Daniel Goodrich is a Rifleman, not a board member (making noises about instructing).
DAve
That is a far different list than it would have been in May/June. 2010 needs more Appleseeds to keep us all busy.
Keep your powder dry.
DAve
Here is a list of the names that I know of that have made Rifleman in IN. mostly Redbrush and live in IN.
Clay Lynn
Jesse Lynn
John Schaefer
Greg Render
Worksalot (forum)
Swade Ozer
There are more but my mind is drawing a blank right now.
There will be 2 more after sept 12-13, I will have a whole family of Riflemen and Riflewomen plus Bob Hodge has been getting a little after work coaching.
Funny thing is that I have not been able to spend much time data mining due to Gibsonburg, a new range I am trying to get lined up for next month and IEF's I am behind on! **) Yellowhousejake's working on a new survey system, Hawk is always busy, and DaveD is gearing up again.
So, as always, you are absolutely right Fred. This thread might be dead due to working on the future and the best we are going to do is get those 100 from here on out and not sweat tracking down the ones that came before - just no time for it.
We still have many 'Seeds left in the year, and lining up all the ranges for next April is in full swing. Rockers would be nice, but on a list of vitals - there just nice. Better is continuing to run out of those green flag patches!
Oh, and we know California is out for our record, and yes we are pridefully scared...
New Rifleman today, possible future member here- has not yet attended his first full Appleseed, but that should be in a couple of weeks. Joe Harmon is his name.
Blessings,
Bill
Good going, we picked up one new rifleman today in Coeur d'Alene, ID and I'll be handing him an orange hat in the morning.
HH
Don't worry, Hoosiers.... I'll be back to lend a hand in a couple of short weeks. Definitely looking forward to seeing you guys again at Red Brush and doing my best to help with the "friendly competition" we've got going. Just for a little encouragement - We passed out 4 more Rifleman Patches and 7 (yes, seven, that wasn't a typo!) new Orange Hats this past weekend at Athens, OH. - And a Red Hat too!
With any luck I'll drag a few of my crew with me and maybe you guys can claim us as "your" Riflemen! HUZZZAH!!!
In all seriousness, I miss you guys and can't wait to work with you again soon. Don't be strangers, as Hooters Billy can tell you from this weekend, you can come here all by yourself and we won't bite. Haaard. See you on the trail!
Quote from: techres on September 01, 2009, 04:34:35 AM
So, as always, you are absolutely right Fred.
Shucks, T, anyone can be right once in a while... ;D
Now, since you guys are 'on fire', here's something for you to chew on (it's from a board most of you prob can't see, restricted to SCs, but no reason you guys can't "join in the fun"):
This weekend in New Mexico (whose AS motto is "not bigger - just better!") we explored how to measure just how big your Appleseed machine can get - in other words, if you know what "the Appleseed potential" is in your state, you'll have a better handle on how fast you can go, and how big you can get - and maybe be able to better set some intermediate goals.
Here's how it works:
First, attempt to measure your state's "Appleseed capacity". What is the upper limit on the number of Appleseeds you can have in a year? Understanding any numbers you come up with at first will be very preliminary, and understanding also they will be constantly 'firming up' as the months go by - yet these numbers will be very important to know. Capacity too small? (It always will be!) Then you need to increase the capacity (read: DARs). Capacity way excessive to what you are doing now? Then work to get more AS going, and more IBCs to train the instructors you'll be needing to run all those new AS.
So here's how the "first ever" AS capacity numbers were derived this last weekend in NM: 13 locations, each averaging 8-9 locations per year, indicated the current "Appleseed capacity" in NM is 112 Appleseeds per annum.
This is clearly a 'ballpark' number - a number which will be refined considerably over the coming months - but
a number that's good to know, as it guides you on how many AS you should be thinking of, and how many instructors (read: IBCs) you'll be needing. Granted, we counted only those locations we know or are pretty sure we can have AS at, and figured the max annual number per location based on weather considerations (too hot in summer, too snowy in winter) - so that adding new locations/DARs will both increase capacity numbers and allow us to firm up the potential in the state.
We also listed several "potential" locations, but did not count them until we know we can have AS there (you can choose to count ALL locations in your state, if you want to see what "ultimate AS potential" there is, to spur your Appleseeders with...again, this is likely to be a "running total" which will be continually refined.)
We also ballparked range capacity of each location, coming up with a total figure, all ranges, of 500 - which means if we have a "New Mexico Appleseed Weekend" - scheduling an AS at each of the 13 current AS locations on the same weekend - an idea we also broached, which is
the state equivalent of the national "April 19th" events - we could have that many ASers potentially on the line at one time in NM.
So currently, the "maximum capacity" on any weekend in NM is 13 Appleseeds, with as many as 500 Appleseeders on the firing line...
Here's how that numerical caculation could be done for your state:
Site # potential AS/yr Range capacity
Groom Lake 8 40
Denton R & P 10 65
... ... ...
Fenton Mountain R & P 9 30
Add up column one for number of sites you could potentially have on your "state-wide AS weekend" event; Add up column two for your state's potential max number of AS/yr; add up column three for max capacity for your state-wide AS weekend.
Static vs. Dynamic Thinking... It's always important to keep your thinking clear, and understand no numbers about this program are fixed.
112 potential AS in NM? That's a number that's only gonna go up, for sure. But it's a distant enough (in the future - say, at least a couple of years) that for now we simply continue to refine the number as time goes by, and we work out intermediate yearly goals designed to take us to that ultimate number (whatever it will turn out to be).
Understanding, as we all do (hopefully), that
the ultimate measure of the success of this program will be when we have an AS every month in every county of this nation... Don't have enough instructors to handle a load like that? That's "don't have enough instructors", NOW.
IBCs will take care of the growth of your state Appleseeds. If they don't, nearby states will contribute instructors to help out (likewise, if your instructor growth allows, you'll be helping them out...). If you have six Red Hats in your state NOW, you'll have 12 or 15 or 20 - next year, this time. Worse thing you want is to have them sitting around, without state Appleseeds to go to (or, going to other states to find "work" ).
Some of you will not be "in" to this kind of thinking and numerical planning. Not a problem, so long as you're simply willing to "max" everything as much as you can - setting up sites, training instructors, promoting for more students.
But I suggest this kind of analysis, if you're willing to do it - and to do it understanding it's for guidance only, and that the numbers will undergo refinement in the course of the coming year - will
derive benefits you won't expect, when you begin the process. (And, understand, it can be fun to "play with the numbers", and game various outcomes.)
For example, you may find "seat of the pants" thinking and planning isn't really good enough.
If you don't know the "Appleseed capacity" of your state - even the "ballpark" one - you won't have a handle on what your potential is in your state. And, if you do this kind of analysis, it may point out
weak spots in your thinking and plans - like you're under-achieving on the number of AS you should be having - in other words, you can and should be thinking of a LOT more Appleseeds next year than "commonsense" thinking would suggest - or you're gonna need to bump up instructor recruitment and training, if you are realistically going to meet your goals. In other words, "working the numbers" can help you set goals, and point out areas you may need to beef up in order to make them.
Maybe I'm saying, rather than be the scoped 30-30 owner who, going down to 25m to check his sighter group, and finding it two inches low, who says, "I'd better go up TWO clicks", you should be the rifleman who, finding his 25m sighter group two inches low, says, "I'd better go up 8 MOA..."
I don't engage in this process myself because I'm a dreamer, or a "player with numbers", or because it's an ultimate waste of time.
I do it because it helps light up the dark path ahead, which means it helps illuminate and guide me in the coming year.
In other words, it's quite useful.
Back to the Subject... OK, we've got some preliminary numbers on "State Appleseed Capacity", both a yearly total, and an idea of how big a "State-wide Appleseed Weekend" would be.
If we know we can theoretically have a LOT of Appleseeds, what's our next worry? Why, how many we should set as our goal for the coming year - right?
And that will be based on
a realistic assessment of how many AS you can have at each of your locations (remember, we figured the "max" earlier - and you may not have gotten any or all of your current locations up to - or even near - that max). So, while the max may be 112, in NM a "real" number was determined to be "27 AS next year" (FYI, there will be about 13 this year - so one criterion - doubling each year - is met by that number).
But life exists to be challenging, so the number "36" was thown out for next year. Wouldn't it be great, to nearly TRIPLE in a year? Note:
you should always make your goals exciting, not hum-drum - so that when you meet them - and you are quite likely to - there's
a solid feeling of real accomplishment vs. the feeling you get when punching a time clock... But even that number "36" might be a result of
"static" thinking. We don't know how many of the locations we'll be able to persuade (or AS will itself excite them) to host multiple Appleseeds next year. It's possible all of them will be willing to "max out" for next year. But a more likely number would be 50% of capacity as a ballpark number for planning purposes. Say, around 50-60.
The guys in NM, reading this, will blanch, no doubt. But if they go back and look at the numbers, after reading this entire thread, I think they will agree, not necessarily on 50-60, but that "36" is way too few to set as a goal. But I'm willing to bet, if they find the numbers below reasonable, and are willing to work hard to meet them (I have no doubt of that), we'll have 50 or more AS in NM next year. And if we don't, it won't be for lack of trying. And if we don't, we'll be able to put our finger on the problem, and get it solved during the course of the year, laying the groundwork for a future doubling in NM in 2011 to near triple-digits.
Step Two: Making Instructors Next in this process of "organizing" your state Appleseed machine, of getting a handle on the AS capacity of your state, and of setting exciting, not hum-drum goals, is - what?
Why, instructors, of course - right?
You can't expand without growing your instructor base.
Take your goal for next year in Appleseeds - here, it's 36 - and figure, on average, one RH and two IITs per event (sure, some will have more, some may have a bit less, depending on how big the AS is - but this will ballpark it for ya).
So, in NM, there'll be a need for 36 "RH weekends", and 72 "IIT weekends".
Figure your average instructor will be able to do 9 AS/year (hopefully, more - like 10 or 12!).
Now, using these numbers, you know your instructor needs for next year: 4 RHs can handle 36 AS, easily. And 8 IITs should be able to handle the IIT end of things. Heck, looks like, with 4 RHs in NM currently, and more than 8 IITs, there's NO NEED FOR ANY MORE INSTRUCTORS IN NM FOR THE COMING YEAR!
Now, what would this suggest, if we train a bunch of new instructors in NM over the next year?
To me, it suggests we'd have "excess instructor capacity" in NM, and we'd therefore
need to up our AS goals for the coming year, just to have enough AS to keep them from sitting around, frustrated with nothing to do. To me, this suggests you frame your planning for next year's quota of AS not only by site/host capacity in your state, but by factoring in the number of instructors you have both now, and can train in the coming year.
Understanding we should all feel our old friend the Time Monkey on our backs, so we want to move this program as fast as we can.
In the case of NM, we talked about 8 IBCs next year (4 of them on 3-day holiday weekends in Jan, Feb, May, and Sept) with an average of 5 new IITs from each, for a total of 40 new instructors.
I don't know the exact count of IITs currently in NM (and there are a few who for various reasons are not gonna be advancing in the program to RH status) - but let's figure there's ten pre-"red hat" IITs right now in NM.
By the Dec/Jan time frame, if we can provide the training opportunities (AS in NM or nearby states) EVERY ONE of these should be a RH.
For practical purposes, you can figure, in NM, more than a dozen RHs available for next year - right at the beginning of the year.
Now, let's flip that around, and see if we can figure a reasonable goal for NM AS next year, based on instructor capacity, not site/host capacity.
And let's include those 40 recruited and trained during the year, and assume half will "red hat" before the year is over - prob about mid-year, most of them.
Ten new Red Hats by year's end, each doing ten AS next year, plus twenty new Red Hats by mid-year 2010, each averaging five AS next year would support another 200 Appleseeds next year. (Let's not get all excited by the preciseness of the "exact" numbers - they are not precise. But they are good enough for planning purposes.)
Good grief! Looks to me we could "max out" NM, instructor-wise - next year! Even using the preliminary numbers we have right now.
Based on some assumptions, of course - like 8 IBCs generating 40 new IITs next year in NM. Can it be done? I don't know - but if we don't try, I KNOW - and you KNOW - it can't be done.
Planning for the next "Appleseed year" in a state is "the state version" of an regular AS, where the course of your progress and exactly what you do over the weekend is to a great extent measured and controlled by the progress of your students.
In other words, an Appleseed is
an unfolding project, with the immediate shape, form, and frame dependent on exactly what the shape, form, and frame was in the prior interval of time. And you cannot predict that precisely, as you cannot predict the response/performance of your students, in advance.
Likewise, you cannot predict how close in numbers or schedule you'll be able to meet your yearly goals for next year's AS in your state.
But
you've learned from this program that we should never think small, and the program itself has convinced all of us that
its power to grow seems so far not to be limited - so it would behoove each of us to
get out of the way and let it grow.
And
we do this by not setting goals too low.
Low goals can dampen the potential growth.
Who among us wants to do that?
Note: This post should not to be taken as an effort to 'work everyone to death'. I simply want you SCs to take a hard look at your state and develop some numbers.
For better understanding of your state.
Just as we measure our progress toward "rifleman" by numbers (scores on the AQT) - and just as we can measure where we are in that process by knowing those numbers - so we can measure our progress in this program by numbers.
Better, we can encourage progress by numbers.
And by making numbers work for us.
Try "running some numbers" in the quiet and privacy of your home. See what you think, once you get into it.
It's fun.
It's entertaining.
And it's enlightening.
Now, a couple of other matters which came out of New Mexico this weekend:
A "Statewide Appleseed" Event This could mobilize/motivate ASers in your state - a state-wide AHOD, max effort with every AS site in the state hosting an AS on the same weekend. In NM, they suggested May would be a good date. Your state would prob pick a different month.
The idea would be to mirror the "national" AHOD (4/19, of course) with a state-wide event.
There's no question, something like this can add some "excitement" to a state AS program (I prefer to add "more" in front of excitement... )
DARs In the course of "sizing up New Mexico" we found three potential DARs added to our "potentials" list of Appleseed locations.
We all know how important DARs are, and how they can provide a real 'bump' to the program in a state.
There's
only two ways you get them: Ask your instructors to canvass all their contacts - frineds, relatives, co-worders, neighbors, anyone - to see who knows someone with a possible DAR.
Ask at every Appleseed, after explaining what a DAR is, and how easy it is to have one.
In the course of tallying up your list of sites in your state inventory, be sure to add any potential DARs. If you have none, leave the space next to "DARs" blank as a constant reminder to be looking for 'em...
I have contacted three new ranges in Eastern Indiana, and I am joining another to get the inside track. I am also accumulating magazine, newspaper, TV, and radio contacts as Promo Boss. Once my weekends free up I will be personally showing up at each range to drop off information and initiate FTF conversations.
Fred, it might seem like we are sleeping late in Indiana, but we left the house before dawn ;^)
YHJ
Wait a minute I am still at the house today.
I have contacted the Jasper rifle club and have a couple new current names. I will be working on them for a date in 2010 very soon. We all know after that first date it is much easier.
I guess the time I spent getting that range in IL. on board was a hit against us Hoosiers, as I helped get them a new range. Nope, It is all good and if I knew of another in IL. or KY I would be there as well. I don't have any state lines to follow, it is all good for the program. I will be like Slim and pimp myself out where ever for who ever. We're all on the same side here.