Kinards, South Carolina - In May we told you about the opening of the Belfast Range in Kinards. Belfast was the first range built through the NRA Public Range Fund Grant Program, a project that encourages local and state agencies to work with NRA in order to build or improve public ranges across the United States. And tomorrow we'll be back for more.

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Fairfax, Virginia - Like most of you out there, I've had friends and family deliver that inquisitive look when telling them that I work for the National Rifle Association. I usually just break out a smile, slap my hand on their back and explain how they'd be hard-pressed to find a better group of people. That assertion has proven to be true when I've hit the road for Annual Meeting, Camp Perry and Friends Events like the one earlier this month in New Jersey. And apparently, that goes for the good people of Knoxville, Tennessee, too.

When Elizabeth Bush, National Manager of NRA Clubs, Associations and Range Services, arrived back from lunch, there was a cake waiting for her.

"The Knoxville Visitor's Bureau surprised us with the cake," said Bush. "Apparently they are excited about the opportunity to work with us. Come have a piece!"

Always available to lend a hand, I finished my lunch, knocked on Bush's door and partook in the first piece. Chocolate!

Chicago, Illinois - The life of an Executive Director is a busy one. That couldn't be any more true for Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson. While he originally planned to attending the opening of Chicago's NRA Club Leadership and Development Workshop, pressing issues on the local and state levels demanded his attention. But true to his pledge, Mr. Pearson was able to pull away in order to attend the afternoon session of the seminar.

"I don't want to take up too much of your time as the staff from NRA headquarters has so much to share," said Pearson. "But I'll be here to answer any questions you might have during the breaks and after the presentations."

And there he was, taking questions and delivering answers well after the day was done. Even those in attendance from out of state stepped forward for a chance to utilize Pearson's vast expertise in the firearms arena.

"It's important to have leadership from the state associations attend these workshops," said NRA Clubs and Associations Marketing Manager Son Nguyen. "Having Mr. Pearson here is a real benefit to us and everyone who attended the seminar today."

Chicago, Illinois - Francisco Lee has been working at the National Rifle Association for a little more than a year now. As a Financial Coordinator, he's one of those who has a better understanding of where the money raised at NRA Friends Events end up. So obviously he's the perfect choice to tell our Chicago participants about Friends of NRA.

"Friends of NRA was established back in 1992," he started. "The net profit raised and these events is split between the state and the national associations."

He stopped for a moment on the Friends Banquets to go over all the can be accomplished. In addition to being a proven fund raiser, Friends Banquets are the perfect opportunity to find like-minded people, make new friends and maybe even find a local decision maker or two.

Grants were another popular subject for Francisco. Some passed out by the State Fund Committees, others passed out by the NRA Foundation, there are plenty of opportunities to find the funds for that firearm related subject you're developing.

And if you can't figure out where to start, call headquarters at 703-267-1000 and ask for Francisco Lee.

Chicago, Illinois - My turn to step up to the mike and to the crowd here at the Hilton Garden Inn (located just outside of Chicago's O'Hare Airport) came a little over an hour ago. Unfortunately there were two problems; people had tons of question and Tori had my camera.

The tons of questions meant I couldn't get to everything I prepared. Left on the plate were good portions of the web design and search engine optimization sections. Maybe I'll move that to the front of my presentation during the next workshop.

As for Tori with the camera, well, we'll go over how to use a zoom lens next week at headquarters.

After the afternoon break (which include three pieces of chocolate cake for some of us), Son continued with his hosting duties by introducing Miranda Bond, Grass Roots Coordinator for NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.

Miranda hit the highlights when it came to the issues facing residents of Illinois, the battles on Capitol Hill, and how to get more involved with that side of NRA's operation.

The schedule tells us that we'll be hearing from Friends of NRA, Youth Programs, Collegiate Shooting and maybe even a visit from the Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Like I said earlier, we've a lot going on at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Chicago, Illinois - While waiting for Eric Whitescarver from NRA Range Services to begin his presentation at our Club Leadership & Development Workshop in Chicago, Sherri Judd (NRA Youth Programs) and Tori Croft (NRA Collegiate Programs) called me over for a pre-presentation pow-wow. What I'm going to cover, what they're going to cover, what we might have to leave out. There's just so much information and so little time. But now is the time for Eric to get underway.

"The Range Technical Team Advisers have worked with more than 1,800 ranges since 1991," said Whitescarver. "I have about 120 people across the country that can come out to your range, offer opinions and observations on what you're trying to accomplish. We can help if you're just starting out of if you've been there for decades."

Eric went on to tell us how gun ranges are disappearing across the United States. How a safe, well run operation benefits the members, the community and shooting sports in general. It can mean the difference between a one time visit and a life time membership/commitment.

If you'd like to learn more about NRA Range Services and how can they can assist your operation, drop them a line at (877) NRA-RANGE (672-7264) or email range@nrahq.org.

Chicago, Illinois - The last of NRA's staff arrived in Chicago Friday night for a final once over of the plan. And what's the plan? To transfer as much information as possible to the people make their way out to the Hilton Garden Inn for today's Leadership and Development Workshop. Located only a few miles from O'Hare International Airport, the Chicago seminar is the final workshop of 2011. Guess the pressure is on.

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In the past two weeks, NRAblog has traveled from Fairfax, Virginia to Newark, New Jersey to Albuquerque, New Mexico until landing a few minutes ago in Chicago, Illinois. Well, technically, we landed just outside of Chicago in the suburb of Des Plaines. And it's all for the NRA Club Leadership and Development Workshop.

Having lived in the city for a few years, I'm anxious to get out and see what's changed and what has stayed the same. Gino's East with some of the best pizza in the world. The various places of interest in and around Wrigleyville. And if there's time, maybe a trip to Navy Pier.

But all of that will have to wait as we get things ready for tomorrow's seminar. So check in with us then, bright and early, as the Club Leadership & Development Workshop gets underway.

The final Club Leadership & Development Workshop in 2011 starts tomorrow morning in Chicago, Illinois. A perfect place to learn how to make your firearms related operation run just a little big smoother, the amount of information you can compile from NRA Staff and the outside experts will be well worth the trip. If you live in the Chicagoland area, or within driving distance, this is an opportunity too good to pass up.

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