St. Jude archery events shatter fundraising record

The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down or severely hampered countless events since it began in mid-March, but the annual St. Jude Archery Shoot in Poplar Bluff bucked that trend in a big way.

Held last weekend, the two-day event, with a banquet on Friday and archery shoot on Saturday, shattered its previous record, set last year, for money raised.

The combined events, put on by the Poplar Bluff Heroes Team and Indian Creek Bowhunters Club, raised nearly $157,000, which will be presented to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Last year’s event brought in $140,000, according to organizer Miranda Fickert.

A young archer shoots at a target during Saturday's St. Jude Archery Shoot in Poplar bluff.Indian Creek Bowhunters photo

“It’s a record for sure,” said Fickert, who was ecstatic, especially given the current conditions.

“At our wrap-up meeting last year, we set a goal of $150,000 for this year, and we were very tempted to bump it back down with everything going on,” she said.

Friday night’s banquet at the Black River Coliseum saw about 750 visitors, Fickert said.

Skyler Tanner (left) and Jake Fickert hold the Labrador retriever and border collie puppies raffled off during Friday's banquet.Photo provided

“It was pretty full, and this year, I bet 20% of the people in the room were new faces, which is really good. Hopefully, they had a great time and come back next year,” Fickert said.

After last year’s wrap-up meeting, Fickert said, “we set a goal of 950 people this year. We knew going in we wouldn’t hit that with the whole COVID thing going on.”

Still, despite the pandemic, Fickert was happy with the turnout.

Delbert Smith teaches youngsters how to shoot a bow during Saurday's archery event.Photo provided

“We were worried early on, but once we got down to the last couple weeks and ticket sales were good, I had a sigh of relief,” she said.

Despite a slightly lower head count this year, ticket sales actually were up a bit over last year and event sponsors, Fickert said, really came through for this event.

While the banquet was full, Fickert noted, extra precautions were taken to ensure social distancing.

The evening began with a social hour, with games, raffles and a silent auction full of items donated by local businesses and outdoor industry companies.

A steak dinner, served by Karon Campbell’s Tasteful Creations, followed the social hour.

After the dinner, Travis Birdsong and Felix Baker conducted a live auction for even more items.

“We had an Illinois whitetail hunt that was really popular,” Fickert recalled. “We had two puppies, a Labrador retriever and a border collie, and they were hot-ticket items.”

A taco-eating contest featuring several outdoor TV celebrities capped off the night, with the team from “Trained Assassins” taking the crown. The team gobbled down nine tacos in two minutes - and that was with one person doing the eating with their hands tied.

Saturday’s 3-D archery shoot saw about 100 shooters, Fickert said.

“Our numbers were down for sure,” she said. “We typically have about 140 and have had as many as 200.”

Several novelty shoots were available for participants to test their shooting skills.

“The long shot is always the most popular, and we had somebody within about an inch of hitting it,” Fickert said of the 100-yard-plus shot.

The Poplar Bluff Heroes Team, Fickert said, spends a great deal of time throughout the year planning the archery and banquet events, and while next year’s fundraiser already is in the works, she’s excited about the possibilities.

“In a year or two, we could gross $200,000. It’s incredible,” Fickert said. “Watch out for 2021.”