Taking Their Best Shot: The Women Behind the World Archery Youth Championship As the old saying goes, “Many hands make light work,” and three women behind the World Archery Youth Championship are hoping that helpers and volunteers assisting with this event will make it a phenomenal experience for hundreds of international athletes visiting our town in June. The World Archery Youth Championship (WAYC) is sponsored by the National Field Archery Association Foundation (NFAAF). This outdoor tournament only comes to North America every six years; the last one in the U.S. was in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2009. They are anticipating approximately 600 youth ages 13-20 from 60 countries to visit Yankton for this tournament in June. The tournament will be held at the NFAA Easton Archery Center (NEYAC) on two of their outdoor ranges behind the facility. Three women collaborating in efforts to make this event a huge success are Nancy Left to right: Rachael Byrd, Brittany Salonen and Nancy Wenande Wenande, Brittany Salonen and Rachael Byrd. Wenande, Tournament Manager, has enlisted the expertise of Salonen and Byrd, who both are full-time employees of the NEYAC. Brittany Salonen is the WAYC Assistant Tournament Manager and will oversee many different aspects of the tournament. As the NEYAC’s NFAA Marketing Manager and Trade Show Manager, she’s put many hours into helping with large tournaments in her three years with them. Not having a previous history with archery, she began archery when she started working at the NEYAC and is now a Level 1 Instructor. Responsible for marketing, website management, social media and trade show management for the National Organization and Las Vegas tournament, Salonen brings many skills to assist in the success of the WAYC. Rachael Byrd will serve as the VIP & Special Services Coordinator for the tournament, assuring that the prominent guests are well taken care of. Byrd became connected to the NEYAC as a Marketing Intern while she attended the University of South Dakota for Marketing. After she graduated this past December, she was hired full time as the NEYAC’s Marketing Director. Archery isn’t a new sport to Byrd. She started bow hunting around the age of 17 primarily due to her dad’s passion for it. This last fall, Byrd shot her first deer with her bow. She recently went on an archery hunt in Texas where she shot a scimitar oryx and two rams. The World Tournament and Nationals that the NEYAC held outdoors this past summer got Byrd interested in target archery. She purchased a target bow right after the World Tournament and shot in the outdoor Target Nationals this past October for the first time. vARCHERY continued on page 12 “Bee’ing” On Top Of My Game Morgen Square 605.260.5003 HERVOICE MARCH/APRIL 2015v5