What a weekend at South Kent Sportsman's Club, in Dorr, Michigan, with 13 great students, seven awesome instructors, and four Michigan seasons!
I could not have asked for better groups of students or instructors. You soaked up the instruction and history, had amazing positive attitudes come wind, rain, or hail (three times), and showed tremendous improvement.
Don and Ethan, great job running centerfires. The rifles were the same Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon; the improvements we saw were due to the shooters behind the sights. Well done!
Tim, you showed constant improvement Saturday and Sunday and were rewarded with a Rifleman patch. Congratulations!
Louisa and Alex, you said you were new shooters but you didn't act like it, and your scores were amazing. (Seriously.) You're knocking on the door. You're off to a great safe and proficient start in rifle marksmanship. Practice...and come back and see us again.
Ted, John, you were "hammers" from the beginning and fantastic guys. Congratulations to Ted on scoring Rifleman repeatedly. John, I wish we'd been able to keep you longer, I have a patch just waiting for you.
Fritz and Eric, our two repeat Appleseeders. It's been a long time since we worked together in 2016 at Caledonia, and it was great to see you.
Scott, congratulations on scoring not just Rifleman, but Distinguished Rifleman with three scores in the Distinguished range! I also want to thank you for your compliment on Sunday afternoon, from someone who has been there and done that, it meant a lot to us.
Max, well done. Earning a patch at your first Appleseed is rare; earning one as a youth shooter is even more rare. You clearly benefitted from your father's instruction and committed to learning and proving what you had learned. Fantastic job!
Alex and Jason, it was great working with you and you both improved. Come back!
We appreciate that you helped us honor those who gave their lives on April 19, 1775, with a memorial volley. Decisions made by those who came before us set the stage for our lives. Let's pay that forward and help those who come after us. Think about what you can do for your community and those around you.
Thank you to South Kent Sportsman's Club for hosting us again, even on a club work day when ranges are generally closed. It was a privilege to present the club president with a certificate from Project Appleseed thanking the club for its hospitality.
Finally, to my instructor corps. You folks make this easy. Thank you for coming from near and far to give the shooters a good experience (a better one than listening to me all weekend, to be sure!) Thank you to Click, 3.Dogs, MrZeke, wingwrench, icychicken, Fidget, and welcome to our newest AppleCore member, Ewok!
I look forward to seeing each of you on down the trail! Oz
OP updated.
The event was an energetic and captivating weekend full of great instructors and awesome students.
Despite the unpredictable weather - warm one minute, cold the next, with hail, snow, rain, sun, and cloudy skies all making appearances - the students were troopers and succeeded.
Thank you all for showing up, and for the dedication and overwhelmingly positive and teachable attitudes. It was a pleasure working with you and I look forward to seeing all of you in the future!