7th step/The "Seed" in Appleseed/Persistence

[navybowhunter]

So....

I'll start off that I am "ALL-IN" on this Project, have been since my first shoot.

I actively recruited with my inner circle of friends, and have spoke to just about every acquaintance I know about attending a shoot or a liberty seed.

As of late, the well of prospective recruits had appeared to dry up.  I have used social media to promote this also, and have been told some have scheduled or planned to attend a shoot, but have no idea if they have followed through or not.

I posted on my facebook account a few days ago that I had planned to attend an Appleseed down in VA and that I would be bringing my camper and any of my friends interested would be welcome to ride and lodge with me.

Interestingly enough, last night my phone was "buzzing" on vibrate, with responses to emails and other things.  I went to put the phone on silent, and noticed I had a text message.  It was from a friend of mine whom I had served with in the Navy that lives in the local area.  6 months ago, I had met him in passing and brought up Appleseed.  In fact I think he started the conversation in reference to some of my Facebook posts on the subject.

Well, last night evidently he had made a decision to attend a shoot.  I called him, since I was now awake, and spoke to him about what he would need to bring and also emailed him the eventbrite link to register.

Friends, this seventh step works.  It may take months or maybe even years, but like Johnny Appleseed, planting those trees, sometimes it takes years for the tree to grow.

My friend had mentioned on the phone, that in fact several of our mutual acquaintances had been discussing this very subject (of attending one of these shoots) for months.  My buddy said that he finally said to himself "If not now, then when?"

So...purpose of this message?  Keep spreading the word, you never know who you may reach or who is thinking or discussing the subject.  I had been getting somewhat frustrated with my recruitment efforts and this was refreshing to say the least.

Another cool thing on this is that if my friend enjoys his time at the shoot, I am sure he will become a 7th stepper himself.  More and more recruits.

Figured I'd share with you all.

Respectfully,

Chris

[FiremanBob]

That's great. And have him bring his friends. We had a group of three Marine officer candidates at the July shoot in Cville. They seemed to have a very good time and were great people to be around.

[FFJim]

Great points Chris. I have the wife and a co-worker attending next week at Annapolis. Should be fun!

[MikeCee]

I can only echo what others have already said. Since my first Appleseed in February 2013, my focus toward the project has centered on the questions "How can the shooting community not know about this and what can I do to change that?"

In the following year and a half, I've been able to bring my home range into Appleseed along with 7 friends who subsequently made Rifleman. Several of those have taken their Orange Hat and one other helped bring his home range into the fold as well.

And I realize that I'm just barely breaking the survace, particularly when I look around and see what others have achieved here in Maryland.

"A Rifleman persists."