Shannon Medical Center | Health Beat | Summer 2019

6 HEALTH BEAT Fundraising W hile it is now one of the largest charity shoots in the great state of Texas, the Shannon Sporting Clay Shoot sprouted from humble beginnings. “We went to a fundraising shoot and thought, ‘We can do this,’” says Connie Whitman, Shan- non Sporting Clay Shoot co-chair. “We took it to our leadership, they granted us approval and a little money to get started, and off we went.” A small group of volunteers organized the first event in 2000. More than 100 shooters turned out and three guns were given away.The first shoot was a success. “We didn’t have much of a budget at all,” Whitman recalls. “All of our signage was printed on regular copy paper. We didn’t really have a committee, just people who agreed to help. I got into shooting a little bit myself along the way and learned more about the sport.” The funds raised from the first two years were given to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation to support patient programs. Funds from the third year were designated to Shannon Sports Medi- cine Summer Camp scholarships, and the fourth year designation went to Children’s Miracle Net- work after Shannon became a CMN hospital. After that time, Shannon’s AirMed 1 air am- bulance received the proceeds for several years. Then, the Clay Shoot committee began the ap- plication process in which various departments at Shannon could apply and interview to receive Clay Shoot funds. Here’s to 20 years Impact of Shannon Sporting Clay Shoot spans two decades Make plans to be a part of the 20th annual Shannon Sporting Clay Shoot, Satur- day, July 20, at the San An- gelo Claybird Association. The shoot will feature two shooting rotations, a silent and live auction, games, and more. For more information, please call 325-657-8343 or visit shannonhealth.com/ clayshoot . Proceeds from this year’s Clay Shoot will ben- efit AirMed 1 regional outreach, the Oncology Angel Fund, Patient Benevolence, Nurse Educa- tion, and Shannon Care Coordination. “The programs benefiting from the shoot help patients undergoing treatment and their fami- lies, as well as provide additional education and equipment for those providing care,” says Suzi Reynolds, Shannon development coordinator and Clay Shoot co-chair. GRATITUDE FOR SPONSORS Whitman remembers the event taking off af- ter year six.The increasing demand eventually required the shoot to be spread out over two days with three shooting rotations. In its largest year, more than 750 shooters were in attendance.The highest amount of guns given away topped out at 45—a few more than the three that first year. A multitude of generous sponsors, support- ers and volunteers make the Clay Shoot pos- sible each year. Mayfield Paper Company is no exception. “Mayfield Paper Company and Mr. Stanley Mayfield became involved as the title sponsor the first year we designated the funds to AirMed 1 due to Mr. Mayfield’s love for flying,”Whitman says. “They have been our title sponsor every year since. We can never thank him enough for all the support he has given this event and Shannon.” Throughout the years, many friendships have blossomed out of the support for this event. “The sponsors and shooters we have had over the years have truly become our friends,” Reyn- olds says. “We have supporters from all over the state—Midland, Lubbock, Houston and beyond, including Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indi- ana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Our sponsors have been absolutely wonderful to us.They have purchased buildings for us to use and donated items to our live and silent auctions.The effort our shoot- ers and sponsors make to be a part of this event every year is truly incredible.Thousands of people and patients have benefited from the funds raised at Clay Shoot over the last 20 years.There are so many people in and around our community who may not have received what they needed otherwise.” Now, with a committee of more than 30 Shan- non Associates and more than 200 volunteers, the twentieth year is on the horizon. “We thought it might run its course after sev- eral years, but here we are 20 years later,”Whit- man says. “People come out one time and they are hooked. We have families who make a week- end out of it and it’s fun to see that every year. They love us and we love them. We appreciate the support from our leadership. It takes all of us to make this event happen and saying ‘thank you’ is not big enough. I have great pride in what we have done.”