When it comes to piecing together Friends of NRA events, North Carolina’s field reps and volunteers are puzzle masters. North
Carolina consistently ranks as one of the top fundraising states in
the Friends of NRA nation, which allows its State Fund Committee
to support a large number of grant requests year after year.
It comes as no surprise that North Carolina’s field reps, and a
select number of volunteers, can just as easily piece together a
successful state Youth Education Summit (Y.E.S.).
Just completing its eighth year, North Carolina Y.E.S. organizers
still strive to include new elements in their program. A few
years ago, the North Carolina organizers decided to award $1,750
total in scholarships to first, second, and third place winners
including an expense-paid trip to the NRA ’s National Youth Education
Summit held in Washington D.C. every summer.
This year, organizers also introduced students to a Friends
of NRA initiative that is sweeping the nation—the Master Piece
Puzzle fundraiser. Using state of the art kits designed by artist
Jon Cox, each student painted a larger-than-life piece of the
puzzle using coordinated, pre-printed pieces as a guide.
“The Masterpiece workshop worked really well,” said Doug
Merrill, NRA Field Rep for Western North Carolina. “We had all
the students and chaperones complete puzzle pieces totaling 24 all together. We incorporated it into a classroom exercise and
students needed to complete it as part of the larger evaluation.”
Complete the puzzle the students did! After putting the final
pieces in place, students were impressed with how it all came
together, even with so many hands contributing to its creation.
North Carolina House of Representative George Cleveland was
so impressed with the outcome he will be hanging the Master
Piece puzzle in his state capitol office in Raleigh next year.
For students, creating the Master Piece was only one piece of
the puzzle during the three-day summit though. Participants also
visited the State Capitol Building and the Supreme Court where
Justice Paul M. Newby brought a past case to life. Students even
acted as attorneys in the “mock trial” and asked hard questions,
some of which even the real attorneys in the case neglected to
ask. Like so many years before, the summiteers left one of North
Carolina’s most respected justices with a positive impression of the NRA and its youthful presence.
The summit wouldn’t be an NRA -sponsored program without
an introduction to the shooting sports too. On Saturday, students
took a trip to Sir Walter Gun Club where they shot pistols and
rifles as well as shotguns on the skeet range.
“We had several new shooters, about half new to the sport
and half who were experienced,” said Merrill. “We brought back
Sarah Cox who attended the state summit and national summit
this past year. She was really professional and brought a great
deal of insight to the program.”
To round out the weekend, Merrill gave a historical overview of
the Second Amendment, which included teaching students about
the four times the amendment has been challenged and ruled
a personal right since its ratification. In addition, guest speaker
to the summit and NRA Eastern Regional Director, Bryan Hyder,
gave a special presentation on the history of the NRA .
Always one of the most emotional parts of the weekend,
students were recognized for their extraordinary effort at the
awards luncheon. The completed masterpiece puzzle was unveiled
and each student was presented a certificate of completion.
Three outstanding students were awarded scholarships,
but only one, Kaytlyn Leonard of Liberty, N.C., received a trip to
attend the National Y.E.S. next summer.
“Each year I’m impressed with the quality of students who attend
our summit,” said Merrill. “I’m encouraged with the potential
of leadership we have in the next generation.”
The summit wouldn’t be able to bring together strong leaders
of tomorrow, if it wasn’t for the outstanding leadership who help
make the summit possible today. Chaperoning and mentoring
each student were North Carolina NRA Field Reps Doug Merrill
and David Wells, Y.E.S. organizers Myron and Carol Cross, Buck
and Karen Causey, and Teresa Siebert. A special thank you also
goes to Dick Ellis, Public Information Officer, Administrative Office
of the Courts, who made it possible for students to go to the
State Capitol Building and Supreme Court and hear the speakers
on the agenda. Each of their efforts lead to another consecutive
success for the North Carolina Y.E.S. program, and another year
where the NRA can get a glimpse of its bright future in the coming
generation’s hands.