ottawa Twelve O Eight IBC

[Old Glory!]

For starters......
Sorry we didn't take a group shot earlier in the day, before some of the MO-team left.  21(.5) in attendance.  greginmo earns a RED HAT!  More to follow.

[hawkhavn]

GreginMo congratulations, knew that wasn't going to be long!  I was wondering how things went, wish I could have been there!

Hawkhavn

[ErikAnderson]

Congrats Greg, we knew it wasn't too far off!  I'm guessing that Amber will be next! It was great to meet everyone and learn some 'trade secrets'. A heartfelt thanks goes to Mr & Mrs Pappy for opening their home to us with generous hospitality.  We're looking forward to making more AS/IBC happen in MO ASAP!

[Junior Birdman]

   Congrats for the great AS and IBC in MO! I see a couple of familiar faces, and welcome to those unfamiliar! Thanks for stepping up to the plate!  Truly a banner day for the Project, multiple ASs and IBCs for the weekend, and all in DECEMBER!!!!  JB

[Garand69]

Illinois(ucks) has a little less ucks in it today!!! More like Illinois(ucks)!!!!

Thank you all who made the journey to the prarie state. While is was truley a Great Lakes/Midwestern event with folks coming in from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri we did decide to allow an east coaster in, I think his name was Fred or something like that.

Thank you all for coming out to Pappy's Place for Illinois first IBC 

[The Guy]

To begin with, it was my pleasure to "field promote" Greg to Instructor Status.  He has been a bit ahead of track, due to hard work on his own, coupled with a love for the Program and the History.  It all becomes easier the more this happens.

Thanks to Pappy and ESSPECIALLY Mrs. Pappy for letting us invade their very nice house for a long weekend.  We tried not to abuse it too much.....

Everyone brought food, and we went through like 8 dozen eggs or so, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  When everyone brings some, all have lots.  Worked out well.

Every event has some personal highlight involved.  While normally, my favorite moment would have been presenting Greg with his hat, it was ever so slightly edged by .5 (Amber) teaching the sitting position with Chuck as her "dummy".  Was quite the sight, as she is 12, a girl, and absolutely ACED IT.  Funny thing was, she had the right answers just as much as the adults, and more often than I did at that stage of the game, that is for sure.   Can't wait to see more from her and her father Brokensling in the future.

We had represntatives from 7 states (Mo Il In Oh Mi Wi NC).

We spent day one going over saftey, and the varous aspects of clearing the line to begin with, the broke into three groups to practice the 3 positions.  Fred and Sheepdog took prone in the living room, Dinky and Colycat took sitting in the basement, and I took standing in the garage.  We rotated through the stations until finally finished late sat evening.

Sunday we worked through the POI and an example COF, reveiwed safety and line clearing, worked in line comands, and then everyone took a whack and a chop at teaching IMC, which is the most easily screwed up portion of the POI.  Some did it, some got did in, but it was a good learning experience to have to give it in front of 20.5 other hecklers, er, "students".  If they can survive our "stupid questions", they can survive any on the line.  LOL!

"Um, you just said a bunch of numbers and stuff....."

We worked on History several diferent times durring the weekend.

Basicly, the sheer numbers worked against gettting everything I wanted to get done done, but I think the good of having so many out weighed any short coming we had trying to do the POI.

Thanks for coming, and making this one heck of a fun event.  Not to mention informative.

Guy

[Junior Birdman]

"Everyone brought food, and we went through like 8 dozen eggs or so, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  When everyone brings some, all have lots.  Worked out well."

   Darn Communist! 

  Sounds like a great IBC, and definately the LARGEST TO DATE! Thanks to all who made it happen! 

[Nickle]

"Everyone brought food, and we went through like 8 dozen eggs or so, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  When everyone brings some, all have lots.  Worked out well."

   Darn Communist! 

  Sounds like a great IBC, and definately the LARGEST TO DATE! Thanks to all who made it happen! 

Well, he IS from Illinois. Maybe the new Governor will make him different, but I doubt it.

Good to hear of yet another good IBC, and more IIT's and Instructors.

[The Guy]

Darn Communist!  

Yeah, but it was freely given, not "freely given (at the point of a gun)".  LOL!

[Garand69]

I continued the original thread in the Illinois section for all to see and hopefully spark something, feel free to add to it.

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=4447.msg46258#msg46258

[Bill 3]

I want to start by throwing out a big heartfelt thanks to Pappy and his wife for allowing us to invade their home.  The hospitality was unmatched.

It was a wonderful weekend.  .5 and I had a blast, saw some familiar faces and met lots of new ones.  It continues to amaze me.  I have never met so many great people in so short a time since I went to my first Appleseed.  It gives me hope.

You never saw a dad's head so big or a smile so broad when Amber nailed the sitting/kneeling presentation, and all the while, the way she "man" handled Chuck(with Dinky egging her on) had us rolling.

Learned tons, even managed to choke(read stammer/ackward pause/rip top off of podium) less as the weekend went on.  Also must nail trajectory/come ups at the earliest or Fred will have my hat(head) on a platter.

Ultimately, the words I need to use are THANK YOU.  For the people, the program, the hope, and the time with my daughter.

- WRWIII

[EEL]

Guy warned us about re-iterating what has just been said just for the sake of talking !!     Sorry, can't resist here !  Really, it was long days that stretched into the nights.  After the official close of IBC for the day...the learning continued even further into the night.

I appreciate our neighbors from the surrounding free states for comming, teaching, helping, participating.  It does a heart good to see that.  And having Fred there, not that it amped up the pressure at all, was utterly fantastic !!

To Pappy and Mrs. Pappy.....Can't thank you enough for opening up your home to us, turning your basement into a dorm and cooking 3 squares for 21.5 people all weekend    !!!!! 

Greg, Congrats on the Red Hat !!!   Don't look over your shoulder, the Illinois contingent is hot on your heels!!

[MamaBear]

It looks as if you all had a great time!  I'm really sorry I missed it.  Erik was speaking nothing but your praises when he returned home.  I look forward to not only getting my patch (soon) but also my orange hat.  I'll see you all (hopefully) at the next IBC! 

[Big Papa]

What a good looking bunch of Appleseeders!
Congrats Greg!
Wish I could have made it.

[colycat]

MOVED FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE......THIS AAR IS FROM GARAND69
There I was..cornered by Ole' Sleufoot, I just couldn't believe my eyes. I thought Pappy was kidding us when he mentioned Ole' Sleufoot, but certainly wish I would have taken heed and NOT been the last one down that slippery dark driveway! Just seconds before I was following Fred and The Guy down Pappy's driveway when something I cannot explain overtook all thought process and scrambled the mission in my head.

That mission was to make a garbage run in my t[r]usty pickem' up truck down to the dumpster to handle the weekend's accumulation. Then it happened, some sort of hypnotic  sirens song saying "turn here......turn here.....this is the left turn you want....turn here...."

Now of course The Guy and Fred are both fairly deaf, so they were able to move on safely off the property, but not me. That hypnotic rhythm had me make that turn with no thought process at all..........and there he was, Ole' Sleufoot, right in front of my truck, so close my headlights revealed the fresh pieces of opossum stuck between his green teeth. I could not believe my eyes. I am ashamed to say I panicked, I through Old Red into reverse and started a hasty retreat, when all of a sudden a great grimy paw knocked my truck of the pavement, where my lack of 4WD had me trapped.

Ole' Sleufoot had me and he knew it. The thoughts began to race through my head. Why the heck did I come to an IBC without my Garand? Why didn't I listen to Pappy's warning?? How can I stop global warming now???

Just when I thought Is was a goner, from out of nowhere Pappy's old chocolate lab appeared. While she was at most, 1/10 the size of Ole' Sleufoot, something about her was very upsetting to him, maybe past battles, maybe she had compromising photos, I'm not sure, but this was my break and I was going for it. I jumped out of the passenger window of the truck and high tailed all the way back to Pappy's Place.

I pounded on Pappy's door seeking shelter from that beast, and then he opened the door with a what the heck are you still doing here look   . So I told him the story..........he shook his head in disbelief   , walked out into the garage and non-ceremoniously grabbed a rope and told me to get into his truck. We drove down to my truck where he pulled me out and then carefully instructed me to follow him to the dumpster (still shaking his head in disbelief). We emptied the back of my truck and then he asked me I needed any help to go the remaining 100ft of driveway  .

As I walked to my truck, very confused   , I heard him mumble to himself somthing about needing to get a bigger clown bat.   

And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it 


Other than that ordeal, THE WEEKEND WAS AWESOME FOLKS!!! If you had the opportunity and missed it, you need to wack yourself with a clown bat! Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina Appleseeders descended upon Pappy's place on Friday night bringing delicious foods, IBC Root beer (get it   ) and 21.5 orange and red hats and teachable attitudes to the first Illinois IBC.

Huge thank you goes out those that made the sacrifice to get our orange hats screwed on right. I missed Friday night so I hope others fill that in, But on Sat. We had Fred in the living room instructing how to teach Prone, Dinky Dao and Colycat in the basement going over Sitting and The Guy in the warm and toasty garage going over Standing. All of us orange hats, rotating out amongst each position. The things we went over was amazing, and if you are considering becoming an Instructor, you have to make the effort to get to an IBC. It is impossible to describe here all that we learned, whether it was direct/indirect instruction or the small talk during breaks, it is a very worthwhile event. Sunday went over the finer points of the core principles of Appleseed and what every attendee needs in their head when they leave an Appleseed Shoot.

Congrats go out to Greg in MO for turning his Orange hat Red during this IBC 

And another big congrats go to .5, for the excellent job she did all weekend, AT AGE 12!!!!! Keep up the great work .5 

Did I mention the contact building? How about the good old-fashioned Camaraderie??

Yes sir, we are now much closer to getting the (ucks) out of Illinois(ucks)

Stay tuned Orange Hats! The tail has been twisted. Anyone wearing an Orange Hat by the end of December,  WILL BE WEARING A RED HAT BY 4/19/09!!!!! We are currently adding more opportunities for you to do that. Work on that IMC and History folks!!!! See you all soon.

And again, a huge Thanks goes out to the Papineau Family and those who Attended the Best Illinois IBC to date!!!
<< Last Edit: Yesterday at 08:52:27 PM by Garand69 >>

[Pappy]

Hello Group;  Mrs Pappy here,
I would just like to thank everyone for their generous donation of food for the weekend.  It turned out to be a great variety of food.  I really enjoyed cooking for all of you.  The house was left in great shape.  I am looking forward to doing this again next year.   Whoever brought the flowers, THANK YOU.  They are beautiful. 

I would just like to say that I really enjoy being with all of you.  You are a really great bunch of people to be with.  I have been promoting the Appleseed this week at school.  Believe it or not our History Teacher knew what April 19, 1775 was.  I will do my part to promote the program.

I hope all of you have a great holiday.  I am looking forward to a break myself.   AS always, Mrs. Pappy

[Garand69]

Holey moley Colycat, You trying to get me on double secret probation posting my semi-fictional ramblings in the officiall AAR section, oh boy this can't be good. 

Dropped that camera off to get developed, will be posting pics soon (as well as Ditchwater pics, what a slacker)

Glad everyone made it home alright, by the time I finished leg wrestling ole'sleufoot, the ice was coming down pretty good took me quite awhile to get home, but only saw one car in the ditch over the 85 mile trip.

So numbers wise, how did we do? JB posted "largest to date" . Call me goofey, but I'm kinda into record setting 

[Old Glory!]

There is so much to be said about the POI at the IBC.  Has anyone mentioned how Dinky Dao explained the best way for women to get into the prone position because female hip anatomy is different than men.  I was one of the models who helped demonstrate the superior prone position formed when rolling into the prone position from the left side (right handed shooters).  Now correct me if I am wrong, but I held my position when I felt my hip bone contact the ground.  The muzzle of the rifle was notably more steady.  Dinky demonstrated this by tapping on the muzzle with barely any movement of the muzzle.   It was almost magic!  Enough so that the whole room full of IIT's murmured ooooohhh! and then some other stuff that I won't repeat here, but suffice to say, for a moment I understood what the women of Salem, Massachusetts experienced, and am VERY happy that Appleseed focuses on the events of April 19, 1775. 

The weekend was an exercise in perseverance.  There were many times I wanted to just get up and leave the room, thinking I'm never going to get this stuff right.  I heard so many good presentations and critiques and it is a challenge to remember the stories that go along with the teaching.  I felt like the information was coming in, but it just wouldn't come back out in a precise, simple and effective manner.  You instructors make it look so easy!   

It was hard to stop thinking about all the events of the weekend at work on Monday (and Tuesday). 

Colycat came home on Monday night and said he pulled out a scrape piece of drywall and presented IMC to the hunters he works with and they were mystified.  He went through the whole thing with them, starting with talking targets.  He drew out a sample target with a nice group low and left. He asked them how much would they adjust their scope.   They answered something like, "i'd move it up a little bit and over a little more".   Coly proceeded to walk them through the conversions of IMC, and finished up with trajectory.   He had them answering questions the whole way.  It was the precision that got them!  32 clicks?!?!?!   They commented how they never would have adjusted THAT much.   

I was walking down the hallway at work on Monday after the IBC, rubbing my stiff neck, when one of the girls I work with asked me what was wrong.  I told her my posture was so poor all weekend, and how i was demonstrating shooting positions.  She said her posture was poor all weekend too; she sat in the recliner and watched TV all weekend.  REALLY!  She admitted that.   I couldn't believe my ears!  So much work to be done.

No time for whining, study up.

[Old Glory!]

Call me goofey, but I'm kinda into record setting 

Hey Goofey, I think I remember you saying you weren't going to haul a master instructor all the way up to Ottawa for 2 people.  You broke THAT record.

Mrs. Pappy, You are going to have a whole school full of Appleseeders.  Keep planting those seeds.

[ben1775]

What a great weekend! I can't remember the last time I had that much fun (well I can but since the statute of limitations has yet to expire I can't really talk about it ). Anyway, thanks to everyone who made it possibly with a BIG thanks to Mr. and especially Mrs. Pappy for their unparalleled hospitality. And of course congrats to Greg for that new red hat. Lookin forward to seein you all out on the trail.

Ben

[colycat]

I'm still thinking about the weekend and its Wednesday already.  This means to me it was a wonderful weekend. It is truly inspirational to meet such dedicated, witty and Good men and women.  Fred mentioned that it was Providence that brought such good, great men together at the founding of the nation.  I see it happening again.  Appleseed has the Washingtons, Jeffersons and Adams after only a few yrs..  What will the membership core look like in a few more?

I am truly proud of being part of Appleseed and very happy that I could help out in some small way at Ottawa.

Garand,  I got confused,  I thought this was a Action After report, not After Action report. Besides, Funfaler took on a large cat with his ltr right in the middle of the state coordinators meeting.  The big cat got away but with a reverse mohawk hair cut.  The cat was last heard muttering" Rifleman, my A..s"

[Garand69]

Call me goofey, but I'm kinda into record setting 

Hey Goofey, I think I remember you saying you weren't going to haul a master instructor all the way up to Ottawa for 2 people.  You broke THAT record.

Mrs. Pappy, You are going to have a whole school full of Appleseeders.  Keep planting those seeds.

shhhhhhhhh don't tell Fred 

[Fred]

    I will echo DragonWood, who finishes up her Appleseeds by telling the participates: "It is an honor to be here, an honor I appreciate very much."

    It's an honor to be associated with people of such character that I'm willing to believe they really are Americans - the kind approved by the Founders.

    To all who were there, a big - and let's get to Appleseeding...

    BTW, I will be posting something I'm tentatively calling "Appleseed is a driven program", and you guys will be able to take the credit for putting it into my head.