LENEXA, Kan.—Early morning drizzle gave way to blue skies at Powder Creek Shooting Park on Sunday, Sept. 20, as union volunteers, local families, and young outdoor enthusiasts gathered for the 5th Annual Boilermakers Kansas City Get Youth Outdoors Day.
The free event, organized by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), and the Greater Kansas City Building & Construction Trades Council, brought together 50 kids, around 20 union volunteers, and dozens of family members for a total of more than 100 attendees. Despite the damp start, participants spent the morning engaged in hands-on introductions to archery, fishing, and sporting clays shooting.
Every participating child received eye and hearing protection, along with a complimentary fishing rod and reel to take home, followed by a free picnic lunch.
For the union members guiding the activity stations, the day was about passing on traditions, building life skills, and keeping the next generation grounded in the field.
Tim Steffan, a member of UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562, worked at the sporting clays station alongside his 20-year-old son, a fellow Local 562 apprentice who won the junior division shoot the previous day. Steffan’s team walked participants aged 9 to 17 and their parents through firearm safety, proper stance, technique, and eye placement.
“We had kids who had never held a firearm before busting clays,” Steffan said. “One young gal shot six in a row, which was incredible to watch. But honestly, what I enjoyed most was that I didn’t see a single kid on a cell phone all morning.” Steffan emphasized that shooting sports can be a lifelong pursuit. “A couple of weeks ago, I was dove hunting with a 90-year-old man, his 60-year-old son, and his 40-year-old grandson. You can’t do that with football. Shooting is something you can do with your kid forever.”
On the water and at the archery range, members from IBB Local 83 and other area unions stepped up to mentor the young anglers and archers. Among them was retiring IBB member Mike Autry, participating in his second Get Youth Outdoors Day.
“It was an awesome event, and I’m so thankful for the USA teaming up with the unions,” said Autry, whose crew helped kids land bluegill, channel catfish, and a nice largemouth bass throughout the morning. Autry noted that volunteering carried personal meaning this year as he honored the legacy of his close friend, former IBB International Vice President John Fultz, who passed away in August.
Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA): The USA is a union-dedicated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the union community through conservation to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage. For more information, visit www.unionsportsmen.org or connect on Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram.
Work Boots on the Ground (WBG): WBG is the USA’s flagship conservation program that brings together union members willing to volunteer their time and expertise to conservation projects that improve and enhance public access to the outdoors, conserve wildlife habitat, restore America’s parks and mentor youth in the outdoors. The USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program works closely with federal, state and local agencies and other conservation groups to provide manpower needed to complete critical projects that may otherwise go undone.
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