The Banquet and Annual meeting is a Colorado Rifle Club traditional event that is an opportunity to meet and become acquainted with your fellow CRC members and socialize with your fellow shooters during the winter when range activity is minimal. The dinner promises to be a gala affair at a new site this year. The catering staff is the same group who had prepared fine dinners for our meetings years ago before the old location changed ownership. There will be a cash bar available and a choice of Rib Eye Steak or Chicken Cordon Bleu for $20.00 per person including tax and gratuity.

The officers and directors will recap the milestones of the club this past year and discuss future endeavors for the coming years. This is also an opportunity for the members to tell the officers and directors what they would like the club to be doing. If you have ideas that you think will improve the club, this is a forum to present your ideas. Last year several members did just that and created a lively meeting. This year could likely produce more of the same.

One of the primary agenda items of the annual meeting is the election of three members of the Board of Directors. Incumbents who are facing reelection this year are V. P. Jim Brummerstedt, Jerry Davidson and Stan Dial. Suggestions for candidates should be referred to Dave Jennings, dljennings@worldnet.att.net 303 393-1001, who heads the nominating committee. Board members must have belonged to the club for a minimum of five years. Candidate suggestions must meet that requirement and must be willing to serve if elected. If you have an idea or want to be considered yourself, please call or email Dave Jennings. Nominations may be made from the floor in addition to those proposed by the committee, but floor nominees must be present to state that they will serve, or they must send a letter before the meeting so stating. Candidates will have an opportunity to make a statement before the voting and may face questions from the membership. All members who have belonged to the club for at least one year may vote.

Some important business that will be discussed are the changes to our By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation and the creation of the “Colorado Rifle Club Shooting Sports Foundation” as a tax exempt educational foundation. In addition, we have recently been approached by The Sand Creek Raiders who conduct Cowboy Action Shooting events about our hosting them on our property. This is very recent so hopefully there will be more details at the meeting. This may present an opportunity to both increase our membership and revenues as well as meet some great people and add some more fun to shooting.

All members received a dinner reservation form with the year-end mailing that you can return or call Ron Best, crci@comcast.net 303 986-0836 to sign up. Reservations must be received by February 18^th. Spouses, families and friends are invited. Get acquainted with your fellow shooters.

You can attend the meeting without a dinner reservation but a seating reservation is requested for the meeting only.

VANDALISM

Two years ago two short range target frames were placed on the east end of the schuetzen range to provide for plinkers, muzzle loaders, setting new sights which is hard to do at long range and other things requiring short range targets. These were not intended for patterning shotguns (do that at the sporting clays range) or pistols, except those too powerful to use on the pistol range. We expect target frames to be damaged in the course of normal use. Shots get away from the best of us occasionally. But lately, it has been reported that these target frames have been shot to splinters in an apparently deliberate manner, by someone who left a lot of military cartridge cases on the ground. Members caught doing this kind of thing will be expelled from the club forthwith. It is a lot of work and expense to rebuild frames and members have to provide the labor. It is also the duty of members to help protect their property by stopping others from destroying it. These frames will be rebuilt this year, but if it appears that they are willfully destroyed again, they will not be replaced and those who properly use the range will suffer. In addition, in order to reduce the amount of damage to the schuetzen frames in general, the number kept out on the range will be reduced with others kept in the barn for use in matches.

From the Secretary/Treasurer’s Corner

Since the CRC Board of Directors raised 2006 dues and the new member initiation fee last November, a minor kerfuffle resulted due to a typo in the December newsletter. Members paid $40, $45, $50, $55, $75 and $80 in December and January. All members need to remember that your Secretary doesn’t set the dues; members also need to know that they don’t decide what dues they pay. Since the newsletter was delayed, Dennis Reul and I decided to accept 2006 dues at the 2005 rates if received by CRC by December 31^st. After January 1^st, the new rates of $55/individual and $80/family apply. No member can receive special treatment; all members are required to pay the same amount. Those members who underpaid are required to pay an additional amount of $5, $10, or $15 before their 2006 membership cards will be sent out.

With dues payments, I receive many letters. All are read and some are answered. But for the benefit of all our members, I would like to remind members of some basic conditions for operating our range. CRC’s Adams County Special Use Permit limits our operations in some significant ways. It limits our shooting hours from sun-up to sundown, forbids hunting and the firing of automatic weapons and limits our firing ranges to specific areas. Our agricultural and hunting preserve status has to be maintained to enable us to enjoy the lowest possible property tax rates. The currently farmed section of land to the east of our original holdings will be submitted this year to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for CRP status. This will meet our original mission to encourage wildlife habitat improvement and raise our standing even more as one of the most admired neighbors in the Byers/Strasburg area.

Members who are interested in helping and assisting with our wildlife habitat improvement programs are urged to contact Jim Brummerstedt jr338@juno.com (303.772.5145) or Bastiaan Cornelissen, expert44@comcast.net (303.987.2836)