The Payson Roundup has a great article by Max Foster about an outstanding teen shooter and his team team receiving a grant from their local Friends of NRA committee.

Payson teen shoots down national honor

Shooting has been a huge part of Donnie Smith’s life since his parents gave him his first .22 rifle when he was just 8 years of age.

Now 13 and a student at Rim Country Middle School, Donnie has turned his passion for competitive shooting into what he hopes will eventually yield a university scholarship offer.

“Texas Christian, Utah, North Carolina and Ohio State all have small bore shooting teams,” he said. “I’d like to go to one of those.”

The path to a scholarship is undoubtedly a challenging one, but Donnie is off to a rip-roaring start as evidenced by his participation on the Arizona Junior High Power Rifle Team that won the prestigious Minute Man Trophy as top junior team at the 2011 National Rifle matches held last month at Camp Perry, Ohio.