contacted me, their Arizona Ambassador, with a hunt request from a youngster in Arkansas who had been battling cancer. Now in remission, Christopher wanted to go on a Bighorn sheep hunt.

With our new tag transfer legislation in place I had been able to place every youngster the national office sent me a request for on a hunt but when I received this request I had to call Tina and ask her if she knew that Bighorn sheep was a once in a lifetime draw in Arizona and we had virtually no chance of filling this hunt wish.

When our kids send in their wish applications they are asked for a first and second choice. This application only had a first choice and I had to ask Tina if he had a second choice I might be able to help with. She said no Christopher had been asked that and he was set on hunting Bighorn sheep or nothing, It had been a lifelong dream of his. I hung up feeling a bit discouraged to say the least.

Well a couple of months had passed and I was reading a thread on another site that talked about an Arizona bowhunter named Norm Pint who had been killed in a car wreck. You could tell from the responses that this man had been held in high esteem by some of Arizonas finest bowhunters and though I had never had the pleasure of meeting him, his accident saddened me. A few weeks later I received a call from Dick King the President of the Arizona Bowhunters Association. He asked me if we had a youngster who could use a Bighorn sheep tag. Well to say I was elated would be an understatement. That is until Dick informed me that it was due to Norm's death that the tag had become available. You see Norm had been applying for his sheep tag for 33 years and had finely drawn one of the coveted tags. I told Dick we did indeed have a youngster who could use the tag.

After getting off the phone with Dick I called Tina and then Christopher. Christopher wasn't home when I first called but walked in as I was talking to his mom. She put him on the phone and I asked him if he still wanted to go on a Bighorn Sheep hunt.

Now I had the pleasure of offering hunts to a lot of kids this year but bar none Christopher was the most excited youngster I had talked to. You could tell this hunt was truly a special dream of his...

We got off the phone and the planning started. Don Martin with Arizona Wildlife Outfitters agreed to guide Christopher on this hunt and a couple of days later I got a phone call from the Arizona Desert Bighorn Society informing me they had 16 members who were willing to glass and scout for Christophers hunt. Donations for Travel, Taxidermy and meat processing soon followed. Arrangements were quickly coming together and Christopher was set to spend a week in Arizona Desert sheep country with some of the finest sportsmen and women I have ever known..

Things were going well until 3 days before Christophers hunt. I received a call from Christophers Mom and she had bad news. Christopher had gone in for some routine blood work before his trip and they discovered that he now had leukemia and the doctors weren't sure if he could go on the hunt. I called Don who was ready to head out and we decided to go ahead as if things were going to happen and hope for the best .

Christopher's mom called me that Thursday and told me the doctors had agreed to let Christopher come out for his hunt but now instead of a week long hunt he would fly in on Friday, go in for blood work at a local hospital on Saturday morning, and if everything looked good he would meet the guys in camp and hunt through Sunday. Christopher would need to be at St. Judes Childrens Hospital on Monday.

I called Don Friday morning and let him know what was going on and he agreed to have Paige with AWO pick Christopher up and take him to the hospital and then to camp. He also told me that he and the AZDBSS guys had been splitting up into teams of 4 and scouring the desert for sheep since Tuesday and had not had any sightings to speak of. He was sounding a bit discouraged but I told him I had a feeling this hunt was meant to be and to keep doing what they had been.

Saturday morning as Paige was driving Christopher out to camp Don started getting calls from one group then another, by the time Christopher got to camp all 4 groups had spotted herds of sheep with Rams and one had a whopper Ram. When Christopher got to camp they took him out and He and AWO guide Larry Sallee made a one hour stalk on the Ram setting Christopher up for a 100 yard shot....One shot was all it took and Christopher had his Ram.....

Christopher went home having fulfilled his dream of a lifetime and began his fight with Cancer anew. He went back in to St Judes this last weekend for a Bone Marrow Transplant and I'd like to ask all of you to pray for him.

I was invited to Speak at the Arizona Bowhunters Association's Annual Banquet last night and tell the story of this hunt for Norm Pints Family and the Association Membership...this was quite an honor. Don had sent down the horns from Christophers hunt so that Norm's family could see them at the banquet. I have them at the house today and am in awe at their beauty and more so by what they represent.

This event wasn't about trad hunter vs compound hunter or bowhunter vs rifle hunter; it was about people sharing a common concern for a fellow hunter and pitching in together to achieve a noble end.

I am truly humbled to have been a part of all this and offer my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you.... Terry