Paul A. Smith:
Group makes outdoor dreams a reality.
Pittsville — The western Wisconsin burg of Pittsville doesn’t show up on many maps.
But one weekend a year the population in this section of Jackson County swells a hundred fold.
They come from all corners of the United States, some in RVs, some in cars, others on motorcycles.
They pitch tents and build campfires. They fish and swim and shoot archery and ride horses.
And perhaps most of all, they live in the moment.
The event is the annual summer gathering of the United Special Sportsman Alliance, Inc. They call it “USSA Summerfest.”
It’s like Woodstock for outdoor recreation and a family reunion rolled into one.
“We celebrate, sure,” said Brigid O’Donoghue, 51, of Pittsville, founder and CEO of USSA. “And we appreciate every minute we have together.”
Founded in 2000, the nonprofit organization’s mission is grant wishes to youth and military veterans suffering from illnesses or disabilities.
Throughout the year, USSA provides trips, often to hunt or fish, to its participants and family members or caregivers. The organization celebrated a milestone in 2015 when it granted its 10,000th wish.
And once a year, O’Donoghue and her husband, Pete Normington, invite all the volunteers and participants in USSA events to a weekend on the family’s 1,200-acre cranberry farm in Pittsville.
The event typically runs from Thursday through Sunday. The 2015 event was held July 16-19. On Saturday at noon, 525 people had registered for this year’s gathering.
“Yeah, I wasn’t going to miss this,” said Tom Gearing, 66, a USSA volunteer from Black River Falls. “It’s a family affair.”
Gearing arrived in Wisconsin the previous day after a trip to Alaska.
The organization is notable in that it is all volunteer. No staff, board member or guide is paid.
The operation runs on a shoestring budget.
“We make every dime count,” O’Donoghue said. “We also make sure everyone is in it for the right reason.” In a word, that is “giving.” O’Donoghue is a Milwaukee native who grew up in a gregarious
family with six brothers and two sisters. Hunting wasn’t part of her upbringing, but a hunting experience in 2000 changed her life.
That was the year O’Donoghue was asked by a business associate if she knew a place where a man with terminal cancer could deer hunt.
If you’ve been around O’Donoghue for even a short time, her response to that query won’t surprise you: “We'll find a place,” she said.
Within days, Mike Griffey, a 42-year-old pancreatic cancer patient from Orange, Texas, arrived in Wisconsin.
O’Donoghue traveled with Griffey to Danny Schumann’s property in Wild Rose. She recalls the tears of gratitude in Griffey’s eyes at the end of the hunt.
At that moment, United Special Sportsman Alliance was born.
“Some people want to go to Disney World, some want to meet a Hollywood star,” O’Donoghue said. “And others want to fulfill an outdoors dream. We’re here to help them.”
O’Donoghue has a magnetism and a can-do attitude that has attracted a network of like-minded volunteers. More than 500 volunteers now serve USSA in 42 states.
She is persistent, hardworking and rarely if ever takes “no” for an answer. Working with supporters, O’Donoghue helped get legislation passed in Texas in 2013 that allows nonresidents with life-threatening illnesses to purchase a hunting license at the resident rate.
The difference is about $300, enough to pay for a plane ticket or allow an extra family member to accompany the ill hunter, O’Donoghue said.
It is called the Mike Griffey Law after the first hunter O’Donoghue helped. The first nonresident to hunt in Texas after the bill was signed was Ron Vruwink of Rudolph, Wis.
O’Donoghue also has started a program called “Outdoors Outreach” to provide outdoors experiences for children whose parents are incarcerated.
The annual summer USSA gathering is an opportunity to deepen bonds between volunteers and participants.
The property has several reservoirs and ponds, including a couple stocked with catfish and panfish. A special rifle range accommodates wheelchairs.
Connie Collins, 57, and her son, Kiefer, 19, drove 161⁄ hours from
2 Birmingham, Ala., to attend the event. It’s their third time.
Collins said Kiefer was born with a form of cerebral palsy and “wasn’t even supposed to walk.”
His life is a lesson in achievement. Kiefer was granted a hunting wish through USSA when he was 8 years old. He later attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
And now, in a model O’Donoghue hopes to perpetuate, he serves as a mentor at USSA events.
“We live to volunteer,” Kiefer said, helping kids at the archery range. “I just like to pay it forward for what they’ve given me over the years.”
Kiefer plans to help form a USSA chapter in Alabama.
The events can alter the lives of the volunteers, too.
Brian Bergschnieder, 43, a USSA board member from Scandia, Minn., and his 12-year-old daughter, Halle, organized an outing that included 10 disabled youth.
The kids behaved impeccably and were grateful for the experience, Bergschnieder said.
“Did you hear any of them complain?” Bergschnieder asked Halle.
“No,” she replied. From that moment on, Halle has been “gangbusters” about raising money and volunteering for USSA.
“I want her to take my job in 15 years,” O’Donoghue said.
Festival attendees have a range of conditions and diseases, including cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, spinal cord injuries and autism. But there is no talk of affliction. This is about what’s possible. And maybe doing something the participants never dreamed of.
After decades of work on the farm, Normington has acquired a surgeon’s touch with heavy equipment. He uses it to offer a unique experience at the event.
Kids grab a rope hanging from the arm of a hydraulic excavator and Normington swings them over the lake.
When they’re ready, they let go and splash into the cool, clean water.
It’s one of many opportunities provided at the event for participants to safely expand their boundaries and learn what is possible.
A Flight for Life helicopter from Marshfield also visited the event, giving a chance for kids to talk with the crew and see the chopper up close. O’Donoghue said many participants have a fear of emergency services; the visit was a chance to break through that fear.
The gathering also featured educational exhibits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Genoa Fish Hatchery and Wisconsin 4-H.
After sunset, the group can gaze into campfires or watch an outdoor movie.
“My goal is to think about the next generation,” O’Donoghue said. “That’s why I invite as many kids and their siblings as I can. It’s critical to get them involved. When we stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about how we can help others, that’s when things really happen.”