The Littlest Wheelin' Sportsmen member
Seven-year-old Jess Daniel of Chatsworth, Ga., had no idea what the surprise could be that was being delivered to him. All he knew was his mom, Lynn Lindsey, had received a phone call from a lady with the NWTF's Wheelin' Sportsmen program saying something very special was going to be delivered to Jess.
Jan Chase, Georgia state chairman of the Wheelin' Sportsmen program, and president of the Atlanta Chapter of the NWTF, had received an e-mail from Cody Godfrey, the father of another Wheelin' Sportsmen child, Seth Godfrey. Cody wanted to put Seth's name in the drawing for the Atlanta Chapter's Wheelin' Sportsmen turkey hunt being held at Dalton Utilities in April.
As the e-mails were exchanged, Cody mentioned to Jan about another little fellow, Jess Daniel, who was also in a wheelchair and went to school with Seth. He said the little guy came to school every day in his camouflage and he loved the outdoors so much, all he ever talked of was hunting and fishing.
Unfortunately, there was no father figure in his life to take Jess on any outings. His mom would do everything she could to see to it her little man would get as many opportunities as possible to enjoy the outdoors. Jess's grandfather would take him whenever he could, but out-of-town work many times made it difficult for the two to get together. Nonetheless, Jess adventures with his Granddad were something Jess would talk of time and again.
After a few conversations with Jess's mom and the Godfreys, it was obvious the Atlanta Chapter of the NWTF was going to do something for this special guy. It was determined, as the littlest and youngest member of the Atlanta Chapter's Wheelin' Sportsmen program, he would be the proud recipient of a 20-gauge, New England Firearms, youth model shotgun.
The presentation was made just days prior to the Dalton hunt and Jess was, needless to say, overwhelmed.
His mom asked him, "Jess, what do you say?" He choked back tears, his response was; "Well Momma, right now, I just don't think I can say anything!"
As anyone can see by the big grin on Jess's face, he was a happy young man when he finally found out what the big secret was.
If you are a handicapped individual in Georgia, or know of someone who is, and would like to become a Wheelin' Sportsmen member, or, if you are interested in volunteering to work with the program, contact Jan Chase, Georgia Wheelin' Sportsmen chairman, at 770-957-8569, cell: 404-281-9977 or janchase@mindspring.com. Nationwide, you can contact the NWTF by calling 1-800-THE-NWTF.
