The Madison County Sportsman Club was a fantastic host for our Instructor Boot Camp!
One of my mentor's, Phenry, once told me, "Everyone needs an IBC, from orange hat to MI." He's right. I learn stuff at every one I attend! Winterset 4-22 was no different!
We started on a chilly Saturday morning... and something I've never seen happen at an IBC. No cancellations and three additional walkons! With a total of 19 Patriots, it was an amazing crowd. About half of the folks attending were Orange Hats - the perfect time to attend a first IBC! Appleseed Dad brought six family members, all Orange Hats!
We began instructon learning about the Appleseed Program (and what it is not), how to be effective as a Volunteer, and discussed the Guidelines listed in the manual. We covered prone, kneeling, and many other things from a normal "Saturday" at an Appleseed. Our small group leads IXOYE (aka Alphabet), Thysling, TwinEagles, Appleseed Dad, and Ames did a great job leading their teams through the demos. During a working lunch, we dedicated time to talking about how to tell effective history.
On Saturday evening, ten of us went out for dinner and continued the great conversations of the day.
We reassembled on Sunday morning and had a quick review of our verbatim material. It was great to see the tremendous improvement between Saturday and Sunday. Then we moved into Talking Targets and everyone's favorite block - IMC. The IITs did a great job - special shout out to Daughter of Liberty, JackRyan, and Morgans Rifleman. Captain jumped in as a bonus small group lead as well - thanks!
Lunch on Sunday was a working lunch. We talked about spent time discussing leadership and accountability: Who do we go to when we have suggestions or concerns? What are the responsibilities of folks with various titles? Of course, we spent a lot of time talking about 7th Stepping and growing the program for the State. I really enjoyed the cross-talk. Burnett, Alphabet, Bryce and Scott... thanks for your insightful input.
The day went so fast... soon we were on to coaching and troubleshooting on the line (thank you PHenry for the line cards). MellieOakley (who was constantly chattering... sheesh), Smileytandc, and ShootinShorty all demonstrated a very keen eye when coaching shooter errors! My appreciation to all the models who made it tough, but not too tough. Good job, guys.
This weekend was really a pleasure for me. It's a joy to work with and learn from so many fine volunteers, all who have a strong love of Liberty!
My special appreciation to TwinEagles (who is also the range president) for helping to coordinate Winterset 4-22! It couldn't have happened without his efforts.
in Liberty,
Rusty
P.S. Pictures to follow!
Our group photo! Lots of smiling faces!
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Covered bridges are famous in Madison County, Iowa... this one was on the way to the range.
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Getting the weekend started
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A great crowd!
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Small groups & verbatim material
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Slings & Positions
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Coaching
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Awarding patches... (thanks, Cap, for these pics)
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What a fantastic event!! It was so much fun hanging out with the people I've already met on the trail and also all the new Iowa Appleseeders I had a chance to meet. Thanks to Maximum Ordinate for another fruitful IBC; I always learn something new.
Special thanks to TwinEagles for the hospitality (and the incredible food!!!).
I look forward to see you all on the line!
I think we all left with a rekindled spirit. MO and Rob are good presenters, they kept us engaged. Having the new COF presented to us helped us to understand it. This was my 6th IBC and by far the best.
Check out the fancy muddy girl camo rifle I was loaned in the cross legged sitting photo. Shootinshorty was very happy to loan it to me, as she giggled when asking dad to get it.
Mike
Absolutely the best IBC I've ever attended! Many thanks to Maximum Ordinate and Captain. So many great tips on how to better instruct. You guys did a fantastic job!
I'd also add that the Appleseed Academy videos were a great way to get a head start on everything we covered. I'm a little anxious, but also excited to try out the new course of fire. Looking forward to seeing how it will improve our effectiveness.
It was a good time. Very much worth the time. LOTS to learn. Best part of it was hanging out with like-minded people.
Side note, I had not realized how scruffy I had become in the last couple of months. If anyone is curious, I'm the one in the purple shirt next to TwinEagles in the group photo. **)
Not really. That is an incredibly nice young lady that is a part of what appears to be an incredible family.
This was a great event! We learned a lot; at times, it was like drinking from the firehose all over again. :)
Thanks to Maximum Ordinate and Captain for making the trip to Winterset, we appreciate your efforts and dedication!! And, thank you for keeping us on task and putting us to work throughout the weekend! The learning is in the doing, so having to practice what was being taught forced us to knock the rust off and focus on execution.
I echo Mike's comment that "we all left with a rekindled spirit."
I've had the chance to put these new skills to work on the trail at Dubuque (4/23-4/24) and Ames (4/30-5/1) and simplicity and precision keeps ringing in my ears when I am instructing. ;)
Looking forward to the next chance to instruct on the trail!!
-Chris (Appleseed Dad)