Joshua Miller of Poplar Bluff, one of top three archers in the country, will be representing Team USA at the 2022 Rinehart World Archery 3D Championships in Terni, Italy, with a handmade longbow and wooden arrows.
Miller needs help to raise extra money to assist with travel, hotel and food expenses while he’s competing. His friends at Legacy Farm & Land Specialist have a solution.
They are holding a cookout dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at the Aad Grotto in Poplar Bluff.
“Join us to support Josh as he prepares to travel,” said real estate agent Todd Henson of Poplar Bluff.
The dinner tickets are $40 each and offers the holder an opportunity to attend a meet and greet with Josh, a drink ticket with the meal, archery games and shooting demonstrations, raffles and a silent auction.
Miller is a certified full-time nurse at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, former basketball player and ex-cage fighter. Five years ago, he took up archery.
On his Facebook page, Miller said, “I truly have a passion for archery, but if you’ve ever met me you would know I’m even more passionate about my country. This has been my dream for years now and the moment has finally arrived. This is one of the greatest honors that I may ever have the privilege of doing. Thank you all in advance.”
He practices archery for a minimum of two hours per day. His longbow requires well over 40 pounds of draw strength and the average target distance is around 27 yards away. The highest score to hit is the bullseye, worth 11 points, which is sometimes as small as a dime.
Miller practices each day on a backyard course he contructed. If the weather is bad, Miller uses resistance bands to train his form, and he is constantly honing his mental game. An archer’s self-image is important, he noted, because the sport is so taxing.
This year’s World Archery 3D Championships are Sept. 4-10 in Italy. Miller is in the Longbow Men category alongside Shiloh Butts and Kenneth Jordan, with alternate Trevor Fielder.
“It’s more than just archery to me. There’s a lot of emotion, a lot of failures and a lot of successes that go into it. And I think that being on that world stage and being able to prove to myself that I do belong, is a great life lesson,” he said. “I’m never going to forget.”
Henson asks those wanting to visit with Miller and help him be on target in fund raising buy a ticket buy calling Poplar Bluff Realty at 573-785-7600 or Henson at 573-300-1707.