2021 Club Review

December 13, 2021
To our members and friends, greetings and a wish to all for a Merry Christmas!

It is that newsletter at the end of the year coming your way. There is much to report on 2021, and almost all of it is good. The sad news is that we lost four of our friends. Bob Stevens, Sid Thomlinson, Don Keirn and Art Carlson left us in 2021, and we are diminished.

On the brighter side, Chase and Jeff Kreyssig have managed the day-to-day activities at Hurtig with fine form. The revolving cast of young trappers have filled in where and when needed, and our appreciation goes to all of them. They make the experience a good one, on the shotgun ranges, or in the rifle and pistol pits.

As I told you all last year, the Covid impacts were the opposite of what would have been expected, and the same phenomenon happened this year. Though there was a struggle to keep shotgun shells in stock at any meaningful level, and at a reasonable price, the total number of targets thrown was down from the million plus from the last two years, to just about 800,000 this past year. Thrown targets are a money maker for the Club, but even with the reduced number, our income for the year went up. In 2020, we had gross sales of about $327,249, and an income above expenses of $28,000. In this past year, our profit after expenses is roughly $69,000 on $304,000 total sales. We now have about 400 memberships of all types compared to 336 last year. This uptick in profit was driven somewhat by membership sales, but also an infusion of other income of about $29,000, coming from PPP loan forgiveness, and grant money.

Lee Fieguth secured a matching funds grant from Idaho Fish and Game to build the handicap ramp, and Katie Powell Hodge secured another matching fund grant from the Fish and Game that paid for much of the paver work that was done to replace the bad asphalt at the 5 Stand, the Wobble, and the Trap range. The Idaho Friends of the NRA made a grant to us to purchase five new MEC trap machines, all put into service.

Vince as usual was able to get his stable of private donors to fund the asphalt work on the West Range and paid for the shooting benches and metal frames on the 5 Stand. His donor friends are also funding the work about to begin on the East Range, where Pistol Pit 3 will be modified to make it useable even when the Sporting Clays range is in use, which it cannot be now.

To those donors above, and our other cast of friends that help us, including Silver Creek Sports, Guffy’s, MGM, Joe’s Backhoe, Walters Concrete, All Seasons Landscaping, Alpine Tree Service, Earth and Structure and Jeff’s Get Your Shoot on Idaho, many, many thanks!

The dangerous high duck house was taken down by Alpine Tree Service, who also removed some of the overgrown spruce trees by the Clubhouse. The Club bought and installed another high tower near the skeet range, to add to the shot possibility with Sporting Clays. Chase has a goal to get 4 machines to each station to add a variety of shots. We now have 43 MEC machines and will want 10 more to reach this goal. We have taken steps to replace the complex PAT wobble machine that is hydraulic, with a new MEC mechanical one that will wobble and can throw doubles. Chase has a buyer for our old machine,

and our goal is to soon replace the PAT machine on the Trap range. Then we will be MEC throughout, making parts and repairs far easier.

We have as a goal still to replace the poor asphalt on the Skeet range with the pavers that All Seasons Landscaping did on the other ranges this year, which are attractive, functional and safe. Further capitol improvements beyond these mentioned is to continue with the sturdy, metal shooter stands that were made by Earth and Structure, throughout the Club. The other project for the West range is a different, covered metal structure that would allow us to move the existing wood cover to Pistol Pit 1.

Chase hosted two NSCA Clays tournaments this summer that were well attended in spite of Covid, where some 10,000 targets were thrown. He also hosted the Sid Thomlinson Memorial shotgun event that will be a yearly feature.

Chase, Lee, Jeff and Vince hosted a kids rimfire rifle clinic this fall for 5 weeks. They often had as many as thirty boys and girls, and numerous volunteers jumped in to assist as range safety officers to be sure the shooting was safe and instructive. What I witnessed was everyone having a very good time.

The ladies Wild Hare shooting group continues their weekly 5 Stand gathering so faithfully, but they do miss their coach and friend, Sid.

The Sawtooth Clay Dusters continue to shoot, though this summer as last, there were no travel matches due to Covid concerns. They numbered 13 this year, and like the ladies, miss Sid, but Chase and Lee are there to instruct and coach.

We have two new partners that help the Club function in important roles. Enid Rawling for the last year has been doing bookkeeping and accounting for us and does a terrific job. Our Shopify systems allows her to track with great accuracy from the point of sale and related costs. Our other partner is Tara Bell, who handles our social media, website management, and the newsletter. She showed the Board recently how these digital tools can inform us about who looks and where we are being viewed.

Tara has created a chapter of A Girl and A Gun. Details about this can be found in our Newsletter, and on the Website. Her fall gatherings were well attended, so check it out.

Dave Sundholm continues to be in touch with the State Dept. of Lands as our lease will expire the last day of 2023. It is a bit frustrating to him, as his contact person seems to have other pressing issues. We have been working for two years to secure a Land Use Permit from the State to bring our off lease targets into compliance.

To close, let me ask all to be safe, and be aware of others. We are all safety officers, so don’t let unsafe activity go. Call it out. Let me also ask that you all renew your membership soon for the new year. We have paid the lease, and Chase has a new order in for targets, and the cost and availability of shells is improving, so come out and shoot.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Dennis Kavanagh
For the Hurtig Board of Directors