As we mentioned Friday, Edie Fleeman is a woman of many talents. A champion competitive shooter, she serves on the NRA's Board of Directors. She also finds time to run two Women On Target instructional shooting clinics each year with co-director Martie Schulte. Beth Hellmann, National Coordinator of the Women On Target program, points out that the North Carolina clinics have one of the highest averages of female instructors nationally.

Fleeman reports that her most recent clinic, held October 25 at the Sir Walter Gun Club in Creedmor, NC, was a success. "We had 18 male volunteers out of 42," Fleeman told NRAblog. "Of the 18, only two were allowed to instruct and that was only because the usual compliment of high power ladies couldn't come."

The above slideshow is provided courtesy of volunteer photographers Karen Lee and Andy Meyer, husband of WOT Alumna Jenn Meyer who also volunteers. "I see some pics of Matt Davis instructing Smallbore," Fleeman said. "The entire Davis family volunteers at our event."

This busy lady took a few minutes to answer some of our most pressing questions:

How many years have you been clinic director of a WOT Instructional Shooting Clinic?

Martie Schulte and I had been talking for years about doing Women On Target, and we finally got around to it in late 2007.  With the help of fellow (well, fellow lady) club members who participate in Cowboy, High Power and Smallbore, we set to work. We received great support and information from Penny Gilliam in the western part of NC, who told us upfront it wasn't rocket science ... and she was right! With Penny's help, we submitted a Friends of NRA grant for one WOT Instructional Shooting Clinic in 2008. The response was so tremendous to that one Clinic that we decided to do another one in 2008!  We've done two in 2009 and plan two in 2010 -- all with the support of Friends of NRA.  Martie and I share Director duties -- sometimes she signs the certificates, sometimes I do.   

NRAblog: What is the significance of having women taught by women?

Fleeman: I honestly don't remember exactly how this came about, having women teaching women, but it was something we were fortunate to have enough lady instructors or competitive shooters available to do it this way. We felt the participants might be more comfortable talking lady-to-lady, and we do get that in comments received from the participants after the events that support this. Our first three WOT Instructional Clinics have produced four new lady instructors, and all our concessions volunteers are WOT Alumnae.

NRAblog: What sort of feedback do you get from participants?

Fleeman: We get comments back from the participants that are so glowing the volunteers always want to be involved instructing the next event!  The ladies are also our best PR agents -- one attendee from our April Clinic was responsible for 11 registrations for our Oct. event (and she became an instructor and is joining our club)!

Ladies who were unsure of their abilities going into the event crow afterwards about how much they learned, about the patience displayed by the instructors, about how much more comfortable they are around firearms, about how they want more shooting opportunities, about the firearm their husbands/kids will be buying them for their birthday!

Thanks, Edie! Keep up the good work. The club's next clinic is scheduled for April, and NRAblog will do our best to report on that event as well.