OUTDOORS: Unity groups pitch in

BY TRAVIS BARRETT

04/11/2009

UNITY -- Putting the greater good ahead of the interest of individuals, students at Unity College found a most appropriate gift.

On Friday night at the 3rd annual Sportsmen's Conference and Wild Game Dinner, members of the school's Conservation Law Enforcement and Archery clubs joined in presenting Brian Smith, president of the Maine chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, with an all-terrain wheelchair.

The chair is equipped with camouflage, a built-in hunting blind, fishing rod holders, bicycle gears and off-road tires and will aid the local NWTF in its support of the "Wheelin' Sportsmen" organization.

"They can use this as need be. It's not just for one specific person," said Brian Schaffer, a senior from Canadensis, Pa., and member of the Unity Archery Club. "This was the best way to get the most use out of the chair."

The chair, manufactured by Renegade, is valued at approximately $5,000. It bears embroidery commemorating the Unity student groups that made the donation.

"I think it's a fantastic thing in these tight-budget times," Smith said prior to a brief presentation ceremony at the college's Performing Arts Center. "To raise money for a very expensive wheelchair, I think it says a lot about the students here."

Nearly 60 students are active in the two student groups, and the money was raised through the first two previous conferences.

Wheelin' Sportsmen works in conjunction with the NWTF, though the organization attempts to provide outdoor experiences for the disabled through far more than turkey hunts. Here in Maine, though, the first use of the chair will be on just such a hunt.

Maine NWTF vice president Bruce White of Medway already plans to take Jamie Madison, a young man with spina bifida, turkey hunting later this month -- during a special early season devoted to disabled hunters in the state.

The chair will continue to be used here in Maine, unless special circumstances arise in a neighboring state where it can be utilized.

"The important thing is that it gets use," Smith said. "That's what we have it for."

Chris Hayward, a senior from Chester, Conn., is the vice president of the college's Conservation Law Enforcement Club. He said the original idea, credited to Unity Alum Chris McGrath, was to donate a wheelchair to a person in need.

"It was hard to find just one person that could ever use it as much as we wanted it to be used," Hayward said. "This way, it will be used by hundreds of people in everything from hunting to fishing."

Smith, whose Maine NWTF chapter is 700 members strong, praised the college students for giving back to their community at large. "I think giving back to the resource is the best thing sportsmen can do," Smith said.

Added Schaffer: "Basic conservation comes from hunters and fishermen. They spend a lot and they take a lot -- but they give a lot, too. I think people give hunters a bad rap, but it's very important to me that when you see hunters, you don't see a hillbilly out poaching deer.

"A lot of being a good sportsman is giving something back."