The Starke County Turkey Tracks Hunt – Eric Corey Foundation is gearing up for its 2023 Turkey Tracks hunt and banquet. The banquet is Friday, April 28 at 5:00 CT at the Washington Township Building while the Turkey Tracks hunt will take place from April 28 to April 30.
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The annual Turkey Tracks event is this weekend.
Forty-two physically disabled hunters and their guides will be hunting for turkeys this Saturday beginning at 4:30 a.m. and a full weekend is planned. Hunters can also visit https://ballachy.com/hunting/ for all their equipment.
The festivities begin at 5 p.m. tonight with a taco bar and then it’s up early on Saturday for the big hunt. On Saturday evening, once the hunters return from their quest, a buffet dinner will be featured along with many fundraising activities. This year’s event will end on Sunday around noon. All activities will be held in the Washington Township Community Building.
A block party is scheduled on Main Street in Knox early next month for a worthy cause as a number of downtown businesses have stepped up to play a part in raising funds for the Eric Corey Foundation, sponsoring the Turkey Tracks event planned for April. The Turkey Tracks hunt, designed for handicapped and terminally-ill hunters, gives them a chance to do something they love that they might not otherwise be able to do.
The Turkey Tracks event is April 26-28 in Starke County.
The Eric Corey Foundation will sponsor the hunt designed for handicapped and terminally-ill hunters, giving them a chance to do something they love that they might not otherwise be able to do.
In memory of Eric Corey, the Turkey Tracks annual hunt in Starke County is quickly approaching and the organization is gearing up with a Saturday banquet at the Washington Township Community Center on State Road 23. The fish dinner – more than a fish fry as in previous years – is being prepared by the San Pierre Fire Department with all-you-can-eat fish, baked potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, and dessert. Carol Corey, Eric’s mother, said the hunt – created as part of the Eric Corey Foundation – means a lot to her and it continues in his honor.
Eric Corey’s legacy lives on, as eight physically-challenged hunters who have been part of the Turkey Tracks program held each spring in Starke County travel to the small community of Millersburg, Mich. to hunt deer.
The trip was arranged by the late Eric Corey’s parents, Carol and Doug Corey, through the Tony Semple Foundation. Semple was a star linebacker for the Detroit Lions who established this foundation to help provide hunting activities for hunters with disabilities.
The three-day Turkey Tracks event was held this past weekend. As of Noon yesterday, the disabled hunters and guides had taken in 20 wild turkeys. The event was sponsored by the Eric Corey Foundation, and the 31 hunters enjoyed a weekend in the woods.
Activities occurred during the evening and in fundraising efforts, two specially-crafted Eric Corey plaques were auctioned for $4,600.00. A third plaque was presented to Carol and Doug Corey to be hung in Eric’s trophy room.
Gun sighting begins at 1:00 p.m. CT this afternoon for the Fourth Annual Turkey Tracks Hunt. The sighting of the guns will be at the Washington Township Community Building. Target practice will be allowed until the dinner at 6:00 p.m.
The doors open at 5:00 p.m. for the hog roast and during the dinner, those in attendance can place their bids on the silent auction items.
The Turkey Tracks event is upon us. Turkey Tracks is in its fourth year and is sponsored by the Eric Corey Foundation.
This will be the first year for the event since the death of the person who established the event. Eric Corey, who had ALS, was a young hunter who wanted others with disabilities to be able to enjoy the sport that he loved so much. His mother and father, Carol and Doug, plus numerous guides, and others, will be gathering at the Washington Township Community Building Friday for the opening of the weekend wild turkey hunt.
Over 400 people turned out Saturday to support the Eric Corey Foundation in its Turkey Tracks fundraiser at the Washington Township Community Center. With many of the physically handicapped turkey hunters in attendance, the event raised money for 35 individuals to go hunting with guides in April.
The event was the brainchild of the late Eric Corey who wanted to “play-forward” the experience of hunting that he had been given before he passed away of the ALS disease at the age of 25.
Eric Corey’s spirit will be alive Saturday night at the Washington Township Building in Starke County.
Eric was the inspiration for the Turkey Tracks annual hunt in Starke County in which physically challenged youngsters go into the woods to try to bag a turkey. 22 guides and volunteers met this week to map out the April event and prepare for the Saturday night fish fry and stage show.
With hundreds of hunters and others in attendance at the Knox Community Center on Sunday, the community said good bye to Eric Corey, of Knox.
Corey, 25, was the subject of many stories about his battle with ALS, his beating the odds for 10 years while hunting all over the world and setting up an event where other people with disabilities could enjoy the sport he loved so much. For three years, Eric and his family organized an event called Turkey Tracks and it grew every year with disabled people going turkey hunting with guides.
The young man who inspired so many with his gallant fight against Lou Gehrig’s Disease has passed away at the age of 25.
“There are few people that I call my hero, but Eric Corey was that to me,” said Ted Hayes. “I had the privilege of being with Eric during the Turkey hunt he and his family put together for disabled youngsters and old people alike.”
“An avid hunter himself, Eric had traveled the world hunting and four years ago he told his mother that he wanted to give others the chance to hunt that he had. The first year it was just a few, but over the past two years, the Turkey Tracks hunt grew and at the opening night ceremonies Eric Corey was always the happiest person in the room.”
The 4th Annual Turkey Tracks Hunt is coming up in April 2012. Eric Corey, who has Lou Gehrig’s Disease, has been instrumental in organizing a turkey hunt each year for handicapped hunters. Along the way he has met numerous people who have taken advantage of his generosity.
One of those people is motivational speaker LaDonna Brock, from Richmond, Kentucky. LaDonna got her first turkey last spring in this hunt and is back now trying to get her first deer.
With deer hunting season going on, we are thinking ahead to the Fourth Annual Turkey Tracks event that is scheduled for April 2012.
This event, organized by the Doug Corey family, is for disabled hunters and has grown three fold over the past three years.
Eric Corey talked what the event is all about.
“People with disabilities, handicaps and different diseases can get out in the outdoors and hunt for a weekend,” said Corey. “They can get their minds off hospitals and doctor’s appointments and let them have a good time.”
The Third Annual Turkey Tracks event was held over the weekend in Starke County. Opening night was Friday, and the hunters, guides, and well wishers gathered at the Knox VFW for a dinner, fellowship and entertainment provided by country singer, Billy Wayne.
During the ceremony that followed the dinner, Bass Pro Shops in Portage and Clarksville gave special monetary and tracker gifts to the participants. The Clarksville representative gave each of the hunters their own monogrammed turkey callers, and Eric Corey was presented with a one-of-a-kind caller in engraved box. The Turkey Tracks organization also received a $1,000 check for the program.
The third annual Turkey Tracks hunting event gets underway in Starke County this weekend. The hunt allows physically handicapped youngsters to experience a turkey hunting experience with assistance from local Adopt-a-Hunter volunteers. Carol Corey outlines some of the events planned for the young hunters.
“They come to the Knox VFW Saturday morning before daylight to go out and find the turkeys coming off the roost and then in the evening, we invite all of our Adopt-a-Hunter volunteers and landowners there for a dinner. If you are an Adopt-a-Hunter or landowner, we would appreciate it if you would come and join us and meet our hunters.”
The spring turkey season opens today and runs through May 15th.
“To hunt turkeys in the spring, residents need a resident turkey license and a game bird stamp for 2011,” said Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman. “Birds that are harvested are required to be checked in within 48 hours at an official check station and there are several throughout Starke County.”
The third annual “Turkey Tracks” hunting event to be held here in Starke County is set for this weekend. Organized by the Doug Corey family, Turkey Tracks allows physically handicapped youngsters to enjoy a hunting experience. The efforts are the project designed by the Corey son, Eric, who is afflicted with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
As in earlier years, local guides have volunteered to accompany the hunters into the field. Several local landowners have offered land for the shoot. Some of the youngsters, many who have never fired a gun, will be in wheelchairs.
At the young age of 16, Eric Corey was diagnosed with ALS. An avid hunter his entire life, the Starke County resident has made it his mission to make sure other young adults with mobility challenges like him can experience the joy of hunting. That’s why he and his family have organized Turkey Tracks. The event allows hunters with physical challenges to use adaptive equipment and the help of a guide to experience a turkey hunt in Northern Indiana.
This is the third year for Turkey Tracks.
