The Big Buck Outdoor Games took place near Paducah, Kentucky April 16-19, 2009. Hosted by Huntin for Heroes, Big Buck Properties, and XONtv, the event served to raise money for the Paralyzed Veterans of America - Outdoor Recreation Heritage Fund. This fund permanently supports PVA’s many outdoor sports programs for wounded veterans.
Nineteen hunting and/or fishing pros were invited to be team leaders, and each team was comprised of a pro, a celebrity (sports or entertainment celebrity), a wounded veteran (Purple Heart recipient), and a team sponsor (someone who paid to participate as part of the team).
The Games consisted of a bass fishing tournament on Kentucky Lake and a two-day turkey hunting tournament held on various farms in the area. A charity banquet and auction was held in Metropolis, IL, and a concert with major country artists will take place later in the year. The event was filmed and will be broadcast through a variety of media sources, including XONtv. Numerous outdoor pros brought camera crews to produce episodes for their own national TV shows, including:
Hank Parker
Jimmy Houston
Harold Knight (of Knight and Hale)
Hank Parker, Jr.
Mark Hatcher
Billy Parker
Jim Zumbo
Jon and Gina Brunson
Jimmy Sites
Spook Spann
Mark Scroggins
For biographies on each of these pros, go to:
http://www.bigbuckoutdoorgames.org/participants.html
Jimmy and his team were sponsored by James Marine. They finished 4th in the bass fishing tournament with five bass weighing 10.6 lbs. They won the turkey hunting competition with 3 longbeard gobblers all tagged on the first day. The accumulated scores placed them s the Overall Grand Champions of the Big Buck Outdoor Games 2009.
JIMMY’S TEAM:
Jimmy Sites - Hunting Pro
Brandon - Sponsor
Tim Rushlow - Lead singer for Little Texas, now of the group Rushlow
Chris Payne - Wounded vet. Recipient of the Purple Heart. Leg and arm blown off in
Iraq from land mine. Arm reattached. In hospital for one year. Released
November 2008. HERO!
Jimmy and Team Come Oh So Close in Defending Title for 2010 Big Buck Outdoor Games
Jimmy and his team consisting of Golden Knight wounded veteran Dana Bowman, sponsor Brandon Buchanan, retired pro football player Rocky Calmus, and wounded veteran Perry competed well in this Big Buck Outdoor Games. They finished fourth in the bass fishing tournament, a very close 2nd in the turkey hunting tournament (4 BIG longbeards!), and lost the overall championship with a fourth place finish in the Cornhole Tournament (go figure!). This is very similar to pitching horseshoes, but it is throwing a corn-filled “bean bag” through a small hole in a slanted board about 20 feet away. Spook Spann and his team brought the big trophy home this year, but rumors are the Spook may have been using performance enhancing energy drinks!!
A great time was had by all, and tens of thousands of dollars were raised for Disabled Veterans of America.
Dana Bowman making his 1,000th jump since losing both legs in a Golden Knights mid-air collision that took his partner’s life.
