Global Crowd Celebrates Archery Center Dedication

By Nathan Johnson

Originally published by the Yankton Press & Dakotan. View the original article here.

For those involved in getting a state-of-the-art archery facility built in Yankton, Saturday’s dedication ceremony for the building was the realization of a long-standing dream.

National and international archery tournaments took place in Yankton during the weekend, and organizers decided it offered the perfect occasion for the dedication of the joint National Field Archery Association Headquarters (NFAA) and Easton Sports Development Foundation Center for Archery Excellence.

More than a dozen countries and almost all 50 states were represented at the tournaments, and many of the hundreds of archers and their families, as well as Yankton residents, gathered at the Center for Archery Excellence Saturday night for a free meal, a Native American dance troupe, and a dedication ceremony.

“What a dream it’s been for me and a lot of people in this room,” NFAA president and Yankton native Bruce Cull said of the facility. “The effort has been indescribable, and it’s really hard to even put a fingerprint on what it took to get this done.”

He took the opportunity to thank the City of Yankton, Yankton County, Yankton Area Progressive Growth, the Yankton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Yankton Office of Economic Development, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Easton Sports Development Foundation and the NFAA Foundation for their involvement in making the building possible.

The 22,000-square-foot building, located at 800 Archery Lane just off of Highway 50 on Yankton’s eastern edge, features a 25-meter indoor range that is open to the public year-round. The complex also has several permanent outdoor ranges.

Yankton Mayor Dan Specht said the community was proud to welcome an international audience for the event.

“I want to congratulate the board and members of the National Field Archery Association for moving your national headquarters to Yankton,” he said. “I also want to congratulate the Easton Sports Development Foundation for their investment in our community. We welcome both of you home, and welcome you as a part of our families.”

James Easton, chairman and CEO of the Easton Sports Development Foundation, was the keynote speaker for the event. He said the Center for Archery Excellence is the first of many his organization will build.

He noted that the goal of the foundation is to create a “long-lasting legacy of (archery) facilities and programs in the United States. We want to offer the pleasure and the passion we all have here to others. We’re focusing as much as we can on the young people. We hope that someday they will be members of the Olympic or World Championship teams for America.”

Easton is the son of the founder of Easton Sports, which got its start with the development of archery equipment before branching out into other sports.

“Archery is my passion,” Easton said. “I was 6 years old when I got my first bow and arrow to shoot. It was hand-made by my father.”

He described Cull as a “great leader and an impressive visionary” for coming to the Easton Sports Development Foundation with the idea to build a joint facility with the NFAA headquarters.

“We think this building will bring a lot of pleasure to the children and people of Yankton,” Easton said. “We look forward to having a great operating center to teach kids how to shoot archery and to have them become as passionate about it as all of us are in this room tonight.”

Specht echoed Easton’s praise of Cull, saying he brought local and national entities together to make the facility a reality.

“Probably what’s most impressive about this whole venture was, it wasn’t for himself,” he continued. “It was for somebody else — the membership (of the NFAA) and the community.”

South Dakota Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard took the opportunity to welcome a new economic development engine to South Dakota.

“We’re glad when a company moves into our state and brings economic development, helps our businesses thrive, and provides jobs for our citizens,” he said. “We’re also glad because, between the NFAA and the Easton Sports Development Foundation Center for Archery Excellence, it’s going to attract all kinds of visitors, competitors, and tourists just like you here in the room.”