Archers from around NC shoot in Bladenboro

BLADENBORO – On May 3, archers from all over North and South Carolina began arriving at Allen Brothers Club house just outside of Bladenboro for the eighth Annual Bladen County Aim For A Cure. After registering, many warmed up on the practice range provided by Walk On Archery of Salisbury.

Steven’s Stompers (an ALS Awareness walking team, formed in honor of Steven Davis of Bladenboro) and North Carolina Aim For A Cure (a nonprofit formed by Bladen County natives Alex Daniel, Garrett Daniel and others) once again came together to host this event started in 2017 to help promote awareness and raise money to fight Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). After registration and warming up at the practice bags, competitors enjoyed sweets and goodies donated by Burney’s in Elizabethtown and had time to look over an assortment of door prizes, and the trophies by Southern Sons Designs of Dublin that were up for grabs.

Amy Lynn Clark, Director of Development for ALS United North Carolina, addressed the shooters before the competition. “We are the statewide representation for ALS families and patients living with ALS,” Clark said. “We help coordinate six interdisciplinary clinics across the state. We have patient services programs, and we are also active in the research platform. This is immensely important for me today and for this organization. What these groups do for us in any given year helps us to be able to make sure that the families living with ALS across North Carolina have access to quality interdisciplinary care, access to our free durable medical loan closet where they can get medical equipment free of charge delivered right to their door.

It just helps us to be able to help the families who have just been dealt a horrible circumstance.” Clark told the group that in 2024 their organization was able to give almost $375,000 worth of grants to families and patients in need to handle anything that they have related to ALS, as well as investing in research initiatives.

Clark then presented representatives Alex Daniel of North Carolina Aim For A Cure and Sandra Davis Robbins of Steven’s Stompers, with “Circle of Excellence” awards.

After some scoring and safety instructions, and opening prayer by Donald Daniel, archers were grouped together and sent on their way to the course to await the signal to start.

Competitors worked their way through the course lined with signs of local businesses who sponsor the event, to 20 various lanes where anything from a turkey at 20 yards to an antelope maybe found out to 60 yards. Even an alligator and a mountain goat were in the mix, thanks to Delta-McKenzie and BigShot targets. (Delta McKenzie is the leading producer of 3D foam targets and provides all of the targets for the ASA Archery Pro-Tour in the U.S.).

Bigfoot, always a favorite of many shooters, even showed up as archers had the opportunity to enter a separate contest to see who could hit the mark in the long distance event for the chance to win a Blackstone griddle.

This year’s Bladen County Aim For A Cure event raised a little over $16,000 with more donations still coming in. With the 2024 donation to ALS United NC totaling $25,000, the total amount donated from Bladen County Aim events as well as other fundraising efforts by the NC Aim group since 2017 totals $100,000!

Three more events scheduled for this year include:

The Brunswick County Bowhunter Challenge, returning to the Little C Homestead venue Ash, NC June 28. Swamp Fox Archery in Tabor City, will be hosting NC Aim For A Cure for the first “Battle On the Border” July 19. And wrapping up the summer will be the first, “Neuse River Aim For A Cure” at the Neuse River Bowhunters club location in Johnston County, near the Cleveland/Clayton area Aug. 16. More details and registration information can be found on North Carolina Aim For A Cure’s Facebook and webpage. The public is always welcome!