The 2011 Ladies Field Day was held at Gateway Rifle and Pistol Club (GRPC), Jacksonville, FL on October 15th. The weather was excellent for a fun filled day as the doors opened at 7:30 AM. Arvil Budd, in charge of organizing the event, had everything ready to go. As the ladies began to arrive they were greeted and checked in by Brenda Trickler, Sue Carter and Delores Miller who gave out tote bags donated by Florida Sport Shooting Association (FSSA). By 8:45, over 130 women, the largest group in recent memory, representing a variety of age groups and shooting experience were registered and ready to go. Ted Carter opened the event by welcoming everyone, giving an initial safety brief along with an explanation of the day's events. The opening session ended with an introduction to the Group leaders and the event instructors. By 9:00 the ladies were with their assigned group leaders and on their way to their first event.
Ladies Field Day was organized into five stations: Pistol, Benchrest Rifle, International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), Cowboy, and Safety & Awareness. Each station, with the exception of Safety & Awareness, afforded the women a chance to handle and shoot several different firearms, under the supervision of experienced shooters and instructors. Each station was given 45 minutes to introduce the women to the individual shooting discipline. The Safety & Awareness station presented information on personal safety awareness and prevention to minimize the risk of being a victim of violent crime. Three sessions were conducted in the morning followed by a catered Bar-B-Que lunch. After lunch the ladies completed their last two stations with the day ending at 3:30 PM.
The Ladies Field Day has been held at GRPC for a number of years and consistently attracts a large number of women who want to learn more about the shooting sports. A huge thanks goes to organizer, Arvil Budd, who coordinated another great event this year. In speaking with a number of the ladies, all were impressed with Gateway’s facilities and the friendly, professional and safety conscious staff and instructors. A well deserved "thank you" goes out to all the ladies who attended. Special thanks are in order for the Group Leaders whose job it was to provide general shooting and club information and to escort their group of shooters made it from station to station. Group leaders were: John Roberts, Ron Barr, Mike Hicks, Tom Franklin and Bob Hathcock. Without the individual station leaders and their team of volunteers, whose job it was to have their range/event set up, provide firearms, demonstrate, instruct and ensure safety at all times, Ladies Field Day would not have been the successful event it was. "Well Done" and many thanks go to Dana Baygents for Pistol, Bill Smith for Benchrest Rifle, Dan Fox for IDPA and Jay Ult for Cowboy. Sergeant Barbara Webber from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has been supporting this event for a number of years and her presentation is always well received. Thank you, Sergeant Webber for continuing to support Gateway's Ladies Field Day. Finally an event like this would not be possible without funding and merchandise support from Florida Sport Shooting Association and without equipment and ammunition from Glock. Gateway Rifle and Pistol club is proud to host and provide support for this very special event and looks forward to Ladies Field Day again next year.
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