gmhTODAY 13 gmhToday March April 2017 | Page 60

Laney Bisbee Professional Archery… Alive in South County L aney Bisbee doesn’t like to speak of his international awards from his archery hobby, all of which he’s earned since he moved to Morgan Hill five years ago. Instead, the engineer and CEO of Structural Associates, Inc. (SI) credits his recent success as a bowman to the support of the South County community —the archery clubs in particular—for drawing him and his wife, Sue, into their embrace. Bisbee’s journey with archery began when he was living in Tennessee after college, and the deer hunting law prohibited him from going onto state property until the first day of deer season. But archery season started one month earlier, allowing him to scout the area and hunt deer with a bow. Back then, a local archery club drew him in. “Before I knew it, I was learning and traveling around shooting tournaments.” Then in 1980, he left Chattanooga and dropped the sport. “I forgot about it,” Bisbee said, until he moved to Morgan Hill and found his old bow in a box. He pulled it out, thinking, “That might be kind of fun.” He played around with the bow awhile and eventually joined a couple of local archery clubs that shoot at Mount Madonna. One such club is Predators, a Gilroy club and archery services business owned by Curtis Campisi and Mike Pierce. When Bisbee first took out his bow at Predators, he said, “people laughed at the age of the bow.” Bisbee also belongs to Black Mountain Bowmen in San Jose. “Both clubs really embrace people who want to try their hand at archery whether it’s for fun, competition, or hunting.” “Without having picked up a bow since my 20’s, I was able to place nationally, along with my wife and many others, because of their support and training. They brought my wife and I into that community.” Now, more than three years later, Bisbee is actively supported by Predators and traveling the world with his wife shooting at national and world events. Written By Amy McElroy 60 GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MARCH/APRIL 2017 gmhtoday.com