Building Community: Morgan County volunteer leads hunts and builds ramps

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus

One Sunday morning six years ago, while watching hunting videos on YouTube with his wife, Scotty Kelsoe clicked on a post by Hands of a Sportsman.

“We had never heard of Hands of a Sportsman before. They had a video of a little disabled kid hunting,” the 56-year-old Kelsoe said. “I looked at my wife. She was crying and I had a tear rolling down my eye. I told my wife, ‘I want to be part of that.’”

After the video ended and he dried his eyes, Kelsoe, who grew up hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather and owns a taxidermy business, called the contact number that appeared at the end of the video.

“I told the man who answered the phone, David Hinceman, the founder and president of Hands of a Sportsman, that I would love to participate. He asked, ‘Where you at?’ I said, ‘Alabama.’ He said they didn’t do any hunts in Alabama. I told him to tell me when his next hunt was and me and my wife would be there,” Kelsoe said.

Three months later, Scotty and Rosie Kelsoe made the seven-and-a-half-hour journey from their Morgan County home to Taylorsville, North Carolina. So began Kelsoe’s connection with Hands of a Sportsman, a nonprofit organization that provides and assists disabled children and adults, as well as disabled and able-bodied veterans, with hunting trips.

“Growing up I was always uncomfortable around someone in a wheelchair,” Kelsoe said. “Being involved with Hands of a Sportsman made me fall in love with the disabled community. All they’re asking for is a chance to do what everyone else does, stuff we take for granted. They’re not asking for any special treatment, just to belong.”

Over the past six years, Kelsoe, through Hands of a Sportsman, has assisted children on hunts in Illinois and North Carolina, taken a 21-year-old young man with the mindset of a 12-year-old on a turkey hunt in South Dakota and joined a veteran on a hog hunt and dove hunt in Sapata, Texas.

“After volunteering at a few disabled hunts, I realized the joy that these hunters encounter is amazing and I wanted to help in any way I can to make what seems impossible, possible,” Kelsoe said.

A love for the outdoors, commitment to faith and compassion for individuals in need keeps Kelsoe involved with the hunts.

“I try to share the message of God with the people I take hunting. I have taken one kid several times. Before we get in the deer blind, we say a little prayer. One morning, I was hurrying. We were in the tree stand and it was just about to get daylight. The young boy kept poking me. I kept trying to tell him to be quiet. Finally, I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘We forgot to pray.’ That’s why I do this, because I’m able to touch people’s hearts.”

Kelsoe currently serves as a mentor with the organization.

“Hands of a Sportsman has changed my life. One of the biggest things it has done is it led me right into starting my own 501(c)(3) building wheelchair ramps for people in need in north Alabama,” Kelsoe said.

Since founding Morgan County Mobility Missions in September 2023, Kelsoe and co-founder Matthew McMillan have overseen the building of 48 wheelchair ramps.

“When we started out, I thought we would do four or five ramps and this thing would die out. I was way wrong. It has just flourished. I never thought there was this much of a need for ramps.” Kelsoe said. “I also never expected the community to support us as much as it has.”

The foundation of Morgan County Mobility Missions was laid in August 2023 when a friend of Kelsoe’s reached out to him for help.

“Sue Trammell called me and said she had a friend who was like a prisoner of her own home. She couldn’t get out and when she went to the doctor, someone had to physically pick her up to get her out of the house,” Kelsoe said. “At first, I told her I didn’t think I would be able to find the time. She talked to me like she was my mama and said, ‘No, you are going to build a ramp, just find the time.’”

To find volunteers, Kelsoe posted a plea to Facebook. The first reply, “If you get the lumber, I’ll help build it,” came from a stranger — Matthew McMillan.

For lumber, Kelsoe visited Corum’s Building Supplies, which donated the supplies for free.

Days after finishing the first ramp, which Kelsoe built in memory of Trammell, Morgan County Mobility Missions received its second request.

To fund the builds, Morgan County Mobility Missions has received financial assistance from unexpected sources, including friends, family, the Priceville Community Thrift Store and passersby who witnessed the outreach organization’s work.

“The reason we are able to make such an impact is because of the community,” Kelsoe said. “We are very careful with the money we receive. Every penny goes to building the ramps. We run it like a business, it’s just none of us get paid – at least not in money.”

For Kelsoe, that payment comes in the form of the reactions of the recipients.

“We have had people, even older men, come out on their ramps after we’ve got them built and just bust out crying. If that doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, you might need to have a check-up,” Kelsoe said. “These people have felt like prisoners of their own homes for so long. They are just so grateful.”

Along with building ramps, Morgan County Mobility Missions donated $800 to a young mother with six children for Christmas in 2023 and $700 to a family for Christmas in 2024 and paid the electricity bills for two households in Morgan County in 2024 and another two households in 2025.

Anyone in need of a ramp, interested in volunteering or wanting to donate to the cause can contact Kelsoe at 256-822-4976 or visit morgancountymobili.wixsite.com.