a local church host an all you can eat Mexican buffet at the marina. There were numerous choices available provided and from all indications, this was a winner. We will look to cater with them in the future as their price was reasonable and the food was excellent. A SPECIAL thanks goes out to Indian Point Marina for allowing us to use their facilities for free. I deeply appreciate that a lot.
After the buffet, everyone sauntered back to the resort to relax and chat while they waited for the evening's main event to begin. Little did we realize that the evening's main event was about to take a backseat to the Tennessee Alabama game. 5 overtimes and $40 less for CAT. TennBow would be on a roll for sure.
But, even that game could not trump the biggest news of the night. Literally out of nowhere we had a special guest arrive. None other than Jim Johnson himself. We were all dumbfounded that this man would take the time out of his busy schedule to fly all the way to Missouri from Bozeman Montana for only one night!!! Thank you Jim for doing that. It touched all of our hearts to see you there and no, you do not remind me of Ted Kacyznski in the least. ;) Jim also provided us with the highlight of the night. I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting a quiet gentle soul by the name of Salagai while we were waiting for everyone else to arrive. Dave was just up for the day so I did not have the pleasure of chatting with him much but all the same it was nice to meet him. Enjoy the ScentLok suit
Now, onto the debate
Our debate topics ranged from employer/employee to the Patriot Act. Votes were tallied by applause and for the most part TennBow made sure that Gene had at least one clap when selecting for Gene's side.
By now, TennBow was on a roll. He had the game and $40 bucks, his friends, and a partisan crowd. Gene was pretty well cooked. We found ourselves feeling pity for Gene and not sure how to help him out. If the event is named "Cause TennBow Says So" how can Gene expect to compete? That's when Jim jumped up to offer Superman his cape. Jim brought Gene a pair of perfectly sewn pink spandex shorts to strengthen his resolve on the floor. You could just feel the giddiness swarm over Gene. He was now dressed for the occasion and feeling a sudden surge of energy. The crowd was swinging in his direction. In fact they were swinging on the dance floor in a beautiful 2 step.
Unfortunately for Gene, we had to break for the evening and call it a wrap. TennBow won in a landslide 5-2, but Gene put on a great face. You cannot say that Gene earned the respect of the crowd because he already had that before he even arrived in Branson. I have said it before and will say it again, he is one of the coolest people I have ever known and met. Mr. Smith goes to Branson and leaves a hero. Thank you Doug.
We had one last thing to take care of before we left for the evening and this was something special to me.
I have never met Jeff "TennBow" Coggins personally before this event. Only through the Bowsite like many of you. We have argued points in the past and agreed on many other topics as well. What I did know is many of the things that Jeff had done for the community and archery in general. I had known that Jeff had put many people ahead of himself years ago and had helped to foster a positive image of our sport, even for those not in archery. He has argued before the legislature championing for better opportunities and many times won. Most importantly, he treated all that he met along the way with great respect.
It was for these reasons and many others that we came up with the Branson Bow Bash TennBow Award. Presented to the people who best embodies all of the positive aspects of our sport and selflessly helps others without ever thinking of themselves.
Jeff was a clear cut slam dunk winner of this years award and was roundly and warmly acknowledged by all in attendance with a standing ovation. The ironic thing about it is that everyone who attended our Bash, and many who could not, would have been just as easily selected. Thank you Jeff for everything you have done. It has been an inspiration to us all.
(And by the way, I already have a strong bet on who next years winner will be)
Many wound up the evening back in TennBow's room. Some wouldn't even leave. Gene stayed till 6:30 in the morning, Jim Johnson hung around until 4 a.m. and then boogied back to Springfield to catch his flight back home. (Not sure why anyone would rent a room to only use for 2 hours. :-/ ) TennBow proved to everyone that he could hang with the best of them. Went to bed at 6:30 a.m. and was back up 2 hours later. Complete animal through and through. Me? I'm a wuss and I will proudly admit it. 2 a.m. and I was wiped out. I will never battle anyone for that badge of "honor". Gave me a new appreciation for how domesticated I had become. ;)
So there you have it. The first ever Branson Bow Bash. TennBow kicked it off in high fashion and we had a blast.
Before I go, I want to give thanks to all the people and a couple of companies who helped to make sure this event went smoothly.
Mike and Ruth Gabriel from the DreamCatcher Resort.
My parents and grandmother who dropped everything to come down to help with the festivities.
My in-laws who have zero knowledge of the sports or its participants but wanted to make sure all had fun
And of course my wife and best friend Handan. She wanted so much for this to be enjoyable for all involved even though archery means about as much to her as crochet does to us.
Lastly I want to publicly recognize 3 businesses that went out of their way to make sure we had some backing for our event.
I want to be REAL clear here. I tried NUMEROUS (hundreds literally) businesses with no intention or motive of asking them for money, prizes, or discounted items. Simply put, I was leaving it to the businesses to send anything that they wanted to promote this event. Folks if it was a piece of paper (which by the way is all that I asked Ted Nugent to sign and send) I would have appreciated it immensly. Only 3 stepped up to the plate. Everyone else gave me the "Oh how cute" routine, "Boys running round in the woods shooting their arrows. Well have fun, we will pass"
The first to help out was Pat Lefemine from our beloved Bowsite. He offered to let me advertise the event for free if I could not see a future benefit of advertising on the Bowsite. We bought the sponsorship for no other reason than it was the right thing to do and I want to see Pat's site continue to do exceedingly well. Additionally, he sent a Bowsite banner which helped with some exposure. If nothing else, it helped to create some interest from passer-bys. Thank you Mr. Lefemine
Next was Kevin Gabriel from Outdoor Sports Marketing Group. His company sponsored our Bash complete with 2 tree trimmers and a brand new ScentLok suit that we raffled away. Kevin is the brother of our Mike Gabriel and had nothing to gain from this other than wanting to see us have a successful kick off. Thank you Kevin for the gifts. They were sincerely appreciated.
And what would a Bow Bash be without a least ONE manufacturer involved? I called them all and was rebuffed at every turn. Maybe if we were holding the ATA show it would have been different. But since we were nothing more than piddly little old Branson, we were kindly brushed off. (I will remember this, trust me) But there was one that came through without reservation or hesitation, Bowtech.
I called Bowtech directly and explained the situation to them . They put me in contact with Jerid Strasheim who immediately said he would be thrilled to be a part of our Bash. When I told him of my troubles in locating someone with knowledge and targets for a 3D course, he directed us to Moose Allen Archery. He also set us up with several small gifts that helped to ensure that all in attendance would at least get some sort of a door prize as well as 2 nice quivers. In total they sent about 30 items as well as 3 very nice banners and we gave all of them away Saturday night at the debate. But you want to know the coolest thing? At the end of the conversation Jerid asked me if I shot a Bowtech or if I would consider them in the future. That is when it dawned on me that he had no idea and a huge grin creased my face. I actually do shoot a VFT and really enjoy it. Now I am wild about it. Thank you Mr. Strasheim for your help. It was greatly appreciated.
WHEW!
Thank you everyone and see you round the next campfire, Branson Bow Bash II
Mike
