State of the Club - 2017 Year in Review

Greetings, and Merry Christmas,

On behalf of myself, my fellow HSC Board members and staff, I am writing this to again inform you all about progress over the last year at the Club.

The first news is that Chase Thomas is our Club manager. Chase has recently completed his NSCA Level One shotgun instructor’s course, as did Lee Fieguth and Bob Wright. Chase is an outstanding shotgunner and an accomplished gunsmith. Chase has adapted to our new Square Pay system that enables us to track with great precision how the Club is functioning through the point of sale. Chase manages our stable of fine young men who perform trapper duties.

Chase greatly assisted Sid Thomlinson, our Level Three NCSA instructor, with starting a very successful junior trap shooting group. With assists from Lee, Bob, and Gene Korby, this group of about 20 juniors have made tremendous progress in their shotgun skills. This fall, 12 our shooters competed against other shooting clubs in Southern Idaho, and even though our Clubs average age was a good bit younger than other teams, wound up being trap shooting champions! Congratulations to all.

Again this summer, with support from all, but especially from our generous corporate sponsors, most notably Silver Creek Outfitters, Gemtech, Tactical Solutions, Primary Weapons Systems, Kryptek, Odin Gun Works, ESS, MGM Targets, Spear Tactical, and others, we had another successful fundraiser. Thanks to them, and to all who purchased tickets to help us pursue our capital improvement goals.

To that end, this last year we applied for and received grant money from the NRA, plus grant gifts, including trauma kits and junior sized shotguns for our young shooters. The money was to support them in their shooting activities. We have again applied for additional grants, and as we learn more about this process, will work to use this resource to our benefit.

I had asked others on the Board for ideas to present to you, and Mat Hall gave me a stream of consciousness reply, that is too good to not just quote. Here it is:

  • Sporting Clay League
  • HSC IDPA Inaugural Season with 80+ competitors from all over Idaho
  • First Aid for Shooters Seminar (35 attended)
  • Five Stand League with 100+ shooters
  • Women’s Intro to Handgun Night
  • Successful Cleanup Days (30+ members over two weekends)
  • Private Lessons in Shotgun, Rifle, Pistol
  • Many Local & State Law Enforcement Training Sessions
  • Idaho Concealed Weapons Training Events
  • Universal Trap (a first in the North West, $45,000 investment)
  • East Side Pistol Pit Upgrades
  • Addition of Storage Containers to East Range
  • First Annual Club Championship (Chase won!)
  • AED Heartsaver defibrillator installed in Clubhouse

There is more, but that was getting long!

We have a page on our website with a list of what our capital improvements were in the last year, and what our goals are for the coming year. Please take a look, and stay in touch by looking at our web site. Several of our Directors work hard to keep it up to date, and looking good.

As a Board, we have decided to have a slight dues increase coming in 2018 given the significant investments we have made over the last 4 years. This year, we had a very generous donation from a small group of members who made a lot of what we have done possible. To those donors, from all of us, thank you. Other members have made contributions well beyond membership dues and to all of you, a very hearty thank you as well.

As I mention every year, our lease payment for the property is due the last day of this year. We would greatly appreciate a rapid response from all of you, asking you to renew in 2017 at the current dues rate. And anyone who would like to make a capital fund contribution, we would be most appreciative.

Anticipating your help in the next few weeks, on behalf of myself and the rest of our Board, I thank you and wish all a Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthful New year.


With kind regards,

Dennis Kavanagh
HSC Board President