Williamsburg, KY – Scholastic 3-D Archery has named Florence Gleason as the new S3DA Florida State Coordinator. As the State Coordinator, Florence will oversee all aspects of the S3DA program in Florida, including tournaments, trainings and the division of the state into regions that will allow S3DA participants multiple monthly competition venues with minimal travel. Florence will recruit and hire Regional Coordinators to oversee and manage these individual regions.

Florence has been married to Russ Gleason since 2016 and they have 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys with 5 grandchildren. Both Russ and Flo are active in various archery programs including the Archery Shooters Association (ASA) and Traditional Bow Hunters of Florida (TBOF) along with volunteering for Girl Scouts of America, where they work with girls to get their badges for archery. Florence and her husband are very excited to expand the opportunities of the S3DA program in Florida.

Florence Gleason was introduced to archery in the summer of 2012 by her husband Russ, who spent most of his life in the woods or on the water enjoying nature at its fullest. Russ has shot several different disciplines of archery. He had shot a compound bow most of his life until roughly 3 years ago when he switched to a traditional bow. Florence and Russ believe that archery can be a family sport to get everyone involved and have fun and enjoy the outdoors together. Florence stated, “Being versatile with different bows allows us to teach and promote what fits for the family as a whole or for the child that the parents can enjoy watching him/her shoot.”

In 2016, Russ and Florence started teaching their oldest grandson to shoot a traditional bow. They never thought that it would lead to teaching children in their community the same love for the outdoors, discipline, sportsmanship, leadership and confidence that their grandson Anthony learned. Russ Gleason states, “So many kids do not do well with team sports, but individual sports give them a place to shine. Being able to pull the string back and shoot an arrow right into the target on one’s own gives a child a great sense of accomplishment at having done this thing themselves. We love being a part of that.”

Florence and Russ both started in 2014 as S3DA Basic Instructors, so when they were at local shoots they could help with the children. In 2017, they created an S3DA team out of Fort Caroline Archery Club. This past year they have grown that group to over 15 kids and look to increase the team to over 25 in 2019. Florence and Russ are excited for the kids to learn archery. As they have worked with many children over the past few years, seeing a child’s expression when they hold a bow, pull back an arrow, and hit the target is priceless. Florence and Russ state, “We feel that we are extremely blessed to have the opportunity to share our hobby and love for archery with others. We look forward to assisting S3DA on a National level to grow as we lead more kids in Florida to archery.”

Started in December 2012 by the Scholastic Archery Association, S3DA has grown exponentially as a next step program to follow introductory programs offered as part of 4-H or the National Archery in Schools Program. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3-D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving thousands of young archers, grades 3–12.

For more information on S3DA membership go to: WWW.S3DA.ORG or email: infos3darchery@gmail.com

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