Our purpose
as stated in our incorporation papers (1956).
to foster, expand and perpetuate the ancient sport of archery among the people, young and old of Bergen County; to
encourage and provide instruction in use of the bow in the hunting of all legal game as well as field archery and
target archery; to instill a spirit of good fellowship among sportsmen and women; to acquaint the public with the bow
and its use as a practical and humane instrument, suitable under proper limitations and restrictions for the hunting of game
animals and game birds; to protect, improve and increase the privileges of bow and arrow hunters; to cooperate with federal,
state and local sportsmen's organizations in the protection and conservation of wild game in its natural surroundings.
And it
is still our purpose today.
We are a club of dedicated
archers who continue to work hard to ensure that the sport of archery and the hunting privileges we enjoy will be enjoyed
by future generations. We will continue to promote the sport of archery and bowhunting in a positive manner.
Since 1958, the Bergen
Bowmen have been involved in instructing the wise and proper use of the bow and arrow in the sport of archery and in its use
as a wildlife management tool.
We firmly believe in conservation through education which is why we perform archery demonstrations
for the Boy and Girl Scouts as well as many other youth organizations in the Bergen/Passaic County area. We feel that the general
public should be aware about the wise and proper use of the bow and arrow not only as a shooting sport but
also as a conservation tool. It is explained in the exhibits that we believe over the years bowhunting has
become a sound tool in wildlife mangement and we believe it should remain as such.
Starting with founding
member and First President, Harry Kuhles, club members over the years have been NJ Hunter Education Instructors passing on
our knowledge and experiences. We have always
worked hard to put competent archers out in the field to harvest animals for food. We teach respect and ethics in the
harvesting of legal game.
Currently the club has four members who are active NJ Hunter Education Instructors.
There is the husband and wife team of Tom Surlak, Bergen Bowmen's Archey Exhibit Chairman and Kathrine Surlak, the
Bergen Bowmen Secretary, Bulletin Editor and Webmaster. Two other instuctors are Jack Spoto, who is also President of
the United Bowhunter's of NJ ,and Danny Lombardo, who is the Field Editor
for United Bowhunter's of NJ; both have been members of the Bergen Bowmen for many years.
We
support the efforts of the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and the United Bowhunters of New Jersey, the NJ
Division of Fish and Wildlife and the NJ Fish and Game Council. Nationally we support the Friends of the NRA and the
U. S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and just recently we have supported the efforts of the National Wild Turkey Federation.
Many of our members are in some way involved with the mentioned organizations as members, officers or participants at
events.
