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The Ranger
Membership
Newsletter of the Ramapoo Rifle and Revolver Club, Inc.
Throughout 2007, Ramapoo continued as a
strong leader and advocate for the shooting sports for
The active support and involvement of Ramapoo
members is absolutely critical for the Club to continue offering quality
shooting programs. Our member volunteers
are essential to sustain Ramapoo operations and to maintain the extremely
modest dues we enjoy. Please join those members already working to make Ramapoo
successful by volunteering a few hours of your time in 2008 to help out. Every little bit helps.
The Ranger is our year in review and our
plans for the coming year, and is a summary of the information discussed at the
very well attended annual meeting on February 12, 2008. This year, our meeting was held off-site at
Anthony’s
ANNUAL MEETING SUMMARY & OFFICER REPORTS
President’s Report –
Just after our last annual meeting, our lease was renewed
for a ten year period and approved at the Town meeting on 28 February 2007 and
was signed on 23 March 2007. Many thanks
to Paul Roche for his involvement and support in the process, and to Victor Lampasso
for contributing his professional legal services.
Our club’s tax exempt status came up for review, and
once again with the help of Victor, our club continues to enjoy the benefit of
tax exempt status. The club has
continued to educate new and veteran shooters with NRA certified classes,
provide a convenient and well maintained facility for the annual training
requirements of the Ridgefield Police Department, as well as surrounding police
departments, and educates and instructs dozens of youth shooters in the safe
enjoyment of the shooting sports. The
We updated our printed flyer/brochures this year to
continue informing shooters and prospective new members about our club. Continuing the promotional material, the club
ordered logo pads and pens for use during the PPA classes, adding a
professional touch to the already professional instruction provided!
With the help of a minor incident outside our range,
we now have a brand new septic system!
Thanks to the town for both the accident and the 24 hour replacement! We never missed a beat.
All members and shooting sports enthusiasts are
encouraged to stay informed of the political and legal proposals made in
Vice
President’s Report –
A few folks do much of the work to make and keep
Ramapoo a viable and thriving club.
Many thanks to Tom Falconeri for the storage shed
electrical and gutter work, and to Dick Bennett for the new target pulleys; Mel
Stimmel for the installation of the new air conditioner unit and trim work for
the ready room; Larry Swirsky for the plumbing in the men’s bathroom; Mark
Spencer; Boris Moreyn, and
With the price of ammunition climbing rapidly due to
basic component costs, the club can no longer offer a brass credit as of March
16th, and .22 LR ammunition will increase to $5 per 100. We will leave center fire ammunition prices
stable for as long as possible.
Since our annual meeting and this printing, our club’s
insurance has been renewed with Granite State Insurance, a AAA rated insurer,
with no increase from the previous year despite three times the coverage of
previous policies. A big thanks to Joe
for his work on this!
Joe Sherman was also responsible for making the
concept of an off-site annual meeting a reality. Based upon the overwhelmingly positive
feedback, this looks to be a new tradition, and we are strongly considering
moving to a later month for weather considerations.
Secretary’s
Report – Bill Schiffer:
The annual meeting and the annual Ranger Newsletter
continue to serve the members as a synopsis of past accomplishments and future plans.
Our website continues to be our “online bulletin board”, with information about
our hours of operation, range safety rules, program descriptions, directions,
and links to other shooting related sites, to include the Department of Public
Safety. The website is also our “online
brochure”, and has attracted many visitors who have come down to shoot, take
our PPA courses, and joined as new members.
Please visit often, and share our web address. If you have suggestions or information you
would like to see on the Ramapoo website, send a note to Webmaster@Ramapoo.com.
We would like to communicate more with our members and
the most cost effective and expedient way is currently via email. We will not give or sell any of our
membership’s private information to anyone, including email addresses, and any
email sent will hide and protect your address.
Information sent will be limited to club related business, and you may
opt out at any time. Please take a
moment to send us your name and current email address to info@ramapoo.com
if you are interested.
Treasurer’s
Report –
Overall financial condition of the club is very
healthy. More members have generated
more income which is good for the club financially, and indicates our members
are happy with the benefits afforded by membership in Ramapoo. Paid Membership is currently at 220 total
active members. The club’s Pistol Permit
Application (PPA) classes has trained 102 new shooters in 2007, and with an increased,
yet still modest $75 fee, has helped generate additional income for the
club. Thank you Bill White for all the
unseen work involved with depositing cash and checks, paying our bills,
maintaining the active membership roster, and coordinating the club mailings.
Executive
Officer’s Report –
Range maintenance is ongoing – “we do what needs to be
done”! The spent lead down range must
be manually removed about once every three months. Frequently,
Sergeant at
Arms Report –
Responsibilities include the daily expendable supplies
and in house organization required around the range, as well as the clubs
ammunition inventory and sales.
Chief
Instructor’s Report –
The range runs on the dedication of the Range Officers
– thank you all for your time and commitment and safety record! Safety continues to be every shooters
responsibility – review the Range Safety Rules often, and be vigilant! We currently have 22 ROs and 5 Instructors
working regularly. The club has
historically coordinated a Range Safety Officer class annually to qualify new
Range Officers. If interested in future classes,
please contact
Winter Bulls Eye League is active in the south western
Junior
Program Report –
Friday nights are active with young shooters. We welcome new juniors any time.
The instructors have the ability to teach any level,
and can take a young shooter to the highest levels desired. We have a talented, dedicated group – take
advantage of their expertise!
Thanks to Joe Sherman, Tony Markert, Mel Stimmel,
Frank Hert and Tom Falconeri for running this fine program.
The Ramapoo Junior Club encourages all of our members to
invite any youngster interested in safely learning to shoot. Our program offers thorough but relaxed
competitive training for young people aged 10 to 20 and emphasizes safe
handling and operations of firearms. Any
parents of juniors can also actively participate and learn to shoot with their
child. We welcome all Scouts seeking to
earn firearms merit badges. This program
is open to all juniors and parents (club membership not
required). The Junior Club meets every
Friday at
Action
Shooting – Boris Moreyn:
This continues to
be an active and fun program at our club, shooting two or three times per
month. Not officially sanctioned, but it
follows the IDPA protocol. Practical Pistol Competition is now entering its 7th
year with two types of matches: "IDPA style" and
"Plates". Plates involve
shooting at reactive targets until they are all down or you run out of
bullets. IDPA Style involves IDPA
targets and varied scenarios to simulate real-world defensive challenges.
Emphasis is on drawing, moving and shooting safely and accurately. If interested, contact Boris to get on
the email list at ramapoomatch@hotmail.com. You
will be notified 2 days before the match, and also in case there's a
cancellation.
New Business,
Future Plans and 2008 Objectives:
- We have included a proxy vote for all members in good standing to
formally change our by-laws to allow flexibility in scheduling the annual
meeting in order to encourage attendance.
- The club is exploring the steps necessary to get all RO’s First Aid
and CPR training. A sign up sheet
is currently on the RO desk.
- Procure or fabricate and install a vacuum system for range cleaning.
- Install used brass repositories and collection.
- Complete shed trim and complete town permit processing.
- Construct a new walkway to the side door.
- Replace the shooting rests.
- Continue upgrading and replacing interior storage cabinets.
- Actively implement Board Member understudy program to involve more
members in the work of the Board.
Dues:
Annual 2008 dues
of $50.00 per member and $25.00 for spouse or second member in a household (we
are on a March to March schedule) are payable as of March 1, 2008. If you haven’t renewed as yet, you may send
your check to Ramapoo Rifle and Revolver Club, Inc., at
Reminders:
As in the past,
the Range will be closed on Sundays during the months of June, July and August
because of historically low summer participation. Sunday hours will resume September
7, 2008.
Please remember to
pick up your brass around the stall, behind the firing line, sort, and dump
into the appropriate bins. Brass is
recycled for the benefit of the club, and is just one more way we can help keep
our costs down.
Help the Range
Officers keep the range and ready room tidy, clean and well organized. This
responsibility belongs to all of us – it is OUR club.
Safety continues
to be “priority one”. Please remember that our Range Rules require all
targets to be completely down range. Also, please remember to thoroughly
check your firearm before you shoot to insure it is operationally safe and always
keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. Please reread the Range Rules periodically.
Copies are available at the check in desk, as well as online at Ramapoo.com.
Wrap Up:
The Board of
Officers is committed to ongoing improvement of the Club and will work in a way
to make shooting at Ramapoo the most positive experience possible. We welcome your continued active
participation in Ramapoo’s programs as well as your suggestions on how we might
improve the Club. Please remember that our volunteers do almost all of the Club’s
work. With your support we will have another great year.
New Board of
Officers Elected for 2008
President Ted Richards
Vice President Joe
Sherman
Treasurer Bill White
Secretary Bill Schiffer
Executive Officer Joe Italiano
Sgt. at Arms
Chief Instructor Tony Mortimer
INFO@RAMAPOO.COM - Is always available for your input, suggestions,
and questions, and will be forwarded to the right person!
