SLS 17RS-2036 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 142
BY SENATOR GATTI
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Benton Elementary School on winning the 2017
National Archery in Schools Program national tournament.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Benton Elementary School on winning the 2017 National Archery in Schools
3 Program national tournament and being named national elementary school
4 champion.
5 WHEREAS, the elementary school tournament of the National Archery in Schools
6 Program was held in Louisville, Kentucky on May 11 through 13, 2017; and
7 WHEREAS, this annual tournament involves two types of competition, 3-D and
8 bull's-eye, and this year, after winning the national 3-D championship last year, the students
9 of Benton Elementary put together a championship performance overall; and
10 WHEREAS, the Benton Elementary team competed against one hundred
11 seventy-nine other schools from around the country and is part of a program in which they,
12 along with other Louisiana schools, participate in the Archery in Schools Program,
13 administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; and
14 WHEREAS, at the national tournament in Louisville, outstanding performances
15 included Maddie Lowry, who placed fourth in the 3-D division in a competitive field of five
16 hundred six elementary girl archers and Hannah McKenzie placed third in the bull's-eye
17 division of elementary girls, competing against just over nineteen hundred elementary girl
18 archers; and
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SLS 17RS-2036 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, these outstanding performances are totaled with the scores of other
2 teammates and the team with the highest point total is awarded the championship; and
3 WHEREAS, the archery team has been training, practicing, and participating in
4 meets throughout the year, including the state tournament, and on to the national tournament;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, with Beth Duncan and Autry Lowry serving as coaches, the Benton
7 Elementary Archery in Schools Program team members are third graders Trey Orms, Mason
8 Hicks, Emerson Fite, Anna Young, Ayden Dowdall, fourth graders Hannah McKenzie, Tyler
9 Pope, Landon Burrows, Jayden Young, Cavitt Hilburn, Jacob Gallagher, Grant Bunch and
10 fifth graders Corrigan Jayroe, Madeline (Maddie) Lowry, Eden Old, Karmen Harrison,
11 Avery Coe, Kylie Jo Maggio, Cherish Young, Hayden Viola, Baylee Craft, Haley Hancock,
12 Lillybeth Stephens, Kyndal Diel, and Rylee VanBuskirk; and
13 WHEREAS, the Benton Elementary archery team scored well in the state meet, in
14 which they finished first in the bull's-eye division and first in the 3-D division, in addition
15 to several outstanding individual performances including Eden Old first place and Karmen
16 Harrison third in the girls bull's-eye division and Tyler Pope third for boy archers and Eden
17 Old first among the girl archers and Tyler Pope first among boy archers in each of their
18 respective 3-D division; and
19 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation
20 supports the archery in schools programs, such as the one at Benton Elementary School, and
21 it offers grants to purchase a portion of the equipment necessary for schools to participate
22 in the archery curriculum and competitions; and
23 WHEREAS, the mission of the program is to promote the teaching of target archery
24 as a part of the in-school curriculum in order to improve educational performance of students
25 and to encourage their participation in target sports; and
26 WHEREAS, the National Archery in Schools Program has two specific goals, the
27 first is to improve student motivation, behavior, attendance, and focus in relation to
28 education and the second, to encourage students to spend more time in the outdoors while
29 learning outdoor skills that will inspire them to spend more time with wild animals in wild
30 places; and
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SLS 17RS-2036 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, as the state that considers itself the "sportsman's paradise", Louisiana
2 has deep roots in the leisure pursuits of hunting and fishing and it is essential to maintaining
3 that aspect of Louisiana culture to pass that passion for outdoor sports on to a generation that
4 is considerably more urban than previous generations and to teach the lifetime skills of
5 participation in target sports, hoping to raise new generations with a love of sporting
6 activities in general; and
7 WHEREAS, having won the 3-D archery division championship in 2016, the Benton
8 Elementary team set a goal of winning the overall national championship and that goal drove
9 the students to practice hard and improve their skills and, with the tutelage of coaches Lowry
10 and Duncan, the students were able to realize that goal of becoming the 2017 National
11 Archery in Schools Program elementary school champion.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
13 does hereby commend Benton Elementary School on winning the 2017 National Archery
14 in Schools Program national tournament and being named elementary champion.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to coach
16 Beth Duncan and Autry Lowry of Benton Elementary School.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien.
DIGEST
SR 142 Original 2017 Regular Session Gatti
Commends Benton Elementary School on winning the 2017 National Archery in Schools
Program national tournament and being named elementary champion.
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