BROADCASTS.com

Have you ever thought about making a big difference in the lives of others? Join me as Ray Howell shares part of his story from prison to founder of [Kicking Bear Foundation][kicking], a nationwide, faith-based non-profit organization with outdoor and archery programs for underprivileged, at-risk, or any youth who wants to get into the outdoors. \xa0

Guest's Opening Quote:

"I was chasing my dreams all over the world with a bow in my hand. I've always stayed focused on not giving up and the same thing with bow hunting. As you're chasing the super slam, it isn't a matter of **IF** you are ever going to get that animal, it is a matter of **WHEN**. It is persistence that pays off. And it is persistence that pays off in anything that you go after."

More About My Guest:

Ray was raised on a farm by foster parents. His younger years were filled with boyhood dreams of hunting and fishing; however these dreams didn\u2019t become a reality until after he turned 18. He was taken on his first whitetail hunt by his social worker and he harvested his first deer a year later when he was 19.

Ray's competitive nature led him to become involved with the sport of power lifting and he successfully broke several drug-free State and National records after he turned 18. At the age of 23 Ray started his own welding shop because of his grandfather's influence and the work ethics he had learned while living on the farm. He persisted through some very difficult times and that persistence paid off.

Ray has successfully harvested many Pope and Young whitetails and he has been hunting in Mexico, Canada, up as far as the remote regions of the Yukon, and in many of the 50 states on his quest to harvest the 28 North American animals. Ray has also traveled to South Africa on hunting trips.

Realizing his boyhood dreams has not only enhanced his love for the sport of archery and bow hunting, but has also provided him the means to become a mentor to many underprivileged youth by introducing them to the outdoors and the sport of bow hunting through the Kicking Bear Foundation.

Ray and his wife Karen have a family of 9 children, 28 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren, and they live in southeastern Minnesota.