Thursday, July 17, 2025

Cory Skelton to Serve as Co-Coordinator for Illinois S3DA State Conservation

Scholastic 3-D Archery is pleased to announce Cory Skelton as the newly appointed Illinois State Conservation Coordinator. Cory will serve alongside current Illinois S3DA State Conservation Coordinator, Drew Kazenski. Together, Cory and Drew will collaborate with S3DA National Conservation Coordinator Patty Reel and Illinois State Coordinator Joshua White to provide youth across the state with meaningful opportunities for archery and hunting education, as well as hands-on conservation-related activities.

Cory resides in a small town in Southern Illinois with his wife, Emily, and their two children, Kaden and Karsyn, who are both active members of the Hamilton County Fox Archery S3DA team. With deep roots in the outdoors, Cory brings a lifelong passion for conservation and a desire to share that with the next generation.

“Growing up, I always had a strong passion for conservation and the outdoors,” Cory shared. “My father and grandfather introduced me to hunting at a young age. I harvested my first deer with a compound bow when I was just eight years old, and from that point on, conservation and hunting have been a major part of my life.”

When Illinois State Coordinator Joshua White approached Cory about joining the conservation team, he immediately saw it as an opportunity to give back. “After learning more about the role, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. The S3DA program is a cornerstone for helping younger generations enjoy and respect the outdoors responsibly and ethically.”

Cory is especially passionate about bridging the gap between competition archery and bowhunting. He has made it a personal mission to expose as many youth as possible to the outdoors, while educating them on the importance of conserving, protecting, and enjoying our natural resources.

“My hope is that these kids will develop a genuine appreciation for the outdoors, just like my family and I have,” said Cory. “In teaching them early, we give them the tools to understand what it means to be ethical hunters and responsible stewards of the land.”

To learn more, please visit the Illinois S3DA Facebook page or contact Illinois S3DA State Conservation Coordinators, Drew Kazenski (drew.kazenski@gmail.com) or Cory Skelton (skeltonCM28@gmail.com).

About Scholastic 3-D Archery

Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) is a unique, family-oriented youth archery program which has grown exponentially across the United States as a next-step initiative to follow introductory archery programs. The mission of the Scholastic 3-D Archery program is to foster, educate and guide youth in the areas of 3D, indoor target, and outdoor target archery as well as safe, ethical bowhunting practices. The goal of the S3DA program is to provide archery and bowhunting opportunities to youth in after-school settings, as well as with archery-affiliated clubs and businesses in the community. S3DA youth participate in 3D and target archery using compound and traditional archery equipment. Youth members can participate at regional, state and national archery events and earn college scholarships from colleges and universities across the United States. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving thousands of youth archers.

Contact the Scholastic 3-D Archery National Office at:

www.s3da.net or 410 Sycamore Street, Williamsburg, KY 40769, Ph: 606.524.3685

Media contact Kayla Bolton at kaylas3da@gmail.com, Ph: 423.494.2204