One facet of my job involves introducing competitive air rifle shooting to people with disabilities through shooting clinics. Shooting clinics include an overview of air rifles, equipment, shooting positions, sight alignment and trigger control. 
At the conclusion of each clinic, a participant has a good understanding of competitive shooting and may even be able to compete in an air rifle match.
I have traveled from New Hampshire to Memphis and a number of states in between teaching my course and plan to travel as far as California in 2010. Recently I journeyed to North Carolina to teach at a clinic co-sponsored by Bridge II Sports and Turning Point Nation. The event was originally scheduled to be held in Mooresville, NC, but an ordinance in Mooresville that prohibits the discharge of airguns within city limits made the use of their civic center out of the question.
We immediately began to scramble for an alternative location outside of town. I called VFW Post 2031 in Statesville, NC and explained the situation to Post Commander Gerry Bancroft. Without hesitation he offered his post for use. At the Commander’s request, Colin Chura of Bridge II Sports and Dave Kiley of Turning Point Nation quickly made a trip to the post to make sure the facility was suitable for our needs. On their way back they called to say the facility was perfect and we were good to go. Emails were sent out to notify participants and volunteers about the change of venue and we were back in business.
Friday evening my boyfriend Glenn and I dined with Colin and Mindy Chura and Dave and Sandy Kiley. It was a great way to relax after a long drive and get to know the people that I had been in contact with for months. Once dinner was over we said our good nights and arrangemented to meet at 8:00 a.m. at the VFW.
The big day arrived! With more than 30 participants scheduled we knew that this was going to be a busy one. Commander Bancroft started the coffee as the rest of us got busy unloading my unbelievably packed car. I had ten Creedmoor range systems, ten air rifles, as well as the floor lights packed into my little station wagon. This, of course, didn’t include the four boxes of supplies that I had shipped to Colin.
The volunteers began to pour in at about 8:30 and took over setting up the ranges while the rest of us uncased the rifles and put on the sights. Some volunteers began assembling the goodie bags while Sandy took over registrations once the participants began to arrive.
The clinic began at 10 a.ma after introductions and a huge round of applause for Commander Bancroft. I reviewed equipment, types of shooting, the components of an air rifle and positions. As I moved behind the firing line to prepare everyone for shooting I realized that I had purchased the wrong sized pellets. Thank goodness for the volunteers with .177 airgun pellets in their cars!
This was one of the most organized and well run of all of the clinics I have ever attended. There were three sessions scheduled with a buffer of 30 minutes in between. Although we ran over on the sessions we always managed to start on time. There were almost as many volunteers as there were participants and I even got one of the reporters to try one of the guns.
When the last shot was fired down range, the volunteers again jumped into service and had the ranges disassembled and packed up in record time. We had to reset all of the tables and chairs in the function room. Colin even endured a little teasing for running the vacuum cleaner.
When the day was over we had introduced competitive air rifle shooting to more than 35 individuals whose ages ranged from 10 to 60, four reporters and countless volunteers. Bridge II Sports and Turning Point Nation deserve a huge pat on the back for a job well done but the unsung hero award goes to the VFW Post 2031 in Statesville, NC. The day would not have happened without them and we cannot thank you enough for your generosity.