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Williamsburg, KY – S3DA Northeastern National Outreach Coordinator, Bob Gattorna, met the Bisbee family in 2014 while attending the International Bowhunting Organization’s (IBO) Northeast Championship Series 3D regional shoot. Thomas Charles “T” Bisbee, the son of Scott and Jennifer Bisbee, was an up-and-coming youth shooter in 3D archery at the time. His family instilled in him a passion for the outdoors at an early age. Archery was a family affair, but Thomas took it to the next level. He loved hunting and fishing, but his real passion was archery. He competed in many archery competitions. His parents said he could shoot a bullseye from 70 yards.

Thomas was a student at Hampshire Regional High School in Westhampton, Massachusetts. Early one morning in September 2016, he was going through his normal morning routine, getting ready to head to school, when he suffered sudden cardiac arrest. For those that don’t know, sudden cardiac arrest means that the heart suddenly, and without warning, stops beating regularly. Bisbee’s parents said it was an undiagnosed condition and he fought for his life for about a week at Baystate Children’s Hospital before he passed at the age of seventeen.

The following year, with his mom and dad’s permission, the Northeast Championship Series event had t-shirts made with “R.I.P. Thomas Bisbee 1999-2016” on the sleeve in his honor. Later, in the Fall, his mom and dad, along with their friends and family, organized a Memorial Shoot to honor Thomas. They did not expect the turnout they received, so every year since, the family hosts an annual 3D archery benefit event called “Send It – Shoot for “T”. The family sends the proceeds from the shoot to a worthy cause or organization. They have helped purchase AED devices for local communities and organizations, while helping raise awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

S3DA Northeastern National Outreach Coordinator, Bob Gattorna said, “This year the family reached out to me about donating to an organization that focuses on youth, archery, or hunting. I shared with them the S3DA program, what it does, and what the mission is. I asked them to check out the website (www.s3da.net) and to check out other organizations websites to decide what direction they wanted to go. About two weeks later, they informed me that they had chosen S3DA to donate the proceeds to.”

This year marked the 7th annual “Send It – Shoot for “T” 3D Archery Benefit Bow Shoot with a BBQ dinner. The event is held at the Deer Hill Rod & Gun Club in Cummington, Massachusetts and is open to the public. For the 7th annual event, the Bisbee family chose the S3DA program as the recipient of the proceeds from the shoot because they said they wished programs like this were available for their son. They want to do everything they can to promote outdoor programs while sharing the story of their son and his passion for archery and hunting.

S3DA would like to send sincere appreciation to the Bisbee family for their donation.

About Scholastic 3-D Archery

Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) is a unique, family-oriented youth archery program which has grown exponentially across the United States as a next-step initiative to follow introductory archery programs. The mission of the Scholastic

3-D Archery program is to foster, educate and guide youth in the areas of 3D, indoor target, and outdoor target archery as well as safe, ethical bowhunting practices. The goal of the S3DA program is to provide archery and bowhunting opportunities to youth in after-school settings, as well as with archery-affiliated clubs and businesses in the community. S3DA youth participate in 3-D and target archery using compound and traditional archery equipment. Youth members can participate at regional, state, and national archery events and earn college scholarships from colleges and universities across the United States. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3-D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving thousands of youth archers.

Contact the Scholastic 3-D Archery National Office at:

www.s3da.net or 410 Sycamore Street, Williamsburg, KY 40769, Ph: 606.524.3685

Media contact Kayla Bolton at kaylas3da@gmail.com, Ph: 423.494.2204