Tanner Brooks made the cut and was chosen to attend the 2008 Youth Education Summit in Washington, DC. For those unfamiliar with the program, the Youth Education Summit (YES) is a seven-day, all-expenses-paid educational opportunity which provides a select group of high school sophomores and juniors hands-on learning experiences in and around Washington, DC.
Students gain an eye-opening perspective on American history and government while observing the political process at work. When asked about his experience with YES, Brooks said, "The NRA Youth Education Summit gave me valuable insight into our current lawmaking process; it taught me that Second Amendment freedoms are fought for each and every day by diligent, hardworking patriots."
Aside from attending the 2008 YES, Brooks has participated in a number of other interesting programs and competitions the past couple years. Recently, he shot against the 2008 Beijing Olympics Gold Medalist, Vincent Hancock, at the 2008 Fall Shotgun Selection Match.
His local youth skeet team, the Hoosier Gun Swingers, based out of Walkerton, Indiana, won the 2008 National Championship this year in Sparta, Illinois. Brooks also attended the 2008 NRA Advanced Junior Shotgun camp in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. In 2007, he attended the Junior Olympic Development Camp, an introductory and developmental tool for those interested in the Olympic Development Program.
Brooks is currently in the process of organizing several NRA Eddie Eagle GunSafe Programs for the North Liberty, Walkerton, and LaVille elementary schools to help further promote proper gun safety to children. “What the NRA is doing in our Country is amazing. With so many extraordinary men and women working together to protect our freedoms, you can't help being awed,” he said. “The NRA YES showed me this in an inspiring perspective.
What’s next for Brooks? He plans to begin college at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, where he was granted a shooting scholarship. No doubt he'll be able to lend the college’s shotgun team a helping hand.