"Poor Attendance?"
Looking forward to this event, I kept frowning at the number of folks that had pre-registered. Two weeks out and only 16 signed up. :'(
Then at one week, it dropped to 13! :o
Thar's a lot that goes into an Appleseeds event and we like to see at least 30 Americans on the line Saturday AM - forty would be better. But, we said we would be there and I am a man who likes to keep his word, so I loaded up and headed out to Myakka - "poor" attendance or not.
When will I learn? As the 11 who actually made the effort to attend began to arrive, their smiles and eagerness began to chip away at my concerns.
Justin and his son Chapin were first thru the gate. Shawn & Mary ann were next, smartly attired in matching sporting outfits. This was obviously not their "first rodeo", any instructor worth his salt can tell such things at a glance.
Then came "repeat offender" Peter with three friends in tow (He did his part for sure) - at least two of which had never fired a rifle in their lives.
At 9:AM I looked at our sign in sheet and I saw that the only no-shows remaining were people that that RWVA had seen fit to admit at zero cost, so I called the attendees to circle up for the first time to hear the 9:AM briefing so that we could get started and a new tradition were started in the Florida chapter! (starting on time that is)
After a brief intro to the Program and the volunteer instructors present, Willorith exposed all present to a bit of their extraordinary heritage in the form of his own version of the "First Strike of the Match".
The attendees all sat in rapt attention as they learnt, many for the first time, the truth of the beginning of April 19th, 1775 - the day of the Shot heard round the world. As I scanned the small gathering that I had considered a "poorly attended" event, I felt ashamed of myself.
These were 11 real Americans, not the couch potato - reality TV watching doofuses that infest our nation, but real Patriots. I realized then and there that this event was richly attended in terms of spirit and character. As the day wore on, they proved this out time and again by displaying the grit of their ancestors as they grappled learning a new skill set.
Prior to the first round going down range, Debbie and Naomi had many questions - their bright faces showing a hunger for the tradition of marksmanship. We could have asked for more in numbers, but not in quality.
The Redcoats showed we all had our work cut out for us and so we rolled up our sleeves and got to it. :~
Wynn showed much grit, working at first with a HP rifle and then a .22 with a scope - no matter what difficulties he encountered, he just persisted and got past them.
Debbie had only purchased her little .22 the day before the event and had never fired it. She displayed marked improvement throughout the weekend and at one point even referred to her arduous journey as "fun".
Naomi had a great spirit and also said the shooting was fun - saving a country and having fun - for free - what's not to like?
Peter decided to go iron sights this time and overcame every hurdle, eventually banging the Rifleman gong not once, but twice! When I handed him his second patch at this, his second event, I asked him to consider instructing, as he clearly is possessed of the needed temperament and skills to make a great instructor. He said he will serve at the next Hernando event - welcome aboard sir! O0 O0 O0 O0
Jason worked hard and showed great improvement - vowing to return and make that AQT target eat some crow.
Justin was used to an optic on his rifle, but he switched to iron sights and worked hard to get the hang of them, shooting some excellent groups in sitting stage and doing very well on the Redcoat target. His son Chapin is a great young man and worked hard beside his dad to absorb the traditions of thems that came before. We'll look forward to seeing both of you again.
Shawn was our resident comedian keeping us all laughing and making Mary ann carry all the gear. ;D Come back and see us again you two.
Eric and his growed son Eric worked side by side with .22s - dad's was a single shot and he could load it so fast as to make my head spin - impressive for sure. Did I mention the tiny groups he was squeezing out of it?
As I said - group small in number, but rich in spirit and character - it were an honor to work with each of you.
Not that I have any right, but I will boldly ask all of you for your help in promoting the Myakka venue with your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. This boat is taking on water and we need to awaken more of our fellow Americans to keep her from sinking below the icy surface of the sea.
If everyone in America was like the people that I met at this event, there'd be no need of Appleseeds, but as that is sorely not the case, we all need to pull together and get our fellow citizens exposed to and involved in the traditions of the Founders before they slip away.
We cannot allow Freedom to die in America. We cannot let Captain Isaac and Hannah Davis' sacrifice be in vain. We owe then everything and we literally cannot repay them. We can however, pay it forward by maintaining what they created. I know of no better way to do that than thru Appleseeds. You get them to an event and we'll do the rest.
I sincerely thank all for coming and look forward fondly until we meet again on the "Appleseeds trail" and dream of the day when there is an Appleseeder in the White House!
Quote from: PHenry on October 26, 2009, 07:13:30 PM
As I said - group small in number, but rich in spirit and character - it were an honor to work with each of you.
Not that I have any right, but I will boldly ask all of you for your help in promoting the Myakka venue with your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. This boat is taking on water and we need to awaken more of our fellow Americans to keep her from sinking below the icy surface of the sea.
If everyone in America was like the people that I met at this event, there'd be no need of Appleseeds, but as that is sorely not the case, we all need to pull together and get our fellow citizens exposed to and involved in the traditions of the Founders before they slip away.
We cannot allow Freedom to die in America. We cannot let Captain Isaac and Hannah Davis' sacrifice be in vain. We owe then everything and we literally cannot repay them. We can however, pay it forward by maintaining what they created. I know of no better way to do that than thru Appleseeds. You get them to an event and we'll do the rest.
I sincerely thank all for coming and look forward fondly until we meet again on the "Appleseeds trail" and dream of the day when there is an Appleseeder in the White House!
Well said, PHenry O0
Hard to figure why the low turn out at Myakka. Nice covered line, great weather and top notch SB and instructors. Promotion is the only sore spot in the whole Appleseed program. Something everyone has to give our full attention to.
Coly,
As they told us at Ft. Stewart, GA. - "Roger that sir!" O0
An Appleseeder in the White House! How stunningly wonderful that would
Hello to all and thank you for the kind words of encouragement. It was a humbling experience to say the least. I have shot guns and hunted my whole life and I'll admit I thought I had that rifleman patch in the bag, no problem. Not the case! Old habits die hard but Chapin and I will be training hard and studying the information and skills we learned at the Oct shoot. It was a great experiance for me but I was especially pleased at what my son took away from the week end. Not only did he learn the practical skills of marksmanship and safety but he learned about the birth of our nation and the brave patriots who sacrificed so much to afford us our freedoms. For you fine gentleman teaching him that I am most thankful. You made a real impact in this young man's life. I wish he could be surrounded by this kind of conviction and love for country all the time. So thanks for your patience, instruction and guidance. I look forward to seeing you in November! Speaking of that I would like to hand out some flyers for the event. I can hit all the gun shops and fire houses. I'm not to far from the event so it might drum up attendance. Is the online flyer the one I should print and distribute? Thanks again, Justin
Quote from: white-mt-boy on October 28, 2009, 01:11:27 AM
Is the online flyer the one I should print and distribute? Thanks again, Justin
Justin,
You can find the flyers at the bottom of this (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=4642.msg44134#msg44134) page. The board has info for all scheduled shoots.
Cheers
V
But the Weather was Great.....
Not my first Appleseed but my first as an instructor newbie. I am so glad I decided to enter the IIT program because I now understand the sense of complete gratification of helping in any way possible to put the smiles and the proudness into the hearts of the shooters who showed up. Now I know why the instructors do it. I missed the last IBC and really had no Idea of what to expect. Trey, Eric, Rick, Brian and Paul welcomed me in and made me feel at home. The butterflies soon passed. I told Phenry tonight that I would be attending the IBC in November and I am excited to learn and improve my humble skills and continue to help in any way I can.
TT,
Have no fear sir - you done bettr'n I did on my first IIT shift and I turnt out OK. #)
Calling Peter! Calling Peter!
We are setting up an IBC (instructor boot camp) for November 14/15, the weekend after next Hernando event and I forgot to collect your contact info. I am placing this distress call here for two reasons.
1) To get in touch with you and see if you can make the IBC
2) To humiliate myself in public to assure that I never agin forgit to collect contact info from a Rifleman who has told me that he wants to step up to instructing. The endless clown-batting I will receive as a result of that most egregious error will serve as a Pavlovian response in future. &) &)
Either way, please sign up on forum and send me a PM, so that I can get you access to instructor section for studying up on basics.
Thanks,
PH
PHenry, you are are way to hard on yourself. EVERY SHOOT BOSS is guilty of this. The weekend just flies by and on the way home, its nothing but DOO,DOO. I think that how its spelled. A Homerism. Why did'nt I do that? Every weekend it is the same, why am I so stupid. We all do it.
You are one of the Rock Stars in Appleseed, get used to it O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 And stop beating yourself up. If you get any better, we will all look really bad. $$-0
ColyCat
O0 <:) O0 @)
What Coly said......
Trey, you keep thinking about how to make yourself better, then let us know first......
Give us a little catch up time..... >:D @) **)
You keep rockin' out there, Sunshine........we know you're there!! :~ :~ :~ :~ :~ **) **) **) **)
LLP
Feelin the Appleseeds love. :'(
Means a lot coming from men of your stature for sure. O0
Straight on, PH....
no lie, no jive......
You have invested yourself into this program 110%, and your efforts -show-....
no one will ever take that away from you.....
Anytime you -think- you've made some "huge error", know that others just like us all, have been on the same path....some before, some after.....
I think that's why they have us do IAAR's..... %)
Get some sleep buddy, you've earned it..... O0 <:) O0
LLP