Clubs & Associations’ Workshop Sixty-one NRA supporters from all over the country gathered early Sunday morning to attend the Clubs & Associations workshop at the 2010 NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC. Attendees consisted of NRA affiliated clubs, as well as non-affiliated clubs, NRA State Associations, business owners, or people just interested in the shooting sports. The four-hour workshop covered topics such as: • Benefits of club affiliation • Importance of a State Association • Applying for grants • Range services • Insurance The workshop is a free event and a platform for attendees to network and exchange ideas with each other. Often times a club is faced with an obstacle that another club may have encountered in the past. These attendees are encouraged to share experiences on how to overcome these adversities. Many clubs are not aware of the many benefits NRA has to offer such as receiving money for recruiting new NRA members, discount on credit card processing, having a NRA certified Range Technical Team Advisor inspect the range, or how to apply for a grant. Coming to the workshop is the perfect opportunity for them to learn new things and have all their questions answered. NRA President Ron Schmeits made a special guest appearance to say a few words. President Schmeits stressed the importance of incorporating women and youth programs into club activities as well as club affiliation. “The dedication,
energy and enthusiasm of the attendees at the 2010 Clubs & Associations Workshop during the NRA annual meeting in Charlotte were contagious and inspiring. The capacity crowd of affiliated club and state association leaders from across the country were fully engaged, interacting with the exceptional presenters and the incredibly professional NRA staff members; sharing ideas, experiences and lessons learned with one another; and renewing old friendships while making many new ones. It was an exciting and extraordinarily beneficial way to spend the morning! I am genuinely proud to be associated with our affiliate leaders, and I am already looking forward to another great national workshop during the NRA’s 2011 annual meeting in Pittsburgh” said Herb Lanford, Chairman of the Clubs & Associations Committee.
Attendees applaud after a presentation at the Clubs workshop.
Registry of Events Do you want to increase membership at your club events or have an easy way to let members know about your club meetings? Is there a promotion coming up at your business you want NRA members to know about? Are you looking to boost your club in the community? NRA Clubs & Associations offers you the chance to do this by listing your upcoming events on NRA’s National Registry of Events webpage. More and more people are using the National Registry of Events to get their information out to the public with great success. This huge calendar of events is a fantastic tool for clubs to use to generate more members. The National Registry of Events enables NRA affiliated organizations to list their events up to two years in advance. This efficient and effortless feature will save time and money for any organization that hosts many events or just want to increase member awareness. Anybody 8 l club connection l Volume 15, Number 3
can look at the registry of events to see if there are any activities being held by clubs in their area. Alan Strawn of the Bedford Rifle & Revolver Club, Inc. of Bedford, VA is an avid user of the National Registry of Events. “The attendance at our events has grown, in part, because of the listings on the NRA website. It has also enhanced interest in our club by making more people aware of our existence. When I e-mail our monthly schedule changes to members and outside shooters every month, I reference your website so in case they lose the updates, there’s a quick way for them to find out what we’re shooting on any given day.” If you would like to take advantage of this great opportunity, please go to the National Registry of Events webpage at http://www.nrahq.org/clubs/events.asp.