John Howard and Andy Lander of the NRA Training Department traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska to conduct a Training Counselor Development Workshop last week. “We had 10 outstanding candidates successfully complete the workshop, reports John Howard, NRA’s National Instructor Trainer. “Not only did we have attendees from Alaska, some came from as far away as Puerto Rico, Virginia, Florida, Utah and California.”

It has been quite some time since a Training Counselor Workshop had been conducted in Alaska. A few years ago, the NRA Training Department created the Colonel Charles H. Mitchell Trainer of Distinction Award, and we asked Mitchell to personally select the first recipients of the award. Without hesitation, he chose Joe Nava, an NRA Training Counselor based in Fairbanks.

Joe Nava has been teaching firearm safety throughout Alaska as an NRA Certified Instructor for over 50 years. He has reached all corners of the state by piloting his own bush plane into remote locations. This has made him a living legend at the NRA.

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At the end of March in 2009, Larry Boyle of Alaska’s Firearms Education and Training oversaw an NRA Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinic of rifle. As one might expect, there were plenty of ice, snow, mittens and scarfs to go around.

Women On Target Clinics create more opportunities for women to learn all about firearms, and to gain confidence in newly-acquired shooting skills. For information on how to a hold a clinic in your area, visit the Women on Target website or give them a call at (800) 861-1166.

Listen up people!! We just received word from our Friends in Alaska. It appears that they're gearing up for the annual Youth Education Summit in the state capital of Juneau ... here's more:

The National Rifle Association is currently accepting applications from qualified high school freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors to participate in the 2012 Alaska Youth Education Summit (Y.E.S.) Wednesday, March 21 – Sunday, March 25.

Outstanding students from across Alaska are chosen each year to travel to the state’s capital, where they participate in the five-day educational program. Alaska Y.E.S. is a chance of a lifetime to gain a hands-on education of the history of Alaska and the democratic process.

One student will have the opportunity to attend the National Y.E.S. program in Washington, DC, June 25 - July 1. At National Y.E.S., students have the opportunity to compete for up to $10,000 in college scholarships, awarded to those who excel during the week’s activities and compete for a $20,000 scholarship after they attend Y.E.S.

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Students lend brush and time from the Alaskan tundra

Last year Friends of NRA started the Master Piece puzzle fundraiser where a piece of art is cut into many small jigsaw pieces and painted by different individuals before being reassembled for auction at a Friends event.

Senior Event Services Coordinator Nicole McMahon recently wrote a story about the Mat-Su Friends of NRA committee putting a unique twist on the process.

Colony High School MasterPiece

What better way to appreciate history then to paint it yourself?

More on Alaska High School's help with NRA Fundraiser ...

Fairbanks, Alaska - Even after bagging a Dall Sheep just off the Trident Glacier (south of Fairbanks, Alaska) Charles "Tate" Moots hunt in the Land of the Midnight Sun was still incomplete. Although Tate's goal was fulfilled, his father's dream of a moose still remained. So with a few extra days and a discounted rate, he headed back up to Alaska.

"A friend of mine, a retired guy, worked out a deal with the outfitter," said Moots. "So I sold a lot of my guns, got the ticket, and headed out to Alaska. I work for the government and will never be rich, so without this deal, I'd never be able to go on such an excursion."

With the help of Alaskan outfitter Rick Kinmon, Tate and his party made their way back up the Trident Glacier to find a moose. Luckily they found more than one.

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Fairbanks, Alaska - No matter how you start, hunting is rife with challenges. It's never as easy as aim and shoot. That may be the final step, but reaching that final step is what separates the would-be from the accomplished. Add the formidable Alaskan terrain into the mix and you might be biting off more than you can chew. Despite such a challenge, Charles Tate Moots, Tate to his friends, decided it was time to embrace the weather-beaten terra firma and go after one of his dreams — a Dall Sheep.

"A Dall was on my bucket list," explained Moots. "An opportunity came up and I jumped at it,".

But hunting Dall sheep entails more than throwing a rifle in your truck and heading to your favorite spot ... unless your favorite spot is somewhere along Alaska's Trident Glacier. Based in a mountain range almost a hundred miles south southeast of Fairbanks, the Trident is an unforgiving region of rock and ice. Getting there is an accomplishment all to itself.

More on Tate Moots' Alaskan Dall Sheep hunt ...

Thanks to Larry Boyle of Alaska’s Firearms Education and Training for the following update and photos, which Elizabeth Hellmann passed along to NRAblog:

“Here are a couple of photos from the Women On Target^® Big Game Rifle clinic Alex and I did on Sunday, March 29, 2009. It was a state holiday so the range was closed to the public and we had the place to ourselves.

It was windy enough to blow the targets over eventually. You can see the volcanic ash from the Mount Redoubt eruption on the snow in the photos. The 11 women, including a mother-daughter duo, had the opportunity to shoot .270, 7mm-08, .308, and .30-06.

Everyone did very well in stepping up from the .22 rifles. The temps were in the mid-20’s and the snow kept the volcanic ash from blowing around (final picture in the slideshow above).

NRAblog heard another Alaskan Women On Target^® Instructional Shooting Clinic will soon focus extensively on Bear Safety, and the types of guns and ammunition necessary in bear country. It too will directed by Larry Boyle and his wife, Alex Brown.

Find a Women On Target^® Instructional Shooting Clinic near you!

The following is an excerpt from the Alaska Friends of NRA article found in the upcoming edition of Traditions, the publication of The NRA Foundation. It comes to us from Nicole McMahon.

Anchorage, Alaska - In early 2007, the Alaska Friends of NRA took a long hard look at their Anchorage Banquet. Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska and has over a third of its population, yet the Anchorage banquet had struggled for many years. In 2004 they had 155 people in attendance and netted just over $8,000.

A flash of brilliance hit State Fund Committee Chairman Scott Hamann: "What if we transformed the Anchorage Banquet into the Alaska State Friends of NRA Banquet?" This idea caught on like wildfire throughout the entire Alaska Friends of NRA. However, they did not just want to change the name, they wanted to rewrite the book. The goal of the Alaska State Friends of NRA banquet would be to have the biggest and the most exciting banquet in Alaska.

To have a committee of this scope, size and objective, a strong leader is needed and that leader is Denny Hamann. He leads by example and has an incredible ability to break an obstacle down to its smallest parts and then eliminate them one by one. A strong leader is not the only part vital to creating an outstanding banquet; it also takes a strong committee, which the Alaska State Friends of NRA committee is.

The First Annual Alaska State Friends of NRA Banquet was held in October of 2007. The committee worked around the clock to ensure that their banquet was a success. All their hard work paid off as they held a fantastic, fun banquet and netted over $56,000. At the end of the night, when all the numbers were crunched, Hamann looked dejected. When asked why he responded, "I wanted $75,000!"

At the 2008 Alaska State Fund Committee meeting, the State Committee vowed that they would go over $100,000 in 2008. To do this, they would need the other committees pledging their support, which they unanimously received.

To learn more about Friends of NRA, visit FriendsofNRA.org. If you are interested in getting involved in a Friends of NRA Committee, contact your local NRA Field Representative.