The Green Creek Archery Junior Olympic Archery Development Club held their annual Halloween party on Oct. 30.

JOAD moms Crystal Streacker and Evelyn Roberson brought home made candy, snacks, and soda.  Coaches Jim Vennera and Steve Burney came up with a new game for the kids to play.

The coaches taped play money in denominations of $1 to $100 to the target butts for the archers to shoot. The archers then used their money to buy their treats. If more than one archer shot the same bill, the one who shot closest to the center of the picture claimed the bill.

For a twist, the coaches made the kids shoot without their sights. Rick Burney, the only compound shooter in the club, used a recurve bow instead. After each round, the archers moved to a different distance to learn to adjust their aim. The kids had a fun time shooting and deciding which treats to buy.

The group also welcomed their newest member, 8-year-old Maggie Gowan, a student at Polk Central Elementary with a ton of enthusiasm who never seems to stop smiling. With the help of the coaches and her father, in one week she went from not knowing how to shoot properly, to being able to consistently hit the target. She is already looking forward to her first competition.

For those who would like to give archery a ìshot,î the club meets at the gym at the Green Creek Community Center on most Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Steve Burney at Foothills Pharmacy in Columbus at (828) 894-6112.

– Article submitted 

by Steve Burney