Hello NBRSA Members!
I am both honored and humbled to have received the recent endorsement from the NBRSA Board of Director’s to lead our membership as President of our fine organization towards returning to a path of positive growth going forward.
I owe our beloved sport so very much for the many life-long friendships and memories I have made as a member the NBRSA for the past 22 years. While I love to compete, I really love to spend time with many of my friends, whom I only get to see at our registered matches….
As an Alternate Director for 4 years and a Regional Director for the NBRSA Eastern Region for 7 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of serving our Eastern Region members and our NBRSA organization.
Our NBRSA organization, members and ranges, have all faced great financial and growth challenges during the past recent years. The impact of this year’s 70 match cancellations and reduced match attendance, driven by COVID-19 fears and, most sadly, the increasing loss of the passing of so many of our long-time close friends has taken a toll on all of us. We are not alone in the challenges effecting our beloved Benchrest hobby/sport/obsession. Many other shooting disciplines and organizations are also reeling from these same serious challenges to membership and match participation.
How do we overcome these serious challenges?
This office, through God’s guidance and grace, will lead Wayne Campbell, our new Vice President, and our eight Regional Directors, in implementing proactive approaches towards a new era of growth during this period and beyond.
While we fully anticipate the COVID-19 virus will not recede anytime soon, we understand and appreciate many of our members will choose to safely join their friends and attend NBRSA Group, Score and Long Range matches of their choice. Quite simply, many of our members just to want to safely shoot!
We also, fully respect, our valued NBRSA members, whom choose to abstain from attending matches, due to the health challenges so many of our members currently face.
But, how do we grow and thrive in this environment of these and so many other challenges?
We can all agree, there are no simple answers or easy “fix” to help us effect a return to membership and match-attendance growth. I am pleased to share we have a plan!
Our “Plan”
Most regrettably, our Benchrest sport is now having to endure the results of the lack of our promotion and visibility outside of our sport, towards nurturing new Benchrest Group, Score and Long Range shooter/members. Succinctly and respectfully, we have done a great job of hiding our sport outside our own respective organization.
However, with much hard work, this waning membership issue can and will be addressed. In the coming weeks, I will be contacting the following media agencies in an effort to build much needed awareness to attract fellow rare, like-minded accuracy shooters.
- Outdoor Channel cable network – Shooting USA with Jim and John Scoutten
- Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Guns N Ammo, Recoil, Reloader and Rifle Magazines
- The NRA ~ For a Benchrest awareness article feature in the American Rifleman magazine
Additionally, I will be contacting local news and newspaper outdoor writers, prior to start of all major NBRSA regional/national matches next year, asking them for their coverage/exposure support of our great sport to their respective interested readers and viewers.
Work with our Regional Directors and Match Director’s to create our own NBRSA channel on YouTube; whereby we may post instructional video content from our membership on all facets of reloading, rifle tuning, neck-turning and our actual Long Range, Score and Group discipline match format tutorials.
Establish a new official NBRSA Facebook page which will be maintained, on a regular basis, with new content and positive exposure and communication with both members and non-member accuracy minded shooters.
We will work with our new Precision Rifleman Magazine Editor, Whitney Morman, where we will introduce new coverage of 3 new feature articles: “NBRSA Range of the Month”, “Match Director of the Month” and “Member of the Month” to give our membership some much needed visibility and awareness of our many ranges and friends within our organization.
Collaborate with each our NBRSA Regional Director’s and their Match Director’s, in each of our (8) regions to plan and launch our new NBRSA “Regional Mentorship” shooter support program, which will kick-off in early 2021. Stay tuned… Details to follow shortly!
Our leadership team will be establishing a new “NBRSA Shooter Mentorship program” in each of our eight NBRSA regions, whereby we will seek skilled, volunteer shooters, across Score, Long Range and Group disciplines, whom will volunteer their time to work with new shooters or simply our members whom need some help to learn new skill-sets with the goal of achieving their respective performance improvement at regional/national matches. Succinctly… the better you shoot, the more you’ll enjoy and love our sport!
Yes. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done, as I described above, but these action steps are necessary towards growing our membership and match attendance going forward. There is simply no other choice.
We have all swam halfway across the river…. We can choose to either, stop and drown or… finish our swim to the other side! Together, we can do this!
Let’s have some fun!
We all recognize our sport competitiveness level has grown exponentially over the past 10-20 years. I recognize this can be viewed by some as both good and bad…
For the most part, Benchrest shooting is a competitive sport. However, I am planning to see how we can introduce some fun activities at the major matches next year and create a Pizza or Ice Cream social evening; where we can all get together and establish some new long-term friendships and relax!
Lastly, I will be attending the IBS Annual membership meeting in January, where I plan to meet with our IBS brothers, where we may have some great discussions on how we may work together, going forward, towards growing this sport we all love.
To make this plan work, your help is also needed!
- Could you attend one or two more matches than you normally attend next year and beyond to support our ranges that desperately need attendance increases?
- Could you become a strong Benchrest ambassador and invite or take a friend to the range or to a local Group, Score or Long Range NBRSA match to expose many more to sport?
- Will you work with your Regional Director to provide them with your ideas and support on how your respective region may attract more shooters/members?
If everyone makes a little effort, we can, together, achieve some great quantifiable results! “Many hands… make light work for all”!
If you have an idea on how we can grow or make some positive changes? Call or e-mail me! I would love to hear your ideas!
The new NBRSA. All. Together.
Jack Neary
NBRSA, President
Cell: 440-590-5299 E-mail: jack6ppc@gmail.com
