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Board of Directors Guiding PrinciplesBACKGROUNDA couple of years ago we were a tiny range with limited assets. Now we are on the way to being a world-class organization. This growth was achieved because of the funds generated by selling the land of our former range. In making a world-class recreational shooting facility a reality the Board had to learn many lessons. These lessons are expressed in the guidelines below. As the Club matures and evolves, it is hoped that future Boards will follow these guidelines which are based on hard experience.
The Club is primarily a membership organization.The Board must have as its prime mission to look out for the members and provide them with a world-class recreational shooting facility. Non-members will, of course, be invited to matches and to CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) clinics. We will also offer other opportunities such as sighting-in days. Events such as these will prove our commitment to the community and act as a source of recruitment.
Customer Service is Everything.This is the most important Guideline of all. That means among other things:
The Board must never get the idea that we are doing the members a favor by letting them join. It is quite the other way around — the Club owes its very existence to satisfied members.
Community-mindedness must remain an integral feature of the Club.It is very clear that the Club is involved in a political process for its existence. Being community-minded gives the Club its best chance for long-term survival. The first application of this guideline was donating one-half the land from the old range to Sandoval County. This donation generated support from our US Senators and Representatives, as well as very favorable publicity in the local press and community. A practical application of this Guideline for the future is the mission of the Club to provide all citizens of New Mexico with the opportunity to become comfortable with firearms and have a place to shoot them for fun or competition, and, in particular, to help juniors, women, senior citizens and the handicapped to enjoy using firearms for pleasure and for self-defense.
Have the most flexible recreational shooting facility possible.There are three aspects of the shooting sports that attract new members:
That’s why we provide a facility that will always be open for use by non-competitors, and why we have initiated training programs that will instill safety consciousness and knowledge of when it is appropriate to use a firearm. As in any human endeavor, interests grow and wane. What’s popular today will probably be replaced in popularity by some other shooting sport in the next 5 – 10 years. To handle this evolution it is imperative that the individual ranges be designed to be as flexible as possible so they can be used for many shooting disciplines.
Have sub-groups manage the various shooting disciplines.It is the Board’s duty to make sure that there are ranges reserved for both competition and non-competition. It is also the Board’s duty to innovate or respond to suggestions regarding new kinds of fun shooting (the 500 yard egg shoot that was established by another range about 10 years ago is an example). The exact details of all shooting activities and disciplines are impossible for the Board to know. Groups must be established for each shooting discipline, whether competitive, just-for-fun or instructional. The individuals in these groups will know and understand the needs of their shooting discipline. Because of the flexibility of the facility's design, the activities of several of these groups could be held on a given range. It would just be a matter of scheduling. These groups would handle the administrative duties needed to hold matches (advertise, get scorers, etc.) or to organize activities.
Keep at the cutting edge of instruction.As soon as we get the money, we must put in the CAPS trainer. That is one of the state-of-the-art methods of developing the judgment of when and how to use a firearm in self-defense. With the advent of concealed carry in New Mexico this will prove invaluable for training and will make our Club a unique source for this type instruction. We have already started the Training Counselor cadre. They will train other instructors. With this instructional talent we should offer minimal cost (supplies and a reasonable fee to the instructor) instruction in all the NRA courses available. This should be for Club members and guests. Special offers can be made to seniors, women and the handicapped.
Safety is paramount. The safety rules WILL BE vigorously enforced.Future Boards must continuously evaluate range safety and make modifications in the range rules when it makes sense to do so. At all times, the range rules must be vigorously enforced. If this is not done, soon there will be safety problems.
Keep a dues structure that allows for future growth.We set the initial dues at $150 per year. This was based on having 1,000 new members and an operating cost of $150,000 per year. When we have more than 1,000 new members, we will not reduce the dues. Instead the dues of the additional members will be used for range improvements, land acquisition, etc. |
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