FAIRFIELD GLADE
SPORTSMAN CLUB
NEWSLETTER
August 2006
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FAIRFIELD GLADE SPORTSMAN CLUB
NEWSLETTER
JULY 2006
Dear Member – This newsletter is being sent via U.S. Mail only to our non-E-mail members. E-mail members can
read this newsletter by visiting our web site – www.ffgsc.com.
Over the past two or three years, our board has been looking at different means of expanding our non-shooting
amenities in order to get more of our members involved in club activities. Primary amenities considered were the
possible addition to our present clubhouse or the building of a separate pavilion. With those items in mind, we sent
out a questionnaire late last year to get some guidance from our members on how we might direct our monies and
efforts. The results of this poll were quite discouraging but they did reveal the “position” of about 90% of our
members. Of the 400 questionnaires sent out, only 36 were returned – presumably most of them by already active
members. Our board believed we would get up to 100 replies, giving us some inputs from at least a reasonable
percentage of our inactive members, but that was not the case. Most of those responding felt that we should expand
our shooting amenities when deemed necessary and perhaps add on to our clubhouse instead of building a
separate pavilion. If we pursue either option, it is now apparent, based on these replies, that it would be done to
further support a shooting amenity. The question on members volunteering to help out during open hours was also
disappointing. Most members felt that our board is doing a “good job” in running the club, but words and lip service
are of no help when it comes to doing club jobs. To alleviate this long standing lack of help, our club recently hired
our first full time cashier and paid employee in the person of Shirley Beaver. Shirley and our treasurer, Pete
Brennen, have initiated an accounting procedure with which both are familiar. Shirley has previously worked as a
cashier and has fit into this position very well. Prior to this year, a total of three to six members would bring their own
lawn tractors to mow the four + acres of grass at our club and trim around the buildings – all volunteering to save
the club some money. After nine years of doing this with no remuneration, the guys are worn out and so is the
equipment. This spring our club hired All-In-One-Lawn-Care to cut the grass only. Those same members still trim,
seed, fertilize and make our club one of the best groomed anywhere, but their workload is now greatly reduced.
The scholastic clay target program (SCTP) is in its second year of club support and continues to be the headliner of
our club’s activities. After a stunningly successful first year in 2005, the consensus of many members was that 2006
would be a rebuilding year or a “been there – done that” school activity to these returning students, but these kids
proved us wrong.
At our 1st Annual Super Shoot held here in April, FGSC hosted eight SCTP programs that included 120 shooters
from all over Tennessee. All of our teams from the high school and the county elementary schools shot superbly
competing against several very strong programs – some traveling more than 200 miles – from western Tennessee.
In regards to this particular event, our club wants to make this Super Shoot an annual event here in April
representing the “who’s-who” of SCTP programs in the state. Shooting against the best will tell you where your team
stands in preparation for the upcoming regional, state and national championships. Our club can handle as many as
150 shooters in a one-day event, especially since we are adding to our trap fields. If more teams want to compete,
we could make it a two-day event. Our club had never hosted an event of this size before, but many club members
and student parents stepped up to make it very successful. We are perhaps the only club in the state that can host
an event of this size with all volunteer help. All of the competing teams were impressed with our clubs facilities, our
volunteer help and the smoothness with which we ran the program, and all expressed great interest in coming back
in 2007.
At the Region 3, state qualifying shoot held here in May, all four of our competing squads, (two high school and two
elementary school) qualified for the state championships in Nashville on June 24, 25.
Going into the state shoot, Coaches Filley and Chamberlin believed our “senior experienced” squad would have to
shoot personal best scores across the board to have any chance of winning. I won’t go into more detail on this shoot
as it was extensively covered in the local papers, but suffice to say, the squad really stepped-up to place second in
the state, losing out by just four targets – 965 to 961 out of 1000 to a team from McKenzie HS in west Tennessee. At
the SCTP National Championships in Sparta, IL on Aug 7 to 9, the senior experienced squad from Cumberland
County HS composed of Mark Filley Jr., Kevin Chamberlin, Sam Music, Aaron Ewing and Isaac Graham fired a
combined 948X1000 to finish 29th out of 94 squads. No other information, as to event champions, was available as
this newsletter went to print. Local newspapers will cover the details of this event or you can check the web sites.
Learn more about the SCTP by visiting www.nssf.org/sctp
In regards to our shooting amenities, our board is now implementing two expansion projects that have been under
consideration for over a year. First and most important, is the addition of a combined rifle/ pistol range at our new
club to accommodate our ever growing group of rifle and pistol shooters. This range is being constructed at the
south end of our property next to the woods. The backstop has been constructed and shooting lines have been
located at 25, 50 and 100 yards with future provisions to expand to 150 yards. The second project is the addition of
two skeet fields – one field built in combination with our existing trap field 5 and the second skeet field located
adjacent to the first with a design layout to combine it with a sixth trap field. Both projects were presented at the
January 2006 membership meeting. Club member, Billy Hopper offered to build both projects. An agreement
between the club and Mr. Hopper was drawn up and approved at a 17 January 2006 board meeting. Funds for the
combined trap/skeet fields will come from top soil removal from the club grounds. Funds for the rifle/pistol range will
come from club trap and skeet shooting fees. Funds for future upgrading and maintenance of the rifle/pistol range
will come from shooters using this range. Construction for both projects is roughly 50 % complete as of mid July with
planned completion in early 2007.
At the April membership meeting, Tom Boylson suggested the club add a fifth steak fry each year on the last Friday
in May. Tom, and his wife Terry, have volunteered to take over the major duties of running the steak fries, thus
helping to relieve Pete and Carl from an additional club assignment. We are trying to make our calling list more
complete to accommodate as many members and guests as possible. We like to give priority to members but guests
can very often fill in when members can’t make it in order to reach the 100 or so we would like to get. With our
growing membership and the fact that many couples want to attend every event, we keep hoping that some people
attending one month will be unable to attend the next month, thus allowing other couples, also on the list, to attend.
If you are a new member and want to be on the calling list give Pete Brennen a call at 456-6554. Remember,
reservations are required. Bear with us as we are doing our best to accommodate everyone on an equitable basis.
Speaking of volunteering, our club lost a key member in Larry Eubank when he and his wife, Sherry decided to
move to Seymour, TN in June to be nearer relatives. They moved here from Illinois in late 2003. During that brief
stay, Larry became one of our clubs most valuable assets. He was the main man behind the design and installation
of our kitchen and the rearrangement of our clubhouse. He worked long hours on the repair of our trap and skeet
machines as well as a myriad of other club jobs. He is one of those volunteers that come along once in every five
years and he will be sorely missed. Sherry was also a fixture during ATA events, helping out in the kitchen.
There are still two ATA shoot remaining on this year’s schedule – Sept 10 and Oct 8. If you are interested in
shooting in these events but are unsure about shooting protocol, it’s best to just come out and observe or better
yet, volunteer to help support the shoot. This is an excellent way to phase into a club activity.
Shooting fees for non-members was raised from $3.50 to $5.00 per round of 25 targets at the 6 April board
meeting. This increase was a result of higher target costs and club operating costs. This was our first shooting fees
increase ever and brings our club in line with shooting costs at other clubs.
As mentioned earlier, our rifle and pistol group is very active in different events. We now have three separate
groups in our pistol shooting members. 1. Police Pistol Combat (PPC) was originally started to offer a chance for
those of our club members who had taken the Tennessee Handgun Permit course to have a place to continue to
improve their shooting skills. It now exists for all interested shooters to have a chance to practice. These sessions
are held at 3 pm on Wednesday. 2. NRA Bulls-eye is the best known type of shooting to learn the technique of
handgun marksmanship. These classes are held at 1 pm on Wednesday. 3. A small group is also starting the Single
Action Shooting Society (SASS) activity, which is partial western re-enactment and partial shooting program using
the firearms of the pre-1890 era. Using pistols, rifles and shotguns adds a little spice to the shooting scenarios.
SASS starts off at 9 am on Mondays. All of these activities still take place at our old club grounds off Dartmoor
Road. Even after our new rifle/pistol range is opened at Shorty Barnes, our club still plans to retain the leasing
rights to our old club grounds primarily for the 250 yard rifle range and for the pavilion for the steak fries. As such,
pistol and rifle events could still be conducted at either location. For more info call Paul Cunningham (456-8321),
Dave Philippe (707-9611),Warren Kaczmarek (459-2365) or Rich Peterson 484-2036 (SASS).
Our skeet league held earlier this year consisted of 6 – 3 man teams shooting over a 10 week period. The winning
team consisted of Pete Brennen, Mark Filley Jr., and Dave Hohler.
Membership meetings are held on the second Tuesday of January, April, July and October at 7 pm at the club. Our
board encourages you to come, ask questions, get involved and vote on issues. Board meetings are usually held on
short notice (usually within a few days of being announced) but can be attended by the general membership. You
are free to partake in the discussions of any topics on the agenda and board members can take note of your
comments, however only board members can vote on motions at board meetings. If you are interested in attending
board meetings, I would be happy to put your name on a calling list and contact you when one is called. This is an
excellent way to introduce your self into the operations of our club and can be a stepping-stone for eventually
becoming a board member.
Finally, and most important, our club needs a couple good men to step up into two of the officer positions with
elections this fall for the year 2007. Both Carl Wedlick, our President and Dave Hohler, our Secretary, have been in
those positions for over 5 years and both are in need of a break. Rest assured that both will still be very involved in
club activities however it is time that new faces move into these offices with new ideas and a fresh outlook. The
constitution provides for an assistant secretary to sit-in during the incumbent secretary’s last year to more smoothly
transition into the position. An election committee was appointed at the July membership meeting to nominate at
least one member for each of the four officer positions and the two open director positions. The nominees for these
6 positions will be announced at the October10 membership meeting. Ballots will be sent out to all members and the
election results will be announced at the election meeting on November 14. The easiest way to become a board
member is to initially run for a director position. Our club board has 7 director and 4 officer positions – all with equal
voting rights. Directors act mainly as advisors to the board, and although they share in the workload at the club,
they do not have the specified responsibilities that the officers have.
Keep this newsletter as it contains valuable club information, names and dates. If you have any questions about the
club, your membership status, dues, etc, call me – Dave Hohler at 707-1464.
Yours in good and safe shooting and remember – Freedom Is Never Free.
Dave Hohler – Club Secretary