Organization Introduces Youth To The Outdoors

Young Outdoorsmen United is an organization in McDonald County that has introduced hundreds of young people to outdoor activities.

Dan Fuller of Pineville heads up the organization, which was founded in 2012.

He explained he was part of an organization called the National Wild Turkey Federation, and his chapter was recognized in the state of Missouri and was probably the most active chapter in the state. However, he and the other volunteers of what would become Young Outdoorsmen United had some goals that conflicted with the NWTF, so they decided to form their own organization.

“We’re just a group of guys and gals who wanted to do events and serve kids,” he said.

Nearly all of the organization’s funding comes from McDonald County, and all of the funding is spent on the young people they serve, Fuller said. Most of the young people are from McDonald County, although there are a few from Oklahoma and Arkansas.

“We have an event every month. It’s related to hunting, fishing, shooting and other outdoor activities,” he said. Some examples he cited were fishing, coon hunts, a crow hunt where the kids made their own call, a duck-call class, a bluebird nesting project, fish gigging, jug line fishing, a blow gun event, a turkey shoot, and a special event for girls only where they went to stations and shot archery, pistols, muzzleloaders and learned to cast a fishing rod.

“We really have an assortment of events,” Fuller said. “We’ve had close to 48 events, and we’ll probably average 50 kids. Ninety percent of our events have new kids every time.”

He said they schedule nationally-known speakers for their events. For example, the speaker at the duck-call class was a world champion duck caller, he said.

“We felt there was a void in this type of organization here locally,” Fuller said. “We do it because we felt there was a lot of kids out there who don’t have an opportunity to go hunting or fishing. We feel these outdoor activities teach the kids a lot of lessons, not only about the activity they’re involved in, but it gives kids an appreciation for the outdoors.”

The activities get kids away from television and electronics and serve as a deterrent from making bad choices, he said. It also keeps the hunting, fishing and shooting traditions going, he said.

“A lot of kids don’t have a mentor in those types of activities,” he added. “When we see a kid who caught his first fish or shot a gun for the first time and has a big smile on his face, it’s so rewarding to be a part of that.

“We’ve got some of the best volunteers that are really dedicated, that put these events on and serve the kids. The volunteers that are involved with Young Outdoorsmen United are some of the best volunteers I’ve ever been involved with. The core of our volunteers are just awesome.”

The organization has a long-term goal of eventually building a special events facility, Fuller said. The group holds a fundraising banquet in June each year for its major fundraiser. Young Outdoorsmen United spends $16,000 to $20,000 annually, he said. The organization charges $5 per year for a membership and $2 per event for non-members. There are about 140 members ages 5 to 18, he said.

“The memberships don’t raise a lot. That’s not the core of our income,” Fuller said. “We set those prices where they’re affordable because we don’t want someone to say they couldn’t attend because they couldn’t afford it. If someone can’t pay, we’ll pay their $2.”

In addition to the special-events facility, the organization also wants to build a shooting range and an archery range, Fuller said.

To contact Fuller, email info@youngoutdoors menunited.com.