field reports
Clay Pederson will be issuing a new field report soon! Check back!
archived field reports
Bruce Plate summarizes local events, and happenings in his quarterly NRA Field Reports. This information is also in the SDSSA newsletter.
spring 2006
Dear Fellow SD Shooting Sports Members,
The year 2006 is off to a great start in South Dakota. Your organization has scheduled the
Annual Meetings for the first week in April. Check out the details elsewhere in this newsletter.
The SDSSA has taken a big step with the new redesigned webpage. I want to thank Dan Anderson and
Shiann Skinner for their ambition and work to provide your members with up-to-date news and
information. As the National Rifle Association state affiliate organization you now have a
wealth of information at your fingertips simply by logging on to:
www.sdshootingsports.org.
I find it interesting that when I attend a local “Gun Show” or Friends of NRA event the number of
people that will state to me: “I have been meaning to ask you something.” Please, do not be shy,
you can call my business phone anytime or send an e-mail if you have a request. If you do call
and receive a recording, please leave a message. I try to answer all requests in a timely manner.
With the links on your association web site you can connect to NRA headquarters or go directly to
www.nra.org. Every department in the NRA has contact and program information posted and updated
daily. For instance, you can go to the
Friends of NRA site and find upcoming fundraising events
along with contact phone numbers in all 50 states. In addition you can locate how successful the
events have been with a listing of dollars raised at each event in each state.
An item of crucial importance to you and the NRA is recruitment. Each of your local clubs should be
an NRA recruiter. Your club can choose to receive a commission on all memberships sold. Also, I
have had questions regarding my presence at gun shows. It is impossible for me to attend all gun
shows in North Dakota and South Dakota. The NRA relies on volunteer recruiters as the
representative of the national organization at local gun shows. If you are interested in
becoming a recruiter and promoting the NRA please contact me at: 605-624-9425 or by
e-mail: bplate@nrahq.org. I an anxious to assist you and will put you into contact with the NRA
recruiting office.
As a final note, the Friends of NRA had a great year in South Dakota in 2005. Our net dollars
available for grants was in excess of $54,000.00. The State Fund Committee received twenty-seven
grant requests totaling over $100,000.00. After careful review the committee either fully or
partially funded 22 of the requests. I want to thank all of the volunteer committees for their
hard work this past year and look forward to the events in 2006. The Northeast Chapter of
Friends of NRA held the first event of the year for South Dakota in Aberdeen on February 9.
This committee did some fantastic work and it appears that they did a net profit of over
$25,000.00 which earns them the honor of a position in the High Caliber Club which include the
top fundraising banquets in the nation.
See you all in Lower Brule in April-
Bruce
winter 2005
To the Members of the SDSSA:
I want to thank those members who were able to take the time to attend the SDSSA annual
meetings in Deadwood. It was wonderful to be with old friends and gratifying to meet new
people with an interest in the association and the NRA. Also, I want to thank all of you
out there whom I have met and worked with during my first year as the Area 41 NRA Field
Representative.
Last year, 2004, was a great year for the Friends of NRA program in South Dakota. It was
the best year ever for fundraising for our state through the Friends program. In turn, the
state fund committee was able to either fully or partially fund 17 shooting sports
organizations in South Dakota for 2005. And, we are off to a great start this year.
After only three events; Aberdeen, Watertown and Vermillion, we have achieved a net profit
of more that half of what we raised in all of last year with eleven events!
Let me take this opportunity to talk to you about available grants. You may already know
about the state fund grants. If not, please give me a call or send an e-mail and I will
answer your questions and forward any document that you may need. There is another grant
available to qualifying clubs. It is named The NRA RANGE GRANT PROGRAM. Any NRA-affiliated
club of which 100%of the clubs members are also NRA members is eligible to apply for this
grant. Preference will be given to GOLD MEDAL CLUBS. To achieve the Gold Medal Club Status
your club must comply with the following criteria. 100% of the club members are NRA
members, the club is an affiliate of the state association (SDSSA), the club maintains a
junior division within the club and a quarterly newsletter is published for members. The
maximum amount that can be received will not exceed $5,000 per year. The deadline to apply
is August 1, 2005. If you have questions about this grant please contact me.
I want to remind all NRA members in South Dakota that you can use me as your first point of
contact with the NRA. If you have any questions about membership services or NRA programs
please contact me. I have a direct line to headquarters. I understand that it can be
intimidating and frustrating for members when they call headquarters with a question and are
unsure about what department they want to talk to.
If you should have a question about legislative matters I will refer you to the Institute for
Legislative Action as I am not allowed to comment on political matters since I am employed
under the Foundation.
Respectfully,
Bruce
Bruce Plate
Field Rep Area 41,
North and South Dakota
Ph: 605-624-4925
E-mail: bplate@nrahq.org
