The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Steve Wood, Special For The Quill
Carthage had their own sport competition going on last week as the Winter Olympic 2010 in Canada came to an end. It wasn't on ice and snow but inside D & E Archery, a 20 year old family owned and operated business in Carthage.
Dennis Tubbs is the owner and has been conducting the FFA shoot for 5 years.
"There were a couple of FFA kids in the shop one day and we got to talking about FFA and how the FFA has an Archery program, but the kids had no where to shoot, so I just thought I would offer my shop," Dennis explained.
This year 48 students from six schools participated: Bushnell Prairie City, Illini West, Liberty, North Fulton, Warsaw, and West Prairie, with West Prairie having two teams for a total of 7 teams.
The Winning Team this year was Illini West FFA: Eric Belshaw, Ryan Bolen, Jessie Holtsclaw, Trey Orth, Kyle Tate, and Jay Williams. They won by 2 points. It was the closest competition in the 5 years of this shoot.
First place with the Individual Highest Score was Curt Ferguson of BPC with 340 points out of a possible 360.
"With the numerous interest this year we are planning on at least one more shoot before the outdoor 3D season starts," stated Dennis.
Dennis said the 2010 FFA Shoot was the largest shoot they have had with 30 targets in place including a flying Armadillo and an ice fishing bobber.
Dennis added, "Another reason why I thought this FFA shoot was a great idea is there's a lot of girls and boys who may not be the big jock type, but still love competition. This archery shoot brings out that competition. Not only school against school, but individual against individual as well."
The Winning Team from Illini West FFA in Carthage is from left: Trey Orth, Jessie Holtsclaw, Kyle Tate, Eric Belshaw, Ryan Bolen, and Jay Williams.
The Tubbs named their shop D & E for their names Dennis and Ellie. Their two children (daughter Andrea and son Matt) also help with the shop. He moved from his home to his current location 9 years ago.
"I used to purchase at other locations, but I had such a passion for the craft that I started my own business. I also didn't like the way others fixed my things so I wanted to learn, and do it myself."
D & E Archery is an authorized Hoyt, PSE, Parker, Elite, and Limbsaver Dealer. Dennis is the only certified Hoyt and PSE tech as well as Shooter Instructor in the area and went to certification school for both. He offers one-on-one lessons. You can visit his shop along Hwy 94, Tuesday through Friday Noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10-3. His contact information is: D & E Archery "your Bow and Fixins shop"
Shop 217-357-2485
1489 N Hwy 94 South Carthage. Their Email is-dearchery90@yahoo.com.
2010 FFA Shoot Results
Carthage - 1ST PLACE
Ryan Bolan (2nd) 332/332
Eric Belshaw (3rd) 327/327
Jesse Holtsclaw 316/316
Kyle Tate 314/314
Trey Ourth 276/
Jordan Cadwell 270/270
TOTAL 1559
BUSHNELL
Curt Ferguson (1st) 340/340
Zach Boden 320/320
Matt Bartlett 311/311
Chance Downey 296/296
Hannah Cortez 290/290
Cooper 262/
Spencer Mast 231/
TOTAL 1557
WEST PRAIRIE TEAM #1
Bret Philips 293/293
Nick Shelley 291/291
Chase Taylor 287/287
Zach Shoemaker 278/278
Caleb Shoemaker 273/273
TOTAL 1422
LIBERTY
Evan Crawford 306/306
Cody Johnston 275/275
Ryan Walton 248/248
Mason Peter 220/220
Shawn Johnston 216/216
Alex Johnston 115/115
TOTAL 1380
WARSAW
Rhett Nason 314/314
Doug Althide 278/278
Matt Martin 265/265
Phillip DeWald 241/241
Greg Hoener 238/238
Mikeal Akers 221
TOTAL 1336
North Fulton
Dylan Yocum 312/312
Jade Foster 294/294
Drew Moss 273/273
Darrick Burkhead 256/256
Jim M. 246/246
TOTAL 1087
WEST PRAIRIE TEAM #2
Taylor Thompson 264/264
Brian Moore 244/244
Hunter Aten 230/230
Ben Broadhead 210/210
Ethan B. 89/89
TOTAL 1037
Curt Ferguson, Bushnell
Top Individual in shoot.
Dennis Tubbs and daughter Andrea