By Greg Kelsoe

This story begins in December of 1991 when my wife and I found out that the baby we were expecting was a little girl. My wife had thought all along that our baby would be a boy so that I would have a hunting buddy. Her disappointment was evident despite the fact that she wouldn't express it to me. When she finally did, my response was, "If my baby girl wants a doll she gets one, if she wants a gun, she'll get that too!"

Fast forward four years to February when Mark's has the annual Turkey Hunting event. Anna Rose, then four years old daughter came with me. Anna Rose loved to demonstrate her turkey calling prowess to anybody who would listen. On this day I stood and watched Anna Rose stand in the middle of Will Primos, Preston Pitman, Eddie Salter, Larry Norton and the Knight ' Hale guys and call turkey.

Fast forward again to Christmas 2003. My parents wanted to give both my daughters deer rifles for Christmas and Mark's had the only two that I could find. I purchased the last two New England Firearms youth model .243 caliber rifles that you had so that my parents could give them to my daughters. The joy in my daughters' eyes when they opened their rifles, and the pride in my parents' faces was worth more than I can express. On Saturday, December 27, 2003 Anna Rose and I went to a blind on my parents' property before daybreak.

The sun had gotten up good when I saw a deer approach our position. When I told Anna Rose that a deer was coming, I thought that she was about to explode. Anna Rose is now eleven and has been hunting with me since she was five, but this was her first "real" hunt for herself. It has been a long time since I got this excited about a deer stepping out in front of me. I guess I was living the moment through Anna Rose's eyes. Anna Rose waited for the perfect shot at the perfect moment, just as I have tried to teach her, and placed a perfect shot and dropped her first deer on her first deer hunt. It was a 135 pound spike!

My Dad, Nello Kelsoe, was also along on the hunt and got to experience this most memorable moment with Anna Rose and me. On behalf of Anna Rose, my Dad and myself, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone at Mark's Outdoors for contributing in so many ways to so many memories and positive experiences for Anna Rose and my family.