NATCHEZ — Redneck Adventures is gearing up for its second annual Outdoors Without Limits fund raising banquet Oct. 8 at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center.

Bob “Big Red” Owens and Allen Brown will treat banquet guests to ribeye steaks for the second year in a row.

Redneck Adventures’ Jim Bob Allgood said he is issuing a challenge to the Miss-Lou after a good showing at last year’s event.

“Last year, the Miss-Lou stepped up to the plate,” Allgood said.

“I want to thank everyone, because they provided us with their lands, ponds, lakes and opportunities. But, guess what? As progress goes, we need more.”

Allgood called Outdoors Without Limits a “life-changing experience” that helps the physically and mentally impaired enjoy everything Mother Nature has to offer.

“It’s about getting people of all ages and all walks of life outdoors to enjoy hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities,” Allgood said.

Kirk Thomas, a former Ole Miss football player who was paralyzed from the waist down, founded Outdoors Without Limits.

“Kirk has joked with me that he told Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant ‘no’ to tell Ole Miss ‘yeah,’” Allgood said. “One of the main reasons for that is that everyone knows the best-looking girls on the planet live on campus in Oxford, he said.

Thomas, 50, played for the Rebels in the 1978 and 1979 seasons. His accident occurred Nov. 27, 1992, and inspired him to help others with disabilities still be able to enjoy activities like hunting and fishing.

“After a great football career, Kirk found himself many years later trapped under a fallen treetop that crushed him to the ground while he was deer hunting,” Allgood said.

“Kirk’s life in a wheelchair has seen him found wheeling sportsmen and, most recently, Outdoors Without Limits.”

Allgood said he remembers the specific conversation with Thomas, when he first had the idea to create Outdoors Without Limits.

“I sat in a deer blind with Kirk and his stepson a few years back here in Natchez,” Allgood said. “He conveyed to me that he wanted to do something different — something that could help all those that just need a little help to go outdoors.”

Allgood said the volunteer work of the Miss-Lou pouring in to Outdoors Without Limits has been a blessing to many people with disabilities.

“Because of the Miss-Lou, kids with disabilities are getting a chance to enjoy outdoors activities. Last year, 21-year-old Chandler Warren was able to shoot his first deer in a deer hunt we sponsored,” Allgood said.

“Many kids and adults are enjoying Outdoors Without Limits. Recently, we held a squirrel hunt, where they got to hang out with country music singers, pro athletes and many players on the LSU football team.”

Reiterating his challenge to the Miss-Lou to offer even more help than it did last year, Allgood stressed how the program can help people not just from Natchez, but all over the state.

“It’s a very small price for people to pay to help not only local folks, but those who are eager, with disabilities, to come to our beautiful Miss-Lou and enjoy all that she has to offer,” Allgood said.