Bringing the NRA family back together in the "heart of Texas"
This spring Friends of NRA received a warm welcome back in a small Texas town, returning for the first time in over a decade to help raise money for the shooting sports. This touching story was published in the most recent issue of Traditions, a quarterly magazine by the NRA Foundation.
Marble Falls, Texas, a rural town with a
population just over 6,000, hosted its first
Friends of NRA banquet in over a decade.
In an area full of supporters, this small
town couldn’t miss out any longer on the
fun, fellowship and fundraising experience the Friends of
NRA events bring.
Located near Austin and San Antonio in the “heart of
Texas,” Burnet County attracted an astounding crowd of
over 200 attendees to its May 2012 event held at Lakeside
Pavilion.
Among the attendees at the event were first-time
volunteers Jimmy and Debbie Balsam. The couple who
had never attended a Friends of NRA event before, could
think of no better way to get involved in their community.
Debbie, an area native, and her husband Jimmy greeted
their community at the front entrance and took tickets.
“It is such a good feeling to see people we know come
together as a whole in support of NRA and our right to
bear arms,” Jimmy Balsam shared.
Not accustomed to the agenda of a Friends of NRA
banquet, the event’s festivities were all an experience in
itself for the couple. In a comforting atmosphere surrounded
by their friends from the area, the Balsams
described the evening as “spectacular” and an “enjoyable
experience.”
The evening began with a meet and greet social hour
where attendees could observe the auction items while
mingling with their fellow Texans. The event officially commenced
with an invocation lead by a local minister and a
presentation by local Boy Scout Troop #284. In traditional
Texas fashion, the Texas Pledge was recited following the
Pledge of Allegiance before this rousing group was seated
for a home-style BBQ dinner.
You can finish reading the story and hear about Oregon's future plans right here in Traditions Magazine.