In Paris, instead of admiring how the sun glinted off the gold dome of the 17th-century Hôtel des Invalides, spectators on the Esplanade des Invalides focused on the sport that made its Olympic debut in the city in 1900: archery.
Over the course of 7 days, between July 25 and Aug. 4, archers from around the world competed in team and individual events, striving for gold, silver, and bronze. As the camera broadcasting their feats zoomed in, one word could be seen emblazoned on the sights and equipment of dozens of archers, regardless of their home country: AXCEL.
During the 2024 Games, 38 men and 33 women used AXCEL sights and equipment. Of the medals awarded, eight of 10 gold, four of 10 silver, and four of 10 bronze were won by archers using AXCEL sights and equipment.
“It was overwhelming, the amount of success we had with athletes that use our equipment,” said Ben Summers ’00 MBA, vice president of T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL Archery.
T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL Archery is a local family business based out of Madison Heights, Virginia. Ben’s younger brother, Brian Summers ’03 MBA, and their sister, Kelly Summers Reyes, also hold critical positions in the company, which grew out of S&S Machine Inc., a machine shop founded by their father in 1985.
Ben and Brian have spent the last 12 to 13 years traveling around the world, attending tournaments and talking with coaches and athletes to recruit Olympic archers for sponsorships and to promote their equipment. This year alone, T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL Archery is doing over $1 million in sponsorships.
One of the athletes they’ve sponsored is Kim Woojin, who won three gold medals during the 2024 Olympics. Ben signed Woojin in 2022, once South Korea reopened its borders after the COVID-19 pandemic.
This particular sponsorship was made possible in part by a $30,000 grant from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership through their Virginia Leaders in Export Trade program.
“For Ben to be able to go over there … just truly opened the door to success for us to be able to get Korean shooters to … shoot our products,” said Brian, who accompanied Ben on some trips.
These trips to South Korea also gave the Summers brothers the chance to demonstrate that their products were just as suitable for female archers as they are for males.
“In our case, we found that a lot of the Korean and Asian coaches had thought that our sights were too heavy,” Ben explained. “I was able to go over there and show one of the women’s coaches that our sight is actually lighter than the other people’s.”
One of the many triumphant moments in Paris included that same women’s coach coming up to tell them, “AXCEL is great!”
Thirteen people, including Ben, Brian, and their parents, attended this year’s Olympic Games to represent the over 100 employees of T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL Archery. “The Olympics were awesome,” Brian said with a huge grin. “It was just amazing, watching archers use your products. … It was such a blessing.”
Their excitement and encouragement was contagious and attention-grabbing. Both Brian and Ben received messages from friends around the world saying they had spotted the group amongst the crowd while watching the events on TV.
“Holding the U.S. flags and just cheering as loud as we could, I think honestly, we were able to have a big impact on giving those U.S. athletes a lot of confidence,” Ben said. “So I think it really helped them to have people cheering for them there.”
Sitting beside the group were the parents of Casey Kaufhold, who won the bronze for Team USA in the mixed team event. The Summerses have known Kaufhold and her family for several years, due to their affiliation with Lancaster Archery Supply, one of T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL Archery’s biggest customers.
Being there to support the young archer and see the hard work she’d put in for years result in success was an emotional moment for the Summers and Kaufhold families.
“To watch [Casey] and the excitement, but also the emotions — everything came out when she won that bronze medal,” Brian said. “The dedication, the hard work, the commitment, the blood, sweat, and tears, and then finally being able to watch her succeed at that level. … [Casey’s parents] were so over the moon and just excited for her.”
Brady Ellison, Kaufhold’s shooting partner in the mixed team event, was another longtime friend and sponsored athlete. The men’s individual event ended up pitting Ellison against Woojin in a match the Summerses will never forget.
“My dad and I were like, who do you cheer for in this one?” Ben said. “You got USA, and I’ve known Brady since he was like 13. Then you’ve got the guy who drove three hours south [to Seoul, South Korea] to sign a contract, like two weeks after COVID. So who do you cheer for?”
The answer ended up being you cheer for them both out of amazement and excitement. The difference between who won gold, Woojin, and who won silver, Ellison, was measured in millimeters.
“As far as archery matches go, that was probably the most legendary match that anyone has ever seen,” Ben said, still in awe of the experience.
For the Summers brothers, their passion and commitment to archery is about more than just doing good business; it’s about investing in the sport, the athletes, and their own employees. “We consider it a blessing to be able to help others, whether it’s our employees here or archers all around the world,” Brian said.
They invest in the sport by producing high-quality equipment, sponsoring athletes, and partnering with archery organizations, such as the Fédération Française de Tir à l’Arc. This means that whether an archer is looking to “get a huge elk in Montana” or “gold in the Olympics,” T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL Archery is there to support them.
Ben and Brian make sure they are continuously investing and supporting the development of their employees. This includes a willingness to hire people at various skill levels and shouldering the cost of training and education through Central Virginia Community College.
Their commitment to developing their employees is done without concern or the requirement that the recipient remain at the company for a certain amount of time. Instead, the Summerses focus on creating a work environment that values their employees and their work so they can thrive.
While the entire team couldn’t be at the Olympics, that didn’t stop Ben and Brian from emphasizing how each medal won was the result of countless hours of their team’s hard work.
“We’re able to take the success we had in Paris in the Olympics and bring it back and show our employees, ‘Look at what you’ve accomplished.’” Brian said. “It’s not just the archers putting in their hard work. It’s the people who are putting this stuff together. The people who are machining this stuff to begin with, the people who are designing it. …
“If it weren’t for them, those people on that stage would not have been able to do what they did, and they need to understand that what they do matters. Everything that they accomplish here at the shop is something that’s going to reverberate all over the world.”
