The name, Kicking Bear, was inspired by a too close for comfort encounter grizzly bear hunt in Alaska. Ray and his guide, Ron Sherer, were following a huge set of tracks near a river. Dead fish littered the path and the smell was nearly overwhelming. Suddenly, Ray heard a splashing noise from the river. As he peered through the brush he saw his monstrous bear. Suddenly the bear was on the move and walking right at them. The bear came so close Ray could not shoot and had to allow the bear to walk past him. At 18 yards, Ray sent an arrow through the bear. As the arrow sliced through the bear he spun and snapped at the entrance wound. Then, he charged. An angry bear can cover a lot of distance when he so desires and 18 yards is not much distance! Luckily, the arrow did its job and the bear slid to a stop literally under the feet of Ray. Neither Ray nor his guide could believe what had just happened. Ron looked at Ray and said, "You really kicked that bear!” Ron, an American Indian lore enthusiast, told Ray that his Indian name would be “Kicking Bear”. Soon, the name “Kicking Bear” would come to identify Ray’s passion for reaching kids.

As Ray was chasing his bowhunting dreams and the pursuit of the archery Grand Slam he became involved in writing stories of his adventures and also began appearing on TV and video. In everything he did he would talk about the importance of being a mentor to a kid who needed one. At the same time company after company was asking Ray to endorse their products or be an ambassador for their company to the archery world. At the time he did not know why he was getting these offers but he would fully realize later in life what this was all about.

In 2000, Pat Aucoin, a family friend and advisor, called Ray and told him he had broken his arm and was unable to go on his scheduled polar bear hunt. He asked Ray if he would like to trade tags with him as Ray had a tag for four years later. With only a month until the impromptu hunt, Ray and his wife, Karen, scrambled to figure out how they could pull this together. Ray wanted to take a satellite phone so that each night he could call back to a computer post with a daily log of his adventure. Ray knew this would be an extremely successful means to reach a lot of people and spread his message to inspire others to help kids. About 250,000 logged on to one of the three websites Ray was plugged into during the hunt. Everyone was waiting to see if he was going to be frozen into an ice chunk or be chomped in half by a bear! Ray says of this opportunity, “This was an incredible hunt for me. Every day I got to wake up, take my bow into a hostile environment and chase my dream. Every day I took a minute and talked about the importance of being a mentor to a kid and how you can change a kid’s life by spending just a little time with him or her in the outdoors!”

Ray thought by setting an example that other sportsmen and sportswomen would follow. Throughout his 15-day polar bear hunt he had passed up several nice bears before he connected with the one that he wanted. The gun hunters had gotten their bears early and were gone home. Ray told the outfitter that he was going to stay there until he got his bear or until the ice thawed out and they had to come and get us off an island with a boat. On the 14th day Ray harvested a magnificent bear with his bow. It was an unbelievable dream come true!

Ray talked to his wife about how many emails they were getting and although there were many there were not many from folks wanting to help kids. They were more interested in what kind of equipment Ray was using. A week after Ray got home there were still only 5-10 emails from people who were interested in becoming mentors. Hundreds of people emailed Ray congratulating him and asking questions about the hunt. As time went on, Ray felt like a huge failure in what he was trying to accomplish by introducing sportsmen and women to kids who need help. One day while talking to his wife, it became clear to Ray what he needed to do. He was going to put on a campout and archery shoot that would be totally free to everyone. Where he could introduce kids who needed help to other families and mentors mirroring his own life as a kid and the actions of a few key people that so inspired him growing up. Kicking Bear camps were off to a start.

Since the first camp Ray put together interest has grown and now camps are being held in many states with more and more asking to sponsor camps each year. Thousands of kids are attending camps accompanied by adult mentors to insure the child does not get lost after the camp experience. Camping, games, outdoor education, and of course archery all are part of the Kicking Bear experience along with an organized youth hunt to follow each individual camp. However, Ray always makes sure that during the course of the weekend he shares with the kids the real reason behind Kicking Bear. He challenges the kids to pursue their dreams as he did and that a relationship with Jesus Christ is "Key" to any successful life pursuit. Ray often likes to use the example of David and Goliath to illustrate the fact that anyone can pursue their dreams and overcome insurmountable odds as long as their faith is in God.

In about 2002 Gander Mountain Stores signed on with Ray Howell and Kicking Bear to promote its message. Ray said when he received the call from company CEO Mark Baker to talk about a ProStaff position, he took along a 2” thick resume of all the boyhood dreams he had chased in the outdoors. Ray knew he was going to be very clear in the meeting as to what the message of Ray Howell and Kicking Bear was all about. He unashamedly told Mark about what he wanted to accomplish and instead of shying away Mark enthusiastically embraced Ray’s mission. Ray didn’t even open his resume. Instead all he and Mark talked about was how they could help kids together. Mark told Ray that he was “breaking the chains and giving those kids dreams”. Right then, Ray knew what Mark’s true heart was and where he wanted to be. Today, Ray can be seen routinely on the retail store’s weekly television show, “We Live Outdoors”, seen on The Outdoor Channel. Some of his videos can be watched directly from the Gander Mountain website. Kicking Bear has become a prominent theme with the outdoor retailer taking center stage in much of their advertisement and video production.

In 2005 Ray joined forces with BowTech Archery and their subsidiary Diamond Bows to support the mission of Kicking Bear. BowTech and Diamond have developed a huge following of hunters on account of their product quality and innovation and their exposure in the hunting and outdoor industry has led to a relationship that is especially exciting. John Strasheim, CEO of BowTech and Dewayne Tiller, General Manager have made it perfectly clear in a statement to Ray that it does not matter how many youth bows they sell, but rather how many people find a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. At that point, Ray knew why he was there and who his new “fishing” partners were. Having had the opportunity to meet John Strasheim I know the passion he exudes for his faith and for Kicking Bear. It is not just lip service either. While having attended different outdoor trade shows over the last year, when one walks past the BowTech and Diamond booth one of the first things noticed is the prominently displayed Kicking Bear logo.

In a tremendous show of support, Bowtech and Diamond have announced that the Diamond Cutter and Edge are the official bows of Kicking Bear. Seldom can one find a company so willing to throw so much support behind programs like Kicking Bear. Then again, few companies have the ministry and mission mindset that Bowtech and Diamond demonstrate everyday.