Jackson, KY, September 10-11

[dond]

Ten shooters arrived in the beautiful KY mountains to shoot on a fantastic range with a mountain for a berm. I believe they enjoyed the history as much as the shooting because they displayed much anxiety and displeasure after Strikes 1 and 2 because they wanted to know what happened next. They eventually learned.

Wallace and Patty were the club members who served as the local boots on the ground and were of so much help. Wallace was in charge of setting up cover over the firing line for the shooters and Patty prepared delicious lunches both days. She even prepared ice cream and a birthday cake for me. However, she couldn't manage 77 candles because of possible smoke damage to the nice clubhouse. In spite of her personal difficulties, she also earned the respect and admiration of all the instructors for her persistence and scores on the firing line. One of the young shooter's fathers also did much work at the event.

Several good scores were made. Kevin shot a 229 at his first Appleseed, then shot a 3 inch group at 88 yards. He has already signed up for the KD at Park City. Griffin shot a 216 and accepted an Orange Hat. Huzzah. We need more instructors in this area to join wmlyons, who just earned his Red Hat at this event.

Jonathon thought he had to leave, and then shot a 202. Encouraged, he decided to try one more AQT before leaving, and shot a 205. Well he decided to shoot one more AQT and shot a 207. I do believe he will be back.

The highlight of the event for me was Google, my daughter, working her SBIT3. She had to drive 7 hours for this event and did an outstanding job, especially her KD presentation. It was a joy and an honor for me to present her with a Green Hat.

We were delighted to have Tellico, from GA, join us. And he had to drive over 5 hours for the event.

Two young shooters did very well and were presented with the William Diamond Patch.

We can't wait for the event next year at this location.

[Texas T]

What an awesome way to spend your birthday, and having a new Green Hat in the family must have been a wonderful gift. You've spoken very highly of her in the past, so I'm sure this must have been a crowning moment. 

Congrats to all who showed so much persistence and especially to Griffin for accepting the Orange Hat. I've found, over the short time that I have been involved in the program, the more I study, the more I learn, and the more I learn the more I can teach. Which leads me to...the more I teach, the more I learn as well. Thanks for stepping up. Your dedication will be appreciated by many as time goes on.   

[Google]

What a great weekend we had in Jackson ... gracious hosts, attentive students, and enthusiastic youth! It was a pleasure to work with all of you.

Congratulations to Kevin and Griffin.  Jonathon, persist and you will soon join their ranks.  We saw improvement in all of the other shooters as well.  Will had a difficult time with his iron sights on Saturday and returned on Sunday with a scope that helped him bring the size of his groups down considerably. Ryan and Kelly worked very hard and saw the fruits of their labor in their targets.  Kimberlee wore a constant smile as did Granville and Zyana.  Patty, I have tremendous respect for the effort you put in all weekend.

Congratulations to WmLyons for earning his Red Hat -- Huzzah! Many thanks to Tellico for joining us from GA.  And, what would one of dond's events be without his ever-present Blue Hat, Sarah.  She makes sure the weekend runs like clockwork and makes her own contributions to the history.

Last, but not least, it was an honor and a privilege to accept my green hat from my father, dond.  I hope I can eventually become half the Shoot Boss that he is. 

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

[Google]

A few more pictures:

[Google]

More pics:

[Google]

Teaching . . .

[Google]

Celebrating!!

[WmLyons]

DonD, Miss Sara, Google and Tellico,

It was a pleasure seeing each of you.  As always, I had a great time.  When is Appleseed not a great time?  I left sore and tired and needing Ibuprofen but happy and excited about the Program.  I enjoyed meeting each of the students and seeing many I had signed up at the NRA Convention.  Great job Kevin and Griffin.  Jonathan and Ryan are right behind you and will likely be hitting the Rifleman score on their next AQT.  Granville will be one to watch once he is as big as his rifle. 

Google, I love the photos.  I was especially proud that County Howard got a pic of me where Ben and Rusty taught us at the Instructors Boot Camp that an Instructor should be....i.e. lying beside the shooter making corrections.  If anyone sees Ben and Rusty, tell them I was listening during IBC. 

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend as much as I did. 

WmLyons
"Newest, Greenest, Most Inexperienced Red Hat in the Program"