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T he Dream Sheds Partnership was announced in the Summer 2012 issue of Whitetails Unlimited Magazine, and it’s ready to take off during the fall banquet season. Bringing together three great names in the outdoor industry – Whitetails Unlimited, Drury Outdoors, and the Catch-A-Dream Foundation – the purpose of the Dream Sheds Partnership is to raise funds so the Catch-A-Dream Foundation can provide once- in-a-lifetime dream hunting and fishing experiences for children age 18 and younger in the United States and Canada, who suffer from life-threatening illnesses. Brothers Mark and Terry Drury have donated hundreds of outstanding shed antlers that were collected on their properties in Iowa and Missouri, to be auctioned at many WTU events in 2012-2013. The Catch-A-Dream Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non- profit corporation, working in cooperation with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Through once-in-a-lifetime hunting and fishing adventures, and exposure to outdoors- minded people who care, the program instills in these children a message of encouragement at a time when they need to know that hope does indeed exist. A major point in the program is that families incur no expense. These families are already under financial stress, so This banquet season, WTU members will help Drury Outdoors and Catch-A-Dream provide hunting and fishing trips for sick children all expenses are fully covered, including travel, meals, lodging, licenses, fees, taxidermy, and so on. The objective is to create a memorable dream experience for both the child and family that is not clouded by financial considerations. Terry Drury and Dr. Marty Brunson, executive director of the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, attended the June WTU Field Operations meeting to fully explain the program. It was a moving presentation, and seeing the difference that this program makes in the lives in both the ill children and their family members is some- thing that can reach directly into your chest and touch your heart. WTU President Jeff Schinkten described the partnership as, “One of the easiest decisions we’ve ever had to make. This is something that everyone who hunts and fishes can support, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.” The program was given a dress rehearsal at WTU’s Mid- Missouri Deer Camp event last March, and if the success there is any indication, the Dream Sheds Partnership is going to help a lot of kids. Missouri Field Director Dan Vogt said, “The entire room was electric during the bidding. It was just fantastic.” For more information about the Catch-A-Dream program, visit www.catchadream.org, and for Drury Outdoors, visit www.druryoutdoors.com. Whitetails Unlimited Magazine 39 38 Fall 2012
