What a Clay Shooting Fundraiser Reminded Me About Showing Up

Location: Shiocton, Wisconsin Weather: Sunny, low wind — perfect day at the range Event: Challenge the Outdoors Annual Clay Shooting Fundraiser

Saturday, April 11 was the kind of day Wisconsin saves for special occasions.

Sunny skies. Low wind. The air had that perfect April crispness to it — cool enough to feel alive, warm enough to stay comfortable all day. If you were going to spend a Saturday outdoors, this was the one.

And J & H Game Farm was exactly the right place to be.

We were there for the Challenge the Outdoors Annual Clay Shooting Fundraiser — a day built around raising money and support for physically challenged individuals in hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. Clay targets flying against a blue sky. A crowd full of people who genuinely wanted to be there.

There are days when you show up somewhere expecting an event.

And you leave carrying something much bigger than what you came for.

This was one of those days.

The Question That Changed My Day

When I'm at an event like this, there's one thing I always want to know.

Why are you here?

Not the surface answer. The real one.

I asked Francisco Castillo from Hortonville that question. He's been coming back to this event for close to a decade — third or fourth year actually shooting it in the last ten.

I asked him what it means to be out here supporting Challenge the Outdoors.

"It's just nice to see all the challenged people out there shooting — and it's fun to shoot with them. I shot with a guy in a wheelchair a couple years back. I believe he shot 49 out of 50. That was really impressive. It's just nice to support a local event like this."

I asked him what kind of feeling he gets from the camaraderie and inclusive opportunity that Challenge the Outdoors creates.

"It's just a nice, warm, welcome feeling. It makes you really grateful and appreciative of everybody out here supporting. I know a couple of people who are challenged — and it's nice to see all the support they get."

The Man Who Just Kept Saying Yes

Then I sat down with Carl Durkee, President of Challenge the Outdoors. Carl has one of those origin stories that sneaks up on you.

He came to this very event about 15 or 20 years ago as a guest. Just a regular guy with a buddy. He started talking to people, asked if they needed help with events, and they said sure.

I asked Carl how he ended up getting so involved.

"So I started helping a little bit… and you know how it goes — you help a little more. And here we are."

I asked him what he feels when he's out here doing this work.

"There are a lot of people out there who maybe just need a little bit of help to do events like this. For somebody like me, I grew up doing a lot of hunting and fishing. But I can still get outside and help people at our events — and I find it much more fun doing that now than hunting and fishing myself."

Being the good. One yes at a time.

Challenge the Outdoors is open to anyone — broad range of disabilities, affordable membership, events that span from clay shooting to fishing to timber rallies. No one should feel like they need to reach a certain level of disability to belong. That's the whole point.

I asked Carl to describe the experience in one word. He laughed.

"I can't do it in one word. But providing opportunities is fun. It's fun to see people take advantage of them."

Why We Were There

I'll be honest with you. This day meant something to me personally.

We were there with Jeffrey Vander Linden, our producer for Guide4Good Wisconsin — cameras rolling, eyes open, ready to capture what was happening on that range. For Jeffrey, it was his first time filming an event like this. And you could feel it in the best possible way.

I asked Jeffrey what it felt like to be out there filming.

"There's a ton of people out here to support this great event. Challenge Outdoors just does a lot of good for a lot of people. This is one of their best events of the year."

I asked him what the day meant for the Guide4Good journey.

"I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be out here. This is a big first step — to see the good, be the good, and share the good. We're bringing something to the media. Energized. Motivated. Driven by purpose. Let's go get it."

That's the energy we want to carry into everything we do.

Because when we tell these stories — when we show up, point a camera, ask the real questions — we make room for more good to find its way into the world.

That's sharing the good. And it starts by being willing to show up.

Takeaways from the Range

Be the Good

Carl showed up as a guest, offered to help, and kept saying yes for 20 years. You don't need a plan to start. You just need to show up and say yes.

See the Good

Francisco has been coming back year after year because he learned to see what's really happening. Not just clay targets flying. People. Stories. Lives changed by someone who cared enough to show up.

Share the Good

When we share these stories, they travel. They reach people who need them. They inspire someone else to say yes. That's the whole point of Guide4Good.

One Thing to Carry With You

You don't have to start an organization. You don't have to have all the answers. You just have to walk into the room, offer to help, and keep coming back. The rest takes care of itself.

Challenge the Outdoors is proof of that. Twenty years of saying yes — and the range is still full.

Guide4Good Wisconsin · Storytelling. Gratitude. Community.