It was an eye opening task for me to organize this year’s event. I had the task of being the Range Officer of Range 4 in the 2 prior years. I knew what to do there, however at no time did I have any knowledge of what was required to successfully organize the entire event. In addition, there were no prior event reports available from previous Open House Chairs. So Where to begin?
I organized an initial meeting, in May, where a number of members and BOD Directors attended.
Anthony, Claude, Johnny, Jack, and Mark along with a number of new members showed up. At that meeting the Ammunition requirements were finalized, and the next day I submitted the order to Reliable Guns, after having determined they were the most cost effective.
In addition, with the priceless help from Anthony (Art) who designed a spreadsheet of required tasks to be completed (which I used very successfully and will use that layout for future events). Claude, besides being very busy at his job, looked after the consumables, i.e. buns, salads, etc., and also after it had been decided to use on site Food Truck suppliers, he obtained and contracted them for the event. All volunteers, i.e., everyone that worked during the event, were given lunch tickets which they submitted with their lunch orders, and the suppliers were paid at the end of the day by our handy treasurer. Security was looked after by Art, Claude, and myself. First Aid was handled by Art, Claude and Jim Fellow’s wife. Ammunition supply and Club Firearm distribution were looked after myself, and Jason and Alexander Gomes. All ran like clockwork. Range Officers were Mark Porter for Archery in Range 1, Ron Edward (Trap) and Erling Lassesen Range 2, Claude Murdock Range 3 and Christopher Talkes on Range 4.
In planning the event, I developed a high level of concern of whether or not we had enough volunteers. Although I was assured by the team that I did not have to worry, as the event unfolds naturally by itself, I did worry. Guess what, I did not have to worry, we ended up with more than enough volunteers. Mark had ordered the pig for the BBQ, but as he was busy with the Archery component of the event, we needed someone to look after the actual setup. Thanks to Chris Talkes much better half, who took control of the BBQ, it turned out fantastic. Every piece of the 81lb pig was consumed, the Chef, who supplied the pig and BBQ’d it, did an excellent job and I expect he will be there again next year.
Another vote of thanks goes to Major Jonathan Glaisher, CO of the Air Cadets from Richmond, for bringing his cadets and fellow officers to the event. They looked after Crowd Control at the ranges. Also a big thanks to new Member, former RCMP S/Sgt Tom Forester, who organized the parking situation.
Without the help the help of the aforementioned people, this event would not have been as successful as it was. And it was a huge success. We had just under 500 visitors, so the total visitors, including volunteers was around 600. The only improvement for next year is that we distribute Open House Posters to all ranges and public facilities throughout the Lower Mainland.
Thank you letters have been sent to our sponsors and all volunteers were thanked via our weekly Club News Letter.
Decisions to be ratified by the Board are:
1. Ammunition. Rather than sending the remaining ammunition back to the vendor, having consulted a number of Board members, I decided it would be financially prudent to keep the remaining ammo. The deciding factors were every increasing prize and the possibility that a ready supply might not be available, especially due to the change in our federal government, the possibility of a Democratic Party win in the US (both parties not being friends of our sport, the signing by Canada of the UN Arms treaty, among other gun control climate changes). I will itemize the remaining amount presently in the Open House Shelves in the ammo room, and this will ensure that we will always have a ready supply for future Open House Events. This year, the only shortage experienced was that we ran out of 223 Remington so an emergency run was organized and obtained the needed Groceries from Cabela’s. This will help in controlling the budget for this event in the future.
2. This year we did not have the Fishing Pond because GoFish BC made a decision to not supply fish, furthermore increased licensing fees for such an event. We will have to do some negotiations with them, and the Provincial Government.
3. When we discuss our plans for the Club House, we will need a larger Ammo and Gun Room. Presently it is rather crowded by the 22 Club, our Club Firearm Save, Caretaker tools, and Open House Ammo. I would volunteer to put some input into our design of the new facility additions.
Co-coordinating and chairing this year’s event, was fun, much like flying an aircraft, periods of boredom interspersed by shear moments of panic, and if re-elected at the next AGM, will look forward to doing so again next year.
Thanks,
Hardy Staub
