About Us.
I’ve been asked several times how Kilgore’s Kids came into existence, and why I am a part of it. To answer that, let me go back a few years. We had gone to the Atlanta Buckarama and met a man that ran an organization for taking disabled kids hunting. Feeling led to help, we offered to take them on a hunt. We set it all up, with 7 disabled kids going on a hunt with us. A friend of mine came in with a group of his friends to help out. He, being a preacher, gave a message by the campfire at lunch one day. It was an incredible message that reached down deep into the hearts of everyone present. Nine people accepted Christ that afternoon, including my oldest son, and many of the adults that came to participate. A month or so later we were at another hunting show where a huge burley biker man and his wife walked up to me with tears in his eyes. Now, I don’t know how you would have taken that but I was a little confused. That’s when he started telling me about how he had been at the lowest of lows and on the verge of suicide, but wanted to say his goodbyes to friends and family. You see, he said, one month ago I was going to kill myself and for some reason wanted to go to this hunt with my nephew. That’s where his life was turned around by a message that wasn’t even part of the scheduled events. That’s when we realized that this is where God led us to be.
Now to go back to the hunt that was set up that weekend for the disabled kids, it was incredible, probably some of the most rewarding times I have ever experienced hunting. We were hunting with a group of disabled kids one afternoon and it just wasn’t working out. The animals would see the handicap accessible vans or golf carts deliver the kids to their hunting spots and just proceed the other way. I went into our big camping tent, assuming we were alone, and started discussing with my dad how it was difficult to drive the kids to the animals and it would be so much easier to just walk out there. That’s when a little voice behind me said, “I’ll walk”. Not knowing anyone was there I spun around to see a 13 year-old boy with a big determined grin repeating himself again “I will walk if it will help me get a deer, I will walk.” This made me feel like a real jerk. This kid who was so determined to not let his physical challenges hinder his success wanted to walk even though it was so difficult for him. The doctors said with his condition he shouldn’t have been able to walk for the majority of his life, but his exceptional drive wouldn’t let him quit. Motivated by success we went out seeking his deer. About an hour later I spotted one feeding but it was way too far. He plopped down to look at it through his scope with no gun rest but instead, he then propped his gun on his plastic leg braces. I said “I think we can get a little closer if we go that way.” “Nope, this is close enough” he said, as the gun cracked and the deer dropped. I walked off 256 yards to find that deer piled up. He still refused to ride to the deer; he wanted to walk every step. He said it was his victory lap and that he’d just won the super bowl. I had to ask what that meant and was humbled by his response. He said, “I can tell by your build that you like football and you were very big in sports. My dreams growing up were different than most other kids. I knew I wouldn’t ever be able to do what they could in sports, but when I’m hunting I’m on an even playing field as everybody else.” Then, with that same grin, he looked up at me and said “How’s your dreams in life coming?” At that minute I realized that little boy just taught me a life lesson in priorities and life long goals.