About Us

This adventure started in 2009, when I met Nick Johnson, a young man who was a freshman at Randleman High School. Nick had a desire to go hunting and was very persistent in making that dream come true. The most significant hurdle was that Nick was in a wheelchair, and I was very unsure of how we were going to make that happen. I was able to talk with some friends and do some internet research and found the Sawtooth Oak Farm hunt in Richfield, NC. I was able to speak to Matt Barringer, who allowed me to bring Nick down and participate in his hunt. When the time came, Nick and I were able to hunt for two days. I was also able to observe the internal operations of how this event is possible and what it takes to make it work. This weekend was a blessing by the people I was able to meet and the wisdom they shared with me about this hunt and their personal stories and experiences.

I returned home very confident that I could do this in Randolph County, N.C. I was able to do some planning and with the help of my family, Glenola Baptist Church, and the kids of Randleman Outdoors. So, on the second weekend in December 2010/ the first Dreaming Big Disabled Deer Hunt came to life at Davis Feed located in Randleman N.C. We hosted this event with nine hunters on a one-day hunt on a $300 budget. I look back now and scratch my head wondering how we did that. It was such a blessing and success everyone was on board to keep it going. 

In 2011 we moved the event to Thanksgiving weekend and made it a two-day event. We grew to 15 hunters in the second year. The year 2012 showed continued growth to 25 hunters. The following year, 2012, we increased to 35 hunters and had to place some applicants on a waiting list. In 2014 we were able to Partner with Victory Junction, who allowed our 45 hunters to stay at the camp. We stayed with Victory Junction through the next two years when we continued to grow to 50 hunters in 2015 and 55 hunters in 2016. 

The most substantial change came in 2017 when we moved the event to Caraway Conference Center located in Sophia, N.C. The move to Caraway allowed us to provide lodging and event space to host everything at one location and eliminate the extra travel by the hunters. The move allowed us to host 60 hunters at the camp in 2017, 2018, and 61 hunters in 2019. There has never been any real publicity and advertising done with the Dreaming Big event. But in 2019, we had 61 hunters present and 141 applicants. Over the past years, we have reached 21 states and as far as California. 

Ten years later, we have grown to an operating budget of $10,000-$12,000. This money is raised each year through monetary donations, various fundraisers, and raffles. This event is free of charge to each person involved, no matter if it is a hunter, landowner, guide, or volunteer. As long as there is a need for this event and the volunteers are willing to donate their time and resources, we will host this event in the many years to come.