|
|
|
|
NRA helps the Great Western Gun Show, The weekend of October 30, 1999 once again brought the Great Western Gun Show, often termed the largest gun show in the world, to the huge Los Angeles County Fairgrounds "Fairplex" in Pomona, California. But after serving the gun-owning community for 31 years, this Great Western show had been banned by county officials. A few weeks earlier, LA County supervisors had passed an ordinance banning firearms on county property, a move that specifically targeted the gun show. A coalition of parties comprised of the Great Western promoter, NRA and others, filed suit, resulting in an injunction against the ordinance. The judge's decree included strong language declaring that unless and until the resultant court action upholds the ordinance, the show will go on! A tremendous victory for California gun-owners (see FAX Alert Vol. 6 No. 40), show attendees were delighted to learn another Great Western Gun Show is scheduled for December.
The event generated a bustle of activity long before the show doors opened at 12 Noon, Friday. At 7:30 AM, NRA volunteers met near the Fairplex ticket booths and started assembling the 50 ft. x 30 ft. area that would provide a professional and efficient home base for the membership effort. Days earlier, NRA staffperson Paul Payne had utilized a volunteer-run state-wide electronic messaging network to distribute a request for NRA volunteers to support this event.
Paul's call was certainly heeded, as members from as far away as Contra Costa County near San Francisco were present to assist in the operation of the booth. NRA volunteers from many of the LA area Members' Councils formed the bulk of the team, which often required as many as 20 volunteers to efficiently serve the sometimes 30 or more show attendees simultaneously wanting to join or renew with NRA.
One Member said he renews for another year at every show, and that day's renewal would pay him up for 12 years! Why? Because he likes to get in the show for free, bypass the ticket line (the NRA booth hands out it's own show tickets) and support NRA, all at the same time!
"We pioneered the 'Join NRA, Get in the Show for Free' concept in the late '80s
and early '90s.", says Payne. (NRAWinningTeam.com has
learned that Payne funded much of this early effort out of his own
pocket.) "Eventually, both
NRA and show promoters state-wide picked up on the idea, and the rest is history."
One of the grassroots founders of the California
NRA Members' Councils, Paul Payne now
works directly for the NRA Executive Offices. Volunteering each show day at 7:30 a.m. and
staying well after dark, NRAWinningTeam.com commends Mr. Payne
for his creativity and continued devotion to our association.
But it's a grassroots volunteer that runs this impressive effort - retired Marine Corps Drill Instructor "Gunny" Kim Watrous. "We signed up over 800 Members on Saturday. I'm pretty proud of the volunteers -- they really showed their stuff." But numbers like these aren't new to this company of volunteers -- their all-time one-day record is higher yet, but Watrous explains those special circumstances with a smile. "Wayne LaPierre was here that day, and actually signing up new members. Let's just say he was a hit." Watrous acknowledged tremendous cooperation from NRA HQ in support of this event. NRA HQ plays a crucial support role supplying books of applications, hats, information packs and other items. "Twenty-two boxes", says Watrous, "arrived without a hitch." Special thanks to Wayne LaPierre (NRA Executive Vice President) and staff, John Bailey (NRA Membership Division), Jason Jones (NRA-ILA) and Steve Helsley and Ed Worley of the Sacramento office. The event requires coordination and specialization among the volunteers. The majority interact with show attendees who wish to signup or renew their memberships. Many attendees have questions regarding NRA or current legislation, and all questions must be answered correctly. Accordingly, even in the midst of all this activity, each volunteer is trained before meeting the public.
The volunteer's most frequent job is to carry completed application forms to the cashier team, who verifies the completeness of the application, disburses change and ultimately issues an inventoried ticket to enter the show. The volunteer then obtains an NRA Member hat and information packet for each new Member. (As you might expect, another team is always working to assemble the information packets ahead of time). The entire process, from filling out the application to a "Congratulations, welcome to NRA!" takes only a couple of minutes. But it's after the show is over that Watrous' work really begins. "I run the numbers until I get the same result 4 times in a row. We give full disclosure to NRA and account for every ticket to the show promoter." (NRAWinningTeam.com has learned that other NRA volunteer groups that recruit at gun shows receive a $5-to-$10 commission for each signup. NOT SO AT THE GREAT WESTERN. For years, this commission has gone directly to the Great Western show promoter. These 110% volunteers receive ZERO financial compensation for this effort. And just when you think you've heard it all, realize this merry band of grassroots patriots has to privately raise the capital to operate the booth!)
Although NRA Membership recruitment and the distribution of legislative information are the primary focuses of the operation, the group has, at times, served other purposes. During the Fall show of 1994 (the weekend preceding the historic nationwide Republican victories), NRA Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, author of "Guns, Crime and Freedom", held a book signing at the booth. Wayne personalized 1,068 books while the volunteers recruited 1,440 new members for NRA. One year later, in the Fall of 1995, the volunteers held their first NRA-ILA California Fundraiser at this event, raising about $30,000! Both Wayne LaPierre and Tanya K. Metaksa participated, as well as some pro-Second Amendment supporters from the state legislature.
All of these successes demonstrate that, for as long as there is a Great Western Gun Show, NRA will be standing beside them, protecting the Second Amendment by bringing our message to the public in the most efficient way possible. NRAWinningTeam.com wants to thank the following volunteers for the superlative support they provide NRA and the Second Amendment (apologies if we've missed anyone):
|
