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NC Appleseed Instructor Meeting AAR

Started by Stimey, February 18, 2010, 01:16:24 AM

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Stimey

After Action Report
North Carolina Appleseed Instructors Meeting
Greensboro, NC
2/6/2010

This is the official record for the recent meeting described above.  In addition to the meeting, our members also manned a table at the Greensboro Gun Show and spent a couple of hours packing shoot boxes for the upcoming April 17-18 shoots.  The following members were in attendance.

Fred
Stimey
Txpirate
P shooter
Len1459
Hawkeye
Law Man
The Kid
Bulkhead
Karl2500
Bonden
Steves 4570
HEAVY-CAV
FourIze
Iron Pony
Tareece
Skyspy

Here is a summary of the topics discussed.

1)  Contact information for the members in attendance was updated, and Stimey took great pleasure in handing out his new business cards!  Any of you want some, I have a good, cheap supplier.  On a more businesslike note, the members present were introduced to each other and encouraged to cooperate with those who lived near them to coordinate future efforts at events promotion.

2)  An honored guest was introduced to all members present.  This was Adam Love, the North Carolina State Coordinator for Campaign for Liberty.  Adam and I have "officially agreed to form an unofficial alliance" between Appleseed and Campaign for Liberty for the purpose of cooperating in matters of mutual interest.

3)  The candidacy of a former Appleseeder for the North Carolina Senate was discussed (I say "former" because he is barred from involvement with our organization due to our 501©(3) status, just as he is with his other former organization, which is the Campaign for Liberty).  For all of you in NC Senate District 7, which includes Franklin County, Granville County, Vance County, and Warren County, please be aware that this former Appleseeder is Glen Bradley.  He wants us to know that he wrote the NC version of the Firearms Freedom Act, and won it sponsorship in the House from Rep David Lewis.  The North Carolina Firearms Freedom Act is "An Act exempting from Federal Regulation under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained in North Carolina; and providing an applicability date" (according to the bill itself, which I am copying exactly).  For all of you in this district, I would like to challenge you to inspect Mr. Bradley's record.  As State Coordinator for Appleseed, I am barred from granting endorsements to any political party or candidate.  However, I can say that I personally am envious of those of you who will have the privilege, as well as the civic responsibility, of voting in the NC Senate District 7 election this year.

4)  We were invited to attend the Feb. 27 Campaign for Liberty Event "A Federal Case".  This will be an event held in Raleigh and all the event info can be found at this link:

http://afederalcase.info/

I still need a couple of folks from the Raleigh area to volunteer to work a very small table (I'm told it will be about four feet in length) at this event from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday the 27th.  Simple deal:  Hand out flyers, talk to people of like interests, and generally promote Appleseed at a Campaign for Liberty event, with whom we will be working more and more this year, I expect.

5)  As I've already reported, Appleseed will be featured in a regional drag racing series on a truck owned by HEAVY-CAV.  Here is the link to the PTRA Web Site.  The Appleseed Project Link is about half way down the page on the right.  

http://www.headsupsuperseries.com/

I think this could be a very good opportunity to spread the word about our intentions and goals.  Please go to this website, review the schedule, and let me know if you will be willing to attend one of these events.  I sure will, because it looks like a lot of fun.

6)  The First Annual Charlotte-area Appleseed Project BBQ is scheduled for March 27th at 5:00 pm.  According to HEAVY-CAV, "We are working on the flyer and everybody on this e-mail is invited, but it is well staffed with Stimey as our Guest Speaker.  In honor of Stimey we will be doing Texas Brisket along with traditional Eastern Style BBQ."  Actually, I'm the one who's quite honored.  Present at this affair will be members from many Charlotte-area civic organizations which are quite interested in our message.  

7)  A point raised at this meeting was that Appleseed has a Facebook page, and that it was underutilized.  I'll say.  Many of us present, myself included, were not even aware the page existed.  Therefore, we should be redoubling our efforts to find a way to use this resource.  Anybody out there on Facebook that could help us out on this?  I'm not, and know nothing about Facebook, so I need someone to take this task on.

8)  It was recommended to me that I should make it a point to contact the "Keith Larson Show", which is an AM radio talk show in Charlotte during morning drive, the purpose being to introduce Appleseed and to promote local events.  I am quite willing to do this, but I want to have a local event to promote first.  Therefore, I need my Charlotte guys to find me a range or facility that is willing to host an event for us within reasonable distance.  I am checking into a facility I've heard of in the Hickory area that may suffice.  Let's keep in touch on this one.

9)  Gun show promotions were discussed in detail.  First, skyspy volunteered to make a list for us to investigate of promoters and events that we can consider.  Next came a number of promotional ideas, such as hourly raffles of T-shirts, daily raffles of free admission certificates, and firearm/flag displays.  A promotional tool that worked quite well for us was to encourage passersby to "Take the Rifleman Challenge", in which we gave them a Redcoat target, instructed them in their use, and demonstrated how it could show them their distance of proficiency with their chosen rifle.  And, if they were unsatisfied with their results and wanted to improve, they could attend an Appleseed shoot.  It worked great at inspiring interest without seeming to be too pushy.  We also made contact with the Pittsboro chapter of the US Navy Sea Cadets, who want us to coordinate with them to put their kids thru our curriculum.  Great News!  Also, it reminds me to inquire if anyone is affiliated with or knows someone in the Civil Air Patrol.  If they would have offered this to my CAP chapter when I was in it as a kid, we'd have loved it!  So I want to approach CAP in North Carolina to invite them to participate in our program.

10)  Instructor development was discussed at length.  We talked about how to advance, what a PC is, how to fill it out, etc.  I suggested that we should schedule an IBC for mid-summer, and was roundly interrogated as to why we had to wait that long.  Turns out, we don't.  There will be an IBC in Yanceyville on 13-14 March.  I have received verbal commitments from seven IIT's to attend, and they are FourIze, Bonden, Karl2500, steves4570, HEAVY-CAV, skyspy, and Tareece.  I've also invited the Virginia boys to send down anyone they have who'd like to come too.  So, here's your chance.  Come on down if you need some instructor training.

So there it is, folks.  Big news review, I know.  I still need someone to work the "Federal Case" event in Raleigh on the 27th from 1:00 to 5:00pm.  I would have liked to have a presence at the Charlotte gun show this weekend, but no one has offered to go, and I didn't give much notice, so maybe that's on me.  The bottom line is this.  We have the possibility of growing this program in North Carolina like never before, and never expected.  I couldn't be prouder of the members who attended this meeting, nor of all those, present and absent, who made it possible.  Thanks to one and all, and let's charge ahead with some of these ideas!
"Give me an army of West Point graduates, I'll win a battle.  Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war!"  Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

Fred


    Good job, Stimey!

    What he failed to mention in all modesty is that he is a TEXAN!

    Those of you in the program for awhile - or who at least are SGN readers - know that Fred has at times been "on" Texans pretty hard in terms of little things like marksmanship, volunteering, etc.

    Like most Texans, I believe Texans are special - and when it comes to a program like Appleseed, they should show it...

    Stimey is someone to make all Texans proud - and more should follow his example (but that's another issue :) ). We are indeed lucky to have him as SC.

    I'd like to see us Tarheels of the "Old North State" - there must be a couple of dozen out of the 37 currently on this state board - step up to show our Texan State Coordinator how much we appreciate him coming all the way up from TX to help show us how it's done! :)

    Even you "temporary residents" of the state can and are welcome to help out with this... >:D

    So, let's back him up by helping "get the word out about Appleseed" to everyone you know, canvass your friends, neighbors, relatives, etc for spots on vacant land we can use for Designated Appleseed Ranges (DARs). A DAR is currently the biggest 'bump' you can add to the AS effort, as each one means 12 more AS in a state in a year, plus opportunity for IBCs (Instructor Boot Camps) and even RBCs (Rifleman Boot Camps).

     The nice thing is, we are working right here, in NC, so we'll be able to see first-hand the results of our efforts.

     T'would be nice if we were to out-Texas Texas in the coming years! ..:..
"Ready to eat dirt and sweat bore solvent?" - Ask me how to become an RWVA volunteer!

      "...but he that stands it now, deserves the thanks of man and woman alike..."   Paine

     "If you can read this without a silly British accent, thank a Revolutionary War veteran" - Anon.

     "We have it in our power to begin the world over again" - Thomas Paine

     What about it, do-nothings? You heard the man, jump on in...

Stimey

 ;D O0 **) ^:)^ ..:..

VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!

If we accomplish nothing else, we can say that we got The Fred to admit that Texans are WORTHY APPLESEEDERS!!!!!

Of course, as monumental as this is, I truly believe that we will astound even The Fred and the Lone Star State with the progress we Tarheels (yes, even such lowly transplants such as me) will achieve this year in increasing our visibility and numbers of newly-recharged American Patriots and actively-concerned Citizens.

And, he humbles me with his praise.  Our successes are not mine, or even his, but that of all Tarheels, Texans, Hoosiers, Okies, Volunteers, and pick-your-mascot Appleseeders from all over the country. 

Of course, I forgot to mention the most significant thing we can all do to grow our Program and further our Mission.  It's Fred's "Low-Tech Way to Promote Appleseed" and I present it to all those who read this post as a challenge.  It's a very simple method.  Everyone who reads this post (Gotcha!  Here's your Homework!) should make a list of people you intend to invite to an Appleseed event this year, with particular attention to our April 17-18 events.  Include your family, significant other, friends, neighbors, co-workers, grocers, barbers, gunsmiths, teachers, pastors, civil servants, elected officials, hunting buddies, bartenders, and anyone else you can think of with whom you interact in your daily lives.  Next, make a commitment to bring at least one of those people to each event you attend, with the goal of introducing at least one new person to Appleseed every single month.  If we can do this, how much could we achieve this year?  Well, let's run the numbers.  Let's assume just the Tarheel Red Hats and IIT's participate in this challenge.  There are around 20 of us that I personally know are active.  There are ten months and change left in this year.  If we do the minimums, that means we Tarheel instructors could reach 200 people for Appleseed this year that might not see any of our other promotional efforts.  What if we got 500 Instructors across the Nation to accept this challenge?  We'd draw an additional 5,000 Appleseed attendees!

Tarheels, let's do our part.  Take this Challenge!  Lets show the way! 

And, in the spirit of healthy competition, I'm calling out Texas, Ohio, and California!  Start the clock.  We'll go on percentages.  How many new Appleseeders can you draw by this method?  This can be an effective testbed for Fred's Theory of Low-Tech Appleseed Promotions!  State Coordinators, if you'd like your states to join in and  participate in this challenge, then I have two words for you:

BRING IT!!
"Give me an army of West Point graduates, I'll win a battle.  Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war!"  Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

txpirate

#3
Wow! This was passed over quietly.

I say enough about Texas and Texans (and I am someone who is damn proud of where I'm from). Let's push NC to the pinacle of Appleseed.  :~ There's no reason NC shouldn't be the premiere state of Appleseed. We're the home-range state, afterall. We've got a good start, but we've got some work to do. Let's take a buddy to every Appleseed we go to, let's get some new locations going. Huzzah!

FourIze

I got three to Ramseur this weekend, and two Riflemen on their first try out of the bargain.  They're father and son and are planning to come back again and bring two of the son's buddies.  The other shooter was my 13-year-old daughter, who is planning to return to try to shoot a Rifleman score (she shot 144 and then 164 on her first two attempts).  Now I've got to continue working on some of the other folks on my list to see how many I can get out in March.   O0
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

Stimey

OK everyone, FourIze is showing the way.  This is how we can get it done.  I hope this is an inspiration for everyone to start/continue their lists of people they will invite to an Appleseed this year.  FourIze has brought three in one month, with two more coming.  If he can do that, I believe we can all bring at least one person per month.  Let's do it!
"Give me an army of West Point graduates, I'll win a battle.  Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war!"  Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.