FoNRA time again

[contender]

Well, it's that time of year again for me. Tonight is our FoNRA event I chair. We are entering the 31st year of FoNRA events & my chapter has had an event all 31 years.

Last year,, we were down a bit in attendance, (265 attendees) but we still had a net income of $67,000.00. This year,, we have 245 tickets sold,, so I'm hoping we get close to the same number again tonight. My committee has put in a lot of work, and we have over 60 guns that are going home with somebody tonight! Long day ahead of us here,, but we are pumped!

 

[Rumrunner]

Hope you have a great success tonight. FoNRA banquets in my area have been having quite a few raffles. I have won a Fostech AR and a Sig Sauer sxt 1911. Of course, don't ask how much they cost me lol.

I am a sponsor for Whitetails Unlimited, and our banquet is tomorrow night. Last year bidding was crazy. I think everyone was ready to get out after all the covid restrictions.

 

[Cholo]

Knock 'em out, Tyrone!

 

[RoninPA]

The FoNRA event I go to is the first weekend in March and we're looking forward to it. Always a fun time and lots of guns to win. Hope you have a good draw Tyrone.

 

[turd]

Good luck!!!!!!

 

[kentucky yeti]

Did you offer tickets this year on here? If so, I missed it.

 

[jimbo1096]

Yeah, I would buy tickets for the raffle or maybe donate. Don't have one near me I am aware of.
Hope it is a memorable event!

 

[Hvymax]

I've been on the Southern Maryland Committee for years. Ours is coming in April I think.

 

[contender]

Well, it's done,, and Miss Penny & I are tired. We busted humps yesterday,, and despite a few glitches,, I think we did ok.
Our NRA Field Rep & I are gonna have a serious meeting about a couple of things though.

In the many years past,, Sam, Penny & I have been going over the list of guns to buy for the event. We built a solid reputation for having better quality guns at our event. We have our event in an "upscale" center,, with a seated & served nice dinner. (Many FoNRA events have a catered barbecue, and you have to go stand in line to get it or whatever.)
This year,, our Rep (he's new to the job. Our event last year was his very first event) didn't let us buy the guns. HE handled many of the gun purchases. He even complained a bit about the few we did get "outside" his control.
The problem? He got many lower quality, cheaper made, & less desirable guns. I heard & saw many attendees (myself included) who did not buy as many tickets BECAUSE of this. The tickets I did buy,, went into just a few buckets because I just did not have any interest in most of what he'd gotten. Heck, even one of our brand new, ordered by him, bolt action rifles came in with a broken bolt. We did NOT put that one out either.
And while our attendance was down slightly from last year,, the number of guns was noticeably lower as well.
Our raffle games,, many had a harder time selling out because of the "cheaper" offerings. (3) or our games did not sell out. Normally we sell out all of them.

On a positive note,, I managed to get a Ruger/Marlin 1895 stainless for our event. It was featured in our "pig stick" game. (We put a ticket with a knife, stick the knife in the pig, and buyers can get a knife& ticket for $20 or (6) knives/tickets for $100. It sold out FAST!!!!!! Darn it,, I didn't win it either. But the lady who did win was VERY happy!
And our food and the serving staff,, were both EXCELLENT!

I'm awaiting our final numbers from the treasurer,, but sadly, I think we'll be noticeably lower than last year. THAT'S why I'm going to have a serious meeting with my Rep.

As for offering tickets for sale here,, for our raffles etc,, none are pre-sold,, EXCEPT for special raffles that are done via the internet through an "e-blast" sent out by our Rep. He has an email list, and he does special raffles all the time, to benefit all of his committees in his district. Normally those raffles are either a $20 ticket,, with only 100 tickets sold & you will get electronically random drawn by a computer drawing program. Or sometimes he'll do a 2-3 gun raffle, with tickets being $50 each, and do 100 of those. Those raffles offset the expenses we committees have trying to set up & run our banquets.

If anybody is interested in getting on our email list to be notified of each raffle,, just PM me & I can get you set up for that. Many of those raffles are pretty good guns.

 

[Sam Summey]

I started on the FFL 4473 forms and accounting for firearms this morning around 7:30 AM. Son Cliff came over to give me a hand on the acquisition and disposition book after a brief lunch, I finished up around 5:30PM.

 

[Sam Summey]

I started on the FFL 4473 forms and accounting for firearms this morning around 7:30 AM. Son Cliff came over to give me a hand on the acquisition and disposition book after a brief lunch, I finished up around 5:30PM.

One point Phil needs to learn, he's like a Pastor, he works for the "lord" but he is paid by the congregation. Pissing off the congregation will get you fired.

 

[hittman]

Hope you have better success chatting with your NRA Rep that we did a few years back.
We suddenly had a Rep revolving door. Some wouldn’t last an entire calendar year. For sure we had a different Rep each year for several years in a row. That doesn’t lend to things running smoothly.

Since it’s beginning our banquet was held in mid-October. The 2nd year I was Treasurer we hit High Caliber for the first time ever. After the banquet he announced we’re changing our date to March and have another one in 5 months. Warned him that wouldn’t work and he relented. The next year we were High Caliber again. Again he says we’re moving the date to March and he wouldn’t budge. Half of us quit. He got his way, he changed the venue, and they haven’t hit High Caliber since. Sad. People are creatures of habit and dislike change more than anything else.

 

[contender]

I won't dispute the fact that some of our Rep's ideas & such are good, and some of the things he does helps us a lot.
But,, as Sam has said,, "Pissing off the congregation will get you fired."

We've been very successful, and a solid "High Caliber" event for MANY years. In fact,, we've been at the "Protector" level for many years. And as you can see, Sam puts in a LOT of work on the FFL's, along with many other things. His work is also a bit part of our success.

But our formula for success is fairly well proven,, and he's wanting to change things. Many of the things the Foundation teaches it's Reps is a good formula for success. BUT,,,,, that formula doesn't work for ALL committees. The idea that "people want to win a gun & don't care what the gun is" may work for certain types,, but NOT at an event that has a long history of higher quality overall. For the last several years,, the Rep's have been pushing for a "guns only" main raffle. We have had several good items donated that we'd put on the general raffle. AND our General raffle usually would have 35-50 items,, of which many were guns, and many were other items. This year,, we MIGHT have had 25-30 items on the General raffle (other than the special buckets,) and most were cheaper guns. Our Rep took some of the donated items & put them on the Live Auction,, where they didn't draw as much interest as they would have if left on the General.

I know I'm venting a bit here,, trying to calm myself down a bit. But I've made a list of things,, that I'll be discussing with our Rep. I want to be calm & polite but firm in how we approach our banquet.

Overall, our event will still be a High Caliber event,, but I'm sure it won't be as good as it's been for quite a while.

 

[hittman]

The formula sought here was to get all the events in his region completed in the March to June time frame. (As I remember it)

What drove that ….. we’ve no idea and I lost interest in caring.

 

[contender]

The idea of the timeframe of holding events looks at when it's more likely to get a lot of people at an event, AND when they have money to spend.
Schools are not out, and hunting seasons haven't started yet. Summer brings vacations & families spend their money there. Hunting seasons, especially in places where a hunter has drawn a tag will take priority over other things.
Basically, the formula looks for the timeframe to get a targeted group involved.

In our district,, we don't have any events in June or July,, but we do have some in Aug & Sept.
October is the timeframe where grant applicants start applying,, and it also shifts the focus of things a bit.

 

[Hvymax]

We're usually March. Even early for fishing.

 

[Hvymax]

We decided on April 22. We're going for 450 tickets. We'll be the largest in the state this year. New bigger venue.