AAR Miamisburg, OH June 4-5, 2011

[GoldFish]

Wow, what a weekend.  Thanks to all who made this one a special one to remember.
MeanStreaker, I have no idea what I can say to you; for all the help, advice, tips, and leadership you've provided to me and so many others, 'Thank you' is just not enough.  To all the other Ohio instructors, Ratchett, Ishy, Lyberty, Green Light, RPD, buckeye trapper, DGMilty, it was a privilege working, and I hope to do so again soon!  Western Rose, it was indeed an honor to have you on the line this weekend.
At this shoot, I realized I needed to put things back in perspective and refocus on what I really need to. All of your support this weekend was exactly what I needed; a big thank you to all who helped me out.  AS family is truly amazing.


More work to do now, but more to come soon; just thought I kick this off for anyone who wants to post, including pictures.  Shutterbug?!?!?!

[DGMilty]

It was an honor and pleasure to work with everyone this weekend.  I sincerely appreciate all the assistance, tips, advice, comments etc. from my fellow instructors, as well as the "thank-you's" from the shooters.

It was a scorcher, but I'm especially grateful that there were no heat related sicknessed.  The temperate was well over 90 on Saturday, and although cooler on Sunday, it was more humid.

I was glad to see improvement throughout the day, and the Red Coats proved it.  Shooters, thanks for sticking it out!

I look forward to working with every instructor again, especially the younger ones.  You are the ones who will see the most growth.with the Appleseed program.

Dave

[Shutterbug]

What a wonderful couple of days...as most Appleseed weekends are, of course.  With this being the last one I'll be able to attend for a while, though, I'm extra happy that I had the privilege of being a part of it.  Huge thank you's to all those who made this such a special event.  Miamisburg Sportsmen's Club, admin, families of those involved in Appleseed who sacrifice and support, instructors, shooters, you all are amazing.  Thank you!

(More pics to come)

[Ratchett]

Goldfish, thanks for kicking this off!

What a great shoot, we were blessed with beautiful weather, eager, receptive students, and a great instructor corps. Another 'Ohio Magic Appleseed' indeed!!! A huge THANK YOU to everyone.

Congratulations to Jeff who repeatedly re qualified his Rifleman scores on Sunday and then at the end of the day stepped forward and requested to join the Ohio instructor corps as an Orange Hat---HUZZAH

More later as I am on the road today

Ratchett

[MeanStreaker]

This was truly a great Appleseed thanks to all of the fine people that showed up.  Students and Instructors alike.  Congratulations to everyone for sticking it out through the heat.  Congratulations to many repeat Rifleman scores.  Congratulations to those that were oh-so-close and will get it next time.  Congratulations to Daniel for a new high score!!! 

And of course, congratulations to Ratchett for earning her Green Hat and to Goldfish for earning his Red Hat.

Every hat presentation I've witnessed has been special.  Being a part of people stepping up to new responsibility and new joys within Appleseed always deeply affects me.

The hat presentations I was privileged enough to facilitate this weekend were no different.  I had been thinking for awhile about what I wanted to say when the time came.  Please forgive me that my breaking voice was not able to get it all out and I had to cut it short.

Not enough can be said about Julia's commitment to the Appleseed Mission and her love and caretaking of everyone she encounters.  We're blessed to have her as our newest Shoot Boss!  Huzzah!   

And David, I don't know how I got so lucky to spend time with you these past few years.  I've watched as you grow into an (even more) upstanding and honorable man and a darn fantastic Appleseed Instructor.  You've taught me more than I've ever taught you.  I'm so proud of your accomplishment. 

HUZZAH!!!

   

Until the next one... which might not be for awhile for me... It truly was a beautiful weekend to save the country!

[Shutterbug]

More pictures...

[Shutterbug]

And  the last I'm going to post...

If you're interested in seeing more, here's a link: http://photobucket.com/guestlogin?albumUrl=http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff463/_CristinaD_/Miamisburg%20Appleseed%20June%204-5%202011/. The password is miamisburg611. 

[HippieChick]

Thanks to all of you for making the first Appleseed I've been to in over a year a great one! I always know that when the Dangerous Old Family and RPD's crew are around we're going to have a great time and a great shoot, this weekend was no different! Also, DGMilty and The Buckeye Trapper, it was great to meet some of Ohio's new Orange Hats!
Special congrats to my mom, Ratchett, on getting the lovely, ahem, green hat!
And thanks to Goldfish for his patience and instruction-I haven't been behind a rifle in 2 years-and he helped get me back up to speed pretty quickly! Appleseed is blessed to have him as a red hat. Congrats David, this is well deserved! Tadpole (Kesiah) also expects lessons from Dae Dae when she's old enough hehe fair warning!
I spent most of the weekend observing from the equipment line. We had an awesome group of shooters. It was wonderful watching all of the junior IITs down in the dirt instructing primarily adult guys and seeing how receptive they all were! I saw so much improvement in all of them. Bruce got a ROC card, but was knocking so hard on the door of Rifleman that I wasn't sure he was even going to be able to use it! But alas, he was but a few points short, good news in all of that is we'll be seeing him again at an Appleseed!
And then there was Seth. We shot 1 AQT on Saturday-that kid shot a 119 with a bolt-action his first time out of the gate. We got him behind a 10-.22 on Sunday, but he didn't care for the feel of it and went back to his bolt action. We shot 10 AQTs Sunday and I believe I only saw him sit 2 out. His score improved with nearly every one of them. It was awesome to see him presented with the Young Patriot patch! He persevered through heat, frustration and using a bolt action, that patch was truly deserved
I could probably say something about everyone on the line, but I'll call it a day for now. Thank you all for making this weekend great! I hope to get to more events this summer and fall and look forward to seeing you all again. Leslie, it was wonderful to meet you and see Western Rose in action!
HUZZAH!

[MeanStreaker]

Thanks Cristina! It means a lot to have a record of this great weekend!

[Evenstar]

You guys made an AQT sign for me? Aw, shucks... You guys are the best.

[GoldFish]

Good shooting this weekend from all the shooters!  Seth, what you were doing with that bolt-action was quite impressive.  Congrats, and I hope to see you again real soon.
To all those who were oh-so-close, in the 190's and 200's, a true Rifleman persists! 

And thanks to Goldfish for his patience and instruction-I haven't been behind a rifle in 2 years-and he helped get me back up to speed pretty quickly! Appleseed is blessed to have him as a red hat. Congrats David, this is well deserved! Tadpole (Kesiah) also expects lessons from Dae Dae when she's old enough hehe fair warning!

Frogger, for not having shot in that long, you did an exceptional job.

I can't wait.  

Thanks Cristina! It means a lot to have a record of this great weekend!

Absolutely.

Until the next one... which might not be for awhile for me... It truly was a beautiful weekend to save the country!

You will be missed Sir.  May we carry on, continually strive for excellence, and pass on what we've all learned from you.

[Green Light]

A great shoot with even greater shooters!    It was AWSOME to have such attentive shooters and outstanding instructors.

CONGRATS!!!!!  Jeff on the orange hat, Goldfish on the red hat, and Ratchet on the green hat!!!!

GL

[Atlasman]

I will just have to say this this was a great event!

I was so impressed with the quality of the instruction, but more importantly by the quality of the instructors!  It was very impressive to see the dedication and knowledge of all of the instructors that volunteered their time to make this a wonderful event last weekend.  This was my 3rd AS event, and the quality of the people involved seems to be the steady constant.

Ratchett, you did a great job as Shoot Boss in Training, and it was a pleasure to see you get your Green Hat (although I noticed the OH trend of sticking with wearing the red).

Goldfish, You, sir, are an impressive young man.  Character, knowledge, ability to share and instruct...all top notch!  Great job on getting that Red Hat.  The fact that yours is quite faded confirmed to me that you are something special.

Meanstreaker, you continue to inspire me with your dedication, knowledge, teaching ability and communication skills.  When I think of Appleseed, you are the face that I see.

RPD, great message in the early morning.  I've already picked up that version of the book for my son.  I appreciated your comments.

Lyberty, that oration didn't seem rusty to me...wonderful job.

Green light, you know how to talk about a patriot.

I learned some great lesson on marksmanship from the instructors this weekend.  Of special help were Ishy, the Buckeye Trapper and Meanstreaker.  Thanks for getting me almost there.  The rest is some dry-fire & I should be able to put a patch on my jacket based on your coaching.  I appreciate you!

Great times.  Great people.  A great reason to gather.  I hope to see you all on the trail again.

[Western Rose]

My apologies for not posting more promptly.

To everyone there, whether you know it or not, I learned something from each of you this weekend.

To the shooters, we could not have Appleseed without you guys. I saw a lot of people who were close. Persist on and dryfire. It would be great to have you all on the line again.

It was an honor to be able to work side-by-side with some of the best RWVA Instructors that you can find anywhere.

MeanStreaker, it was great to be able to see you again. Thanks for taking the time to talk a bit.
Ratchett, thanks for making it possible for me to be at this event and taking me under your wing. Congrats on the Green Hat, it was certainly earned. It was an honor to be there when you got it.
Ishy...... there is so much to say. Thanks for making me feel so welcome. It was awesome to hear your Nancy Hart story in person. Thanks for being a great older sister.
Lyberty, it was great to be able to work with you on the line! You've got great presentations.
Green Light, thanks for making me feel at home and like I have another younger brother.
RPD, thanks for letting me shoot your rifle.
Goldfish, congrats on the Red Hat. I know you worked hard for it and I was privileged to be there.
DGMilty, well done. You did a great job both on the line and as Line Boss.
The Buckeye Trapper, good job. It was great to be able to watch you as you worked the line.
Recharge, I missed seeing you at this event. Hopefully we'll be able to meet at another one out here before I got home.
Slim, it was nice to be able to meet you. Great job on the David Lamson story.

Everyone, keep up the good work.