Lake Country Friends of NRA

Friends of NRA Provides Opportunities For All

From range improvements to conservation scholarships, it’s easy to see how The NRA Foundation has provided opportunities for firearm enthusiasts to enjoy their sport. However, there is nothing easy about raising the funds to create those opportunities.

It was almost 15 years ago when The NRA Foundation took a giant step toward expanding its ability to support the shooting sports by forming the Friends of NRA. With 100 percent of the net proceeds going to eligible local, state, and national programs, hundreds of thousands have been gathering every year at Friends of the NRA banquets all across this country. They meet for a nicely cooked dinner, fellowship, auctions, and lots of fun. The format is simple, according to Kyle Weaver, and the results are tremendous.

“Our structure gathers like minded enthusiasts within a community for an evening of ensuring the future of the shooting sports,” said Weaver, managing director of NRA Field Operations. “This commitment has resulted in more than $100 million raised since it was founded in 1992.”

The format may be simple but the process of putting together an actual banquet takes time and effort. There are the planning meetings, going into the community to market the event and the coordination of volunteers. Russ Miller of Cedar City, Utah, was not sure how much went into a Friend’s dinner when he accidentally missed the first planning meeting.

“I missed the first meeting and they unanimously elected me chairman,” Miller says with a slight laugh. “I didn’t care that I couldn’t be in on the vote. I’m having a good time putting this together.”

Shooting is in Miller’s blood. “It’s my passion,” he says.

He enjoyed hunting with his sons while they were growing up, but that fun started to wane when Miller’s kids left for college. Now the 61-year-old is heading to his local shooting range. Miller, along with a half dozen of his fellow committee members, still head out to the range—but not to shoot. They’re rounding up those interested in attending their banquet.

“We’re getting a lot of support from the community,” Miller said. “It’s also getting me out. I’m retired and kind of a homebody. Working on a Friends committee has given me a chance to get back into a shooting atmosphere.”

Not everyone is like Miller. There is Rick Cook of Weatherford, Okalahoma. Cook’s days are filled as a firearms dealer and guiding people on hunts on the western side of the state. He still finds space in his busy schedule to volunteer with the Western Oklahoma Friends of NRA Committee.

“My time is limited,” says Cook. “There’s a tremendous amount of time and effort that goes into putting this together. We have about a dozen or so people working on this and they keep coming back every year to do this because they love it.”

Cook has learned the best way to run a successful Friends banquet begins with finding people who share the same goal.

“You need a bunch of go-getters,” Cook said. “We don’t advertise at all for our banquet. We just go and tell the right people, those people tell people, and the chain continues.”

Cook has the right system going with his Friends of NRA committee. They already hold the event in the largest venue in their area as the demand for tickets continues to increase. Last year, their pre-event sales and raffles offered the community a chance to win two four-wheelers, a pick-up truck, or three rare guns. They had commitments of 30 $1,000 sponsorship banners and 50 $200 banners. Their 2006 friends dinner raised $83,667.13 to rank them sixth in the nation for highest net income.

“It’s extremely remarkable,” said NRA Field Representative Darren DeLong. “The reason they’re so successful is that they all get along. They laugh, tell jokes, and shoot the breeze because they all love to be with one another. They also keep each other focused on the ultimate goal of raising money for The NRA Foundation.”

Cook believes the credit should go to the community.

“The response from the community is always tremendous,” Cook said. “This has become the social event of the year for western Okalahoma.”

Who would blame them?

These banquets are packed with hunter-friendly merchandise to get outdoorsmen of any age excited. One table might be auctioning a John Banovich print, while the other is selling a Winchester Aluminum Double Pistol Case. The merchandise is offered to the local committees from Friend of NRA. By skipping the middleman, Friends of NRA works with vendors to offer unique merchandise of the highest quality. The package of artwork, firearms, and other limited-edition products has been known to please even the most meticulous of collectors.

When Miller received all of the merchandise for his banquet, he took everything out of the boxes to make sure the packing lists were correct. He found nothing missing.

“I thought they were fantastic,” Miller said. “My wife was saying, ‘Oh, I want that! I want that!’ I had to say to her, ‘Well you can’t have it all and you can’t have that. You have to wait for the auction.’”

Horton said even if you don’t win something at the auction that you’d still go home a winner.

“It doesn’t matter because all of the money is going to a worthy cause,” he said. “So in any case, you’ll come away with a little of something…you’ll be able to protect your right to own a firearm and see some of the money come back to the community.”

If an organization is interested in an NRA Foundation state grant, they must apply to their State Fund Committee, who recommends how it should be used. A State Fund Committee meets annually to review and recommend eligible projects. Then, the final approval rests with The NRA Foundation, Inc., Board of Trustees. Not all applications are approved due to the large volume of requests and the ones who are approved might not get full funding.

“We try to give as much as possible,” says Oregon State Fund Committee Chairwoman Chris Pellissier. “We take it on a one-by-one basis. Our recommendations are based on the community benefit and if they all meet the set guidelines. It’s rare not to get at least something.”