Current Itasca Archery Pro Staff

Rex Waters, Gene Storlie, and John Grooms

Not Pictured: Dan Gorath

Rex Waters:

Rex Waters is 44 years old.  He began shooting and hunting deer at the age of 12 in Grand Rapids, Michigan on his grandfather's farm.  Rex saved his own money from his chores and bought his first bow, a Bear Whitetail Hunter.  In 1982, his family moved to Floodwood, Minnesota where he continued bowhunting on the family dairy farm.  Rex has been shooting at Itasca Archery since 2004 and in the 3D League for the past four years.  He is also a member of the Grand Rapids Archery Club.  He tries to compete in all local archery tournaments, from Duluth to Bemidji down to Brainerd.  Rex is an Intermediate Archery Instructor recognized by USA Archery and the National Field Archery Association.  He has shot Hoyt bows for eight years.  His current bow is a Hoyt Katera and he will so be moving to the new Hoyt AlphaBurner this season.

Gene Storlie

Gene Storlie is 35 years old.  Having grew up in a military family, he moved a lot when younger, often times to places where he was unable to hunt. At the age of 17, he first tried bowhunting with an PSE he bought at a local pawn shop; unsure of how to properly set it up, he grew frustrated and gave up bowhunting for a few years.  During those years off of hunting, he joined the Army and got married.  He got back into archery seriously five years ago; at that time he promised that from that point on, he would use only the top-of-the-line bows and equipment. Since he made that promise, archery for Gene has been much more fruitful, such as shooting a 196 inch whitetail.  He also takes pride in helping out the Grand Rapids Archery Club with their tournaments and youth programs.  He also considers himself addicted to competitive archery; he will shoot any kind of tournament that he as time to attend.  His current bows are a Hoyt Vantage Elite, Hoyt AlphaMax, and he intends on getting a Hoyt AlphaBurner.

John Grooms

John Grooms is 23 years old.  He was born and raised in Cohasset, Minnesota by his parents, Rob and Debbie.  He is married to his wife, Bethany, and they currently live in Cohasset.  He started shooting bows when he was six years old when he found an old fiberglass recurve in his grandfather's shed. He later upgraded to a PSE Fire Flight that he bought for fifty dollars when he was thirteen; he harvested his first deer the next year with that very bow and has bowhunted ever since.  He currently coaches a home school archery team that participates in the National Archery in the School Program (NASP); he is a NASP basic archery instructor.  He is a member of the Minnesota State Archery Association (MSAA) and the Grand Rapids Archery Club.  He shot Itasca Archery's 3D League for the first time, and is now shooting indoor league at the Grand Rapids Archery Club as well.  His current bow is a Hoyt Contender Elite and will be getting a Hoyt Maxxis 35 for 3D and hunting. 

Dan Gorath (Not Pictured)

Dan Gorath is 30 years old.  He was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where he started hunting at a young age with his three brothers and his dad.  His first bow was a Xi Silverhawk and with instruction from his dad, he learned good woodsmanship and hunting.  After a five-year absence to attend culinary school, Dan returned to hunting and got his first taste of target archery.  He has shot Itasca Archery's 3D Course four out of the last five years and is currently co-president of the Grand Rapids Archery Club.  He has shot Hoyt for the last four years; his current bows are a Hoyt ProElite for target shooting and a Vectrix for bowhunting.  He is planning on shooting the AlphaBurner in the upcoming year.

Our chosen Pro Staff members must exhibit the following attributes:

· Character: honesty, integrity, ethics, and an unselfish attitude are the kinds of character we look for in a Pro Staff member.

· Involvement: Pro Staff members should be actively involved in promoting all aspects of  archery, such as archery education, archery leadership, club involvement, pro shop work, or any other type of archery community service. 

· Knowledge: Pro Staff members should be knowledgeable about archery in general as well as our products and product lines specifically.

· Enthusiasm: Pro Staff members should be excited about archery and all of its facets.

· Participation: Pro Staff members should be able to demonstrate through their resume a very active archery agenda. 3D shoots, target shoots, hunts, etc. all weigh into the   balance of how much a Pro Staff member appears to stay involved in the sport and thus is able to be an ambassador for Itasca Archery and for archery in general.