2017 Sports, Inc. Fall Team Show Book

Sporting Chance Award, cont.

football.

to the community,” Nelson said. The store, in its 54th year, is the only independently owned full- line athletic team supplier in the state. Nelson said the majority of the store’s business is institutional statewide, supplying school athletic teams with everything from uniforms to equipment. Much of

Bush-Wells is a member of Sports Inc., which is the largest sporting goods buying group in the country. It’s made up of independent stores throughout the United States. “The whole idea of the buying group gives us a chance to be competitive with the big-box stores,” Nelson said. At its national tradeshow in June 2016, the membership numbers of all member stores went into a bingo ball tumbler on the stage. And of all of the members nationwide, Bush-Wells was drawn to receive the Sporting Chance grant. “Our number was pulled out and Terry and I looked at each other and said, ‘Nowwhat?’” retail manager Kirk Nelson recalled recently. Bush-Wells was founded in 1963 and is currently owned by Terry Nelson and Pearley Wells III, son of founder Pearley Wells. “Terry and I put our heads together and decided to use the grant to buy equipment that youth groups might need and not have the money for,” Kirk Nelson said. “We contacted groups, took their wish list and then budgeted it out,” he said. In all, more than $30,000 of equipment was issued between spring 2017 and this fall. “We were pleasantly surprised that we received it but felt an obligation, and we were honored to give back

that business is decades old, built on relationships between school administrators and store employees passed down through generations. At the retail location at Center and Collins streets downtown, shoppers can find hockey skates, workout gear, referee clothing, cheerleader uniforms, Wyoming, Natrona and Kelly Walsh branded apparel, as well as fan gear such as stadium seats. In addition to the equipment that Midget Football received, Nelson said Casper Soccer received new goals and baseball groups received field equipment, tarps and L screens for batting practice. “It was a lot of work, figuring out their needs and then trying to meet those needs, but we were very

honored to have that opportunity,” Nelson said. We would like to thank Sally Ann Shurmur of the Casper Star Tribune for writing this article that was published on October 6, 2017.

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