PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
By Ronald L. Schmeits, President

Help Give Freedom An Extended Family

If you're like me, the more the days shorten and the sun swings back to the south, the more your thoughts return to the joys of hunting and shooting.

Maybe it's the whistle of mourning doves' wings you hear just before sunset as they make a last flight for water before roosting for the night. Or maybe it's the deer across the bean field you see every day on your drive to work, the morning sun making their reddish summer coats stand out against the green.

Hunting and recreational shooting are a big part of what brought me to the NRA. And this time of year evokes many fond memories of hunting and shooting for me, as I suspect it does for you.

Think back and remember your own first experiences shooting.

Maybe your dad took you pheasant hunting on a frosty November morning when you could see your breath hang in the air like smoke. Or maybe your grandmother took your hands in hers and showed you how to squeeze the trigger on grandpa's old Winchester .22.

I bet those memories still come back to you every time you smell the powder from a spent .22 cartridge. And I would argue they're a big part of the reason why you care so much about this cause.

That's why, as president of the NRA, I'm calling on you today to help give another new shooter fond memories of his or her first time shooting.

I have always been a big believer in getting young people involved in the shooting sports. The good news is there are many opportunities to do just that, and your NRA is here to help.

Whether it's through our Youth Sportsfests or Shooting Sports Camps, our Marksmanship Qualification Program, or our cooperative efforts with the Boy Scouts, Royal Rangers, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, American Legion or U.S. Jaycees, thanks to your NRA membership, we're reaching more than a million young people every year with the fun and satisfaction of safe shooting.

At summer camps and weekend events, it's all happening right now in communities across America.
One of my own favorite NRA efforts on behalf of young people is the Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC).

yhec picks up where state- and provincial-level hunter-safety training leave off, and gives kids hands-on, practical experience in eight gun-safety and hunting skills areas: from rifle, bow and muzzleloader shooting at life-sized targets, to wildlife identification, orienteering and more.

About 50,000 young men and women participate in yhec every year, and more than a million since the program started in 1985. Each year, "the best of the best" advance to the NRA International Youth Hunter Education Challenge, held in late July at one of my favorite places, the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico—not far from my home.

This jewel in NRA's crown is a 33,000-acre, world-class hunting and marksmanship training facility in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that offers year-round competitive, educational and recreational activities in all shooting disciplines.

It also serves as the venue for the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp, a two-week event hosted twice every summer during which 13- to 17-year-olds can get world-class instruction in rifle, pistol, shotgun, blackpowder and archery marksmanship.

Although these particular programs happen to be near my own home and heart, the fact is, the NRA has gun-safety and shooting programs for everyone who wants to own any gun for any lawful reason, no matter their age, gender or area of interest.

I urge you to take advantage of all the NRA does to introduce someone new to our family and our freedom.

Maybe it's a single mom who just doesn't have the time or resources to take her son shooting. Maybe it's your brother's daughter who lives in a big city, who knows nothing more about firearms than what the media tell her about "guns and crime."

Whether you're a parent, grand-parent or merely an acquaintance or neighbor, there are many ways you can "return the favor for freedom," so to speak, by helping someone else form the same kinds of fond memories of the shooting sports we all share.

At the least, you'll help dispel some of the lies about firearms and freedom that our kids hear. You might plant the seed that grows into a lifelong passion.

In so doing, you can help build our coalition, bolster our cause and benefit every American.