CMN Archery Challenge 2002
“Dear God, I’m glad you helped me survive
Cancer and all of the other sicknesses and thank you for all you have done…”
Love, Trevor (Pogue)
In his best penmanship, a 9-year-old boy scribbled out his thoughts on to the red paper heart. The dulled pencil told the story from the heart of a child. Six days after his 4th birthday (on February 18, 1997), Trevor was diagnosed with Leukemia. Now at 9, and off chemotherapy for 2 years, he reflected on his many blessings. And we reflected on ours (which required several Kleenex tissues). Moments like that helped us to focus on the things that are really important in this life. This was our motivation for the 2002 CMN Archery Challenge-the 4th annual charity event to give to the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, from which our son is a graduate.
Some people said we couldn’t hold an event of this kind on Mother’s Day weekend. But this Mother’s Day was very special. It was Trevor’s 2-year anniversary off chemotherapy. With the smoke from the 9-11 events still in the air and still in each of our hearts, we just stepped out in faith. It only took a couple phone calls to get the steering committee up and running. The volunteers-some old, some new-were a little nervous also. “The economy has been really slow,” said one. “There have been a lot of other charity events soliciting donations already this year”, said another. “How in the heck will we ever beat last year’s efforts, they asked?” “We don’t plan to”, I replied, “but we might anyway”. “Remember”, I said, “Our goal is NOT to beat last year’s efforts, but to have fun raising money for a very special cause-children.” The reward is simply the satisfaction of giving back to help those who can’t help themselves…the KIDS!!
In the 4th year of the CMN Archery Challenge, the support from volunteers, participants and vendors continues to grow. With no budget for advertising, the event has simply benefited from the grass-roots, word-of-mouth advertising from those who have attended past events and been drawn into the worthy cause. To properly acknowledge the countless volunteers and sponsors (who absolutely are responsible for the success of the 2002 event) it would take an endless number of pages. To name a “most-important” person would be impossible-since each and every person who did some small part and did so from the urgings of their heart-was the most important person for that particular task. The hearts of the many Bowhunters and area Sportsmen and women have spoken decisively in support of the continuation of the CMN ARCHERY CHALLENGE…and for that we are both excited and thankful.
The weekend itinerary was again packed with fun events. Although it would be hard to put them in order, I believe most would point to the awesome air show and landing of the Apache Helicopter on Saturday afternoon as one of the most memorable events. I know I wasn’t alone in swallowing a huge lump in my throat and dabbing the corners of my eyes as the magnificent chopper came to a rest and the pilots climbed out to the cheers and hoots of hundreds of event-goers. With the still-fresh memories of the terrorist attacks on New York, it was awesome to see the might and technology of our military…and to honor those who answered the call to defend Freedom in Afghanistan.
The traditionally emotional auction event did not let us down again this year. Just to see the quality and quantity of the items that were donated was inspiring. Many of them were absolutely precious, one-of-a-kind, hand-made items…the kind of things that again sent folks digging into their pockets (and hearts) to purchase a bit of history and support a child at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital. The creator(s) of the annual CMN hand-crafted arrows, which have been a very special legacy to the CMN Archery Challenge Auction, again surprised us with stunning, limited-edition versions incorporating a patriotic theme and the signature line, “For the Children”. Many other wonderful items-both hand-made and other-were donated and auctioned. As in past years, the auction raised a very significant amount for the kids.
On Saturday night, we all enjoyed an awesome home-cooked dinner, complete with dutch-oven deserts. The Boise Banjo Band-themselves regular contributors to the CMN Children’s Hospital-entertained us throughout the meal under the Big-Top tent in the fields north of Eagle, Idaho. For the 4th year in a row, we have been given free access to this land for our CMN event by the generous folks at the Spring Valley Livestock Company & Spring Valley Ranch.
The 2002 CMN efforts were anchored and Co-Sponsored by many of our area Bowhunting Clubs, including, the Idaho State Bowhunters, the Black Canyon Bowmen, the Nampa Bowchiefs, the North American Elk Federation and the Gem State Christian Bowhunters. Additional help & support came from donated items and money from many other archery clubs around the state of Idaho. This was another tremendous show of support from within the sportsmen community.
The weekend event grossed well over $20,000 again this year, bringing the four year total to nearly $90,000 raised for the kids treated at the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital…a remarkable achievement! A growing part of the annual fundraising effort has been the launch of the “Friends and Family” program. This important tool allows ANYONE-from Kids to Adults-to participate in the fundraising by getting pledges from friends, families, neighbors, co-workers, employers and businesses. Each year for the last 2 years, the totals have grown and we fully expect the Friends and Family program to be one of the largest contributions to the long-term fundraising efforts of the CMN Archery Challenge, because it is a fun, easy and rewarding way that FAMILIES can get involved on a personal level with the CMN efforts. If you think YOUR family would be interested in participating for 2003, please see the details and forms for the 2003 Campaign on the website at www.idahoarchery.com/cmn . Just think what one hundred families raising an average of $100 can do for the fundraising efforts!! There are truly many, many ways you, your family and/or your club can support the CMN Archery Challenge for 2003. If you would like more information, please seek us out on the website or call one of the Steering Committee members directly.
For 2003, we will be remembering a very special child. On January 27th,2003, ten year old, Ian McNeil, lost his lifelong battle with Leukemia. Ian was a real trooper; a soccer buddy, friend and fellow graduate of MSTI and the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital along with our son, Trevor. Ian lived his life wild and fast, despite the ever-nagging leukemia that wouldn’t let his little body go. Ian was a true champion-to everyone, and especially to Trevor who lost a true friend that day. Those who knew and loved Ian worked diligently to help him cram a full life into 10 short years. Along the way, Ian won the hearts of so many with his courageous fight against an unfair disease. Shortly before his 10th birthday, he achieved another one of his lifelong dreams…to ride a Harley Davidson Motorcycle. Ian was outfitted with his own leathers and helmet and spent an entire day riding with a local club…a boy’s dream-come-true. Despite the pouring rain at his funeral, the bagpipes played…and hundreds of the club’s members lined the street with Harley Davidson Motorcycles in a show of support for a dream lived and a battle lost.
So the daily work goes on by a special Hospital-the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital-and a very special team of dedicated professionals there whose life calling is to attempt to change the lives and experiences of a growing number of our children who must depend on the services available there. Each year, the Children’s Hospital Team are themselves enriched by the many special children who touch their lives-and yes, they are often overcome with sadness-by the reality that not all children who come there ever leave there. But they take comfort in the fact that people like you are daring to get and to stay involved in one of the various organizations like the CMN ARCHERY CHALLENGE that help them make a difference in the lives of each of these special kids. So are you ready for “The Challenge”? Are you ready to get involved with the CMN crew? If so, we would love to have you…but I must warn you, it is very rewarding and contagious work!!
Sincerely,
Trevor’s Parents…
Lisle & Vicki Pogue
…and the Whole CMN Archery Challenge Crew!!