Before there was Vortex…

Before there was Vortex, there was a hawk circling over a backyard in Indiana.

The year was 1986…
My dad was 38, had three boys under six, a wife at home raising them, and a successful dental practice. Naturally, he decided this was the perfect time to quit being a dentist. To be fair, Dad was good at dentistry. He just hated being one.

He loved people. The problem was most people didn't exactly light up when he walked into the room holding a drill.

The outdoors had always been his escape. Somewhere along the way, that led Mom to backyard bird feeding, which led them into a Wild Birds Unlimited store, which led to a friendship with the owner, which led to a conversation about opening their own store. Funny how you can walk into a bird store one day with no ideas you're about to change the course of your family's life.

Soon Dad was driving north scouting three possible cities: Milwaukee, Green Bay and Madison.
Milwaukee was too big.
Green Bay was too small.
Madison…was just right.

There’s apparently a little Goldilocks in the Vortex origin story.

But before my parents could load three little boys into what they still describe as a "covered wagon" and head north, they needed a name for their new company. That's where the hawk comes in…
Mom was standing in the backyard one day when she looked up and saw it circling overhead.

Her favorite Psalm came to mind.
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge."
Psalm 91:4

Think about what those words meant at that moment…

They were walking away from the career Dad had gone to school for. Leaving their home. Leaving family and friends. Taking their meager savings and betting on a little bird-feeding store in a state where they barely knew anyone. They had no idea if it would work, but they knew who they were trusting with whatever came next. So they named the company Sheltered Wings, Inc.

Forty years later, Vortex still lives under the name Sheltered Wings.

The bird store became Eagle Optics. Eagle Optics helped give birth to Vortex. Three boys became four. A tiny family business became hundreds of families. And that leap into the unknown became a story none of us could have written in 1986.

This year, we made this plaque to honor Mom and Dad and 40 years under Sheltered Wings. I love the plaque. Our team did a great job on the design. But I love even more what it reminds us of.

Forty years can make you believe you're pretty good at steering the ship. Mom and Dad's original name reminds us who has been covering it the whole way.

Forty years later, we're still here, still grateful and still building.

And most importantly…still under Sheltered Wings.