Idea To Reality

Shad and BrandonWritten by Shad Loch, President of Take 'Em Outdoors:
In 2004, my best friend and hunting cohort Brandon Motiff, was diagnosed with melanoma cancer. It never stopped him from having fun and enjoying every second of his life. Despite his illness, we would still enjoy fishing and hunting together. We were heavily into duck hunting; spending countless mornings drinking coffee and conversing over a decoy spread. After a tough battle, Brandon passed away in March of 2006.

I still remember our last hunt like it was yesterday; a charity elk hunt in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. It was cold and the snow fell sideways all day, but by the end Brandon shot a massive 5x5 bull. It was a great hunt and memorable day for us both.

The following day when Brandon was getting ready for what turned out to be his last surgery, no doctor or nurse could talk to him until they looked through the photos. I knew then how truly special that day was and how much it really meant to my finest hunting buddy. That elk hunt turned out to be Brandon's legacy. I will never forget seeing the joy and satisfaction in his eyes when we walked up to that elk and the pride in his voice when he told anyone willing to listen.

So even though Brandon and I didn't know it at the time, Take 'Em Outdoors was on its way to helping others with similar misfortunes.