The Nimrod League of Holden Newsletter September, 2017
Monthly Meeting
The newsletter is a bit late this month. I was busy over Labor Day weekend and lost(???) Tuesday, yesterday, to a goose hunt. Harry Wilbur and I had a great day and we were able to donate four geese for next year’s Game Dinner!
Please send me any outdoor stories you may have. We’d love to hear about your latest exploits! I’ll serve as editor and get the story into a presentable format, subject to your approval before publishing. Please email me, Chris Erali, at eralic23@gmail.com
Monthly Meetings are always the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Clubhouse – next Meeting September 12, 2017. Make it a point to attend if you can. From 6:00 – 6:45 pm for a cocktail and socializing – then we serve the best $5 meal in town! Club business discussed with occasional guest speakers from 7:15 - 8:30 ish. It is usually an early night unless someone gets long-winded.
Our Board meeting started with Maryanne Lane’s Secretary’s report followed by Treasurer Cindy Smith’s report. Both were pretty routine. Chris Craigue reported that this is the time of year that we may shift some monies around if necessary to cover expenses. At this time, we have paid for a cell phone booster and grill grates, along with a couple of other bills. It was decided to transfer a lump sum to cover the bills and replenish our operating account balance.
Please send me any outdoor stories you may have. We’d love to hear about your latest exploits! I’ll serve as editor and get the story into a presentable format, subject to your approval before publishing. Please email me, Chris Erali, at eralic23@gmail.com
Monthly Meetings are always the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Clubhouse – next Meeting September 12, 2017. Make it a point to attend if you can. From 6:00 – 6:45 pm for a cocktail and socializing – then we serve the best $5 meal in town! Club business discussed with occasional guest speakers from 7:15 - 8:30 ish. It is usually an early night unless someone gets long-winded.
Our Board meeting started with Maryanne Lane’s Secretary’s report followed by Treasurer Cindy Smith’s report. Both were pretty routine. Chris Craigue reported that this is the time of year that we may shift some monies around if necessary to cover expenses. At this time, we have paid for a cell phone booster and grill grates, along with a couple of other bills. It was decided to transfer a lump sum to cover the bills and replenish our operating account balance.
Speakers
Please let us know if you have a suggestion for a speaker at a future meeting.
Monthly Safety Tip and Topic for Discussion
“Be Safe in Your Tree Stand: Wear Your Harness!”
Upon arrival, take a good look around your stand and make sure everything is as it should be. It is okay to be nervous about climbing into your stand. In fact, you should be! Be careful hauling gear up and use a rope if necessary. Get settled and buckled in slowly and carefully. Always keep contact with 3 points. Reach with one hand and keep both feet and the other hand in contact with your ladder or stand. Use a climbing rope if necessary. When stepping up with one foot, keep both hands in a sure grip to the stand. Always 3-point contacts! Two hands and one foot, or both feet and one hand. Hook yourself in with a safety harness. The harness is the most important piece of safety equipment for hunting from a stand. Shop around and ask questions on various types. You are going to be wearing it for a while so you want it to be comfortable. Sometimes the most expensive is not what works best for you. Follow all manufacturer’s instructions. And don’t forget to bag that good-sized buck!
New Business
We received a thank you note from the family of John D. O’Brien for NIMROD’s contribution to the Josh Thibodeau Helping Hearts Foundation. We also had a request from the Great Gardner Golden Eagle Breakfast asking for a donation.
Chris Craigue began a discussion on donations and should we have a policy for such eventualities, or is it okay if the membership decides at a general meeting, as recently happened. Should all expenditures first be approved by the Eboard? Following much discussion, we decided to not require a change in policy.
Jason VanHillo suggested a “Paint Party” as a fund raiser. For those of us unfamiliar with what that is, it involves hiring an artist who gives instruction to those present. Jason will advertise on social media. These parties are presently quite popular. The instructor’s cost is $30.00 and she has volunteered to give back 10% of what she brings in for profit. The cost per person is $45.00. The event would be on a Friday night. There was much discussion on whether this would be a NIMROD event as a fundraiser, or should it be simply a rental of our clubhouse? It was decided that Jason should take on the project as a rental. Any alcohol would be provided by the club as dictated by our bylaws and/or rental policy. Since it is essentially a fundraiser for our club, it was decided to waive the rental fee because the proceeds, which may be as high as a $1,000.00 would go to NIMROD. Good luck with the event, Jason!
Special Committee (Scholarship)
No report.
Membership
We have 3 applications this month. They will be voted on at our next general meeting. They are Robert Leaves of Princeton, John McVane of Shrewsbury, and Brett Balyk of Holden. To our 3 new prospective members, please join us on our next general monthly meeting, Tuesday, September 12th when we welcome you to our club.
Board of Trustees
There will be and Auditing Committee meeting before the September general meeting on September 12 at 5:00 PM.
Trap/Skeet
Thursday nights have been busier. The possibility of opening the kitchen during the fall is being considered. Remember, Trap and Skeet is every Thursday night from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. It is open to the public, so bring a friend and join in a night of good fellowship and shooting.
Kitchen
New grates have been installed in the outside grill. Cooks for future general meetings are as follows: September/Ed Matthews, October/Bruce Ebbeson, November/Dave Oriel, and December/Don French.
Game Dinner
Please leave any donations for next year’s dinner in the kitchen freezer and notify Bruce Ebbeson at 508-853-1589. Remember to label all packages to identify type of game and date.
Rifle Range
The new shooting benches have been stained with two coats of stain. They are ready for our new structure. Our building plan is scheduled to go to the zoning board. Chris Craigue will follow-up and give us its status soon.
Upcoming Event!!!
NIMROD BENCH REST RIFLE MATCH
DATE: SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 (RAIN DATE: SUNDAY OCTOBER 1, 2017)
TIME: 9AM – 1PM
TWO RIFLE CLASSES:
· HUNTER BARREL
· HEAVY BARREL
(ANY CENTER FIRE CALIBER)
FIVE SHOT GROUP ON BULLS EYE TARGET 100 YARDS
GROUP SIZE MEASURED FOR:
1ST, 2ND, 3RD PLACES IN EACH CLASS
ENTRY FEE IS $5.00 FOR FIRST TARGET IN EACH CLASS. ADDITIONAL TARGETS $.50
Coffee and doughnuts will be served.
Winner notification will be made at Match, Club meeting, Newsletter, and Google notice.
No cash or trophy prizes. Please contact Rifle Range chair, Tom Niegand, for more more information or to register. Thanks!
Upcoming Event!!!
NIMROD BENCH REST RIFLE MATCH
DATE: SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 (RAIN DATE: SUNDAY OCTOBER 1, 2017)
TIME: 9AM – 1PM
TWO RIFLE CLASSES:
· HUNTER BARREL
· HEAVY BARREL
(ANY CENTER FIRE CALIBER)
FIVE SHOT GROUP ON BULLS EYE TARGET 100 YARDS
GROUP SIZE MEASURED FOR:
1ST, 2ND, 3RD PLACES IN EACH CLASS
ENTRY FEE IS $5.00 FOR FIRST TARGET IN EACH CLASS. ADDITIONAL TARGETS $.50
Coffee and doughnuts will be served.
Winner notification will be made at Match, Club meeting, Newsletter, and Google notice.
No cash or trophy prizes. Please contact Rifle Range chair, Tom Niegand, for more more information or to register. Thanks!
House
No report
September 24, 2017 Chicken Barbecue
Get your tickets!
The day will have Trap from 10-12 with the Bar opening at noon. Prices are $8.00 for adults, and kids under 13 can eat hamburgers and hot dogs for free. We’ll need volunteer corn huskers and other help. We will open this up with some advertising on Facebook to try and bring in some of the general public. Joe Afonso will put up a Bouncy House for the youngsters.
September 24, 2017 Chicken Barbecue
Get your tickets!
The day will have Trap from 10-12 with the Bar opening at noon. Prices are $8.00 for adults, and kids under 13 can eat hamburgers and hot dogs for free. We’ll need volunteer corn huskers and other help. We will open this up with some advertising on Facebook to try and bring in some of the general public. Joe Afonso will put up a Bouncy House for the youngsters.
Executive Board
This month’s meeting adjourned at 8:57 PM. We aim for the newsletter to convey the highlights. E Board meetings are held at 7 PM the last Tuesday of the month. Members are welcome if you would like to come and observe our club’s operation. Our membership can be very proud of the board and the time and effort that is made by everyone to keep our club running smoothly. Member concerns are always addressed. Many times, one board member will inform others that a single member voiced a certain matter that he/she found troubling. Our club can rest assured that any points brought up by a member are ALWAYS brought to the attention of the entire board.
Grounds
Neal Whitehead is now accepting bids for snow plowing this winter. Let Neal know as soon as possible of any interest
Finance
The market fluctuates as we all know. Smart investors stay the course.
Bar
The air conditioner was making a whistling noise on a Thursday night. We need to do a thorough cleaning of the system. Chris Craigue will investigate to decide whether we need a technician. The hope is that some general maintenance by our own HVAC volunteers can take care of the problem.
Birds
The season opens October 14, 2017. Kevin will have a meeting this month to organize a Youth Hunt in mid-October and schedule adult hunts after that.
Revenue
100 Ticket Rifle Raffle sales have been slow. We’ve only sold about 20 thus far. Take a chance on winning a .308 caliber rifle and help the club at the same time! All transfer paper work will be completed in compliance with Massachusetts and Federal regulations.
Special Committee: 30 Guns in 30 Days
Our fundraiser “30 Guns in 30 Days,” has begun. Tickets are available for all members to sell. Cabela’s will be our source for the prizes. We are selling 1,000 tickets for a chance to win gift cards for $14,000 worth of guns. This year we have 7 months to sell tickets. We need to sell 500 tickets to break even. Finally, it is possible to win more than once. If a ticket is drawn, it will be returned to the barrel. This was a successful fundraiser last year and we did not sell all 1,000 tickets. We have an opportunity to make this a great producer of revenue.
Please call any of the following members for tickets!
Ralph Cochran, 508-769-2600
Howard Gelles, 508-751-9455
Greg McIntyre, 508-769-3632
Good luck! Sell those tickets!
Special Committee: 30 Guns in 30 Days
Our fundraiser “30 Guns in 30 Days,” has begun. Tickets are available for all members to sell. Cabela’s will be our source for the prizes. We are selling 1,000 tickets for a chance to win gift cards for $14,000 worth of guns. This year we have 7 months to sell tickets. We need to sell 500 tickets to break even. Finally, it is possible to win more than once. If a ticket is drawn, it will be returned to the barrel. This was a successful fundraiser last year and we did not sell all 1,000 tickets. We have an opportunity to make this a great producer of revenue.
Please call any of the following members for tickets!
Ralph Cochran, 508-769-2600
Howard Gelles, 508-751-9455
Greg McIntyre, 508-769-3632
Good luck! Sell those tickets!
Archery
Jason VanHillo, who is taking over the duties of the Archery chair is researching the possibility of NIMROD joining the NFAA. Joe Afonso is a member. Jason will find out dues and such. He already put out an email for any other NIMROD members who are also a member of the NFAA. Jason and Tina will get together to discuss some general maintenance of the course. Some targets are in rough shape.
Worcester County League of Sportsmen
Many thanks to the Trap Committee and all volunteers for their efforts on the Young Guns Trap Shoot. We received many kudos for a well-run event! Addieville East Farm donated a round of 50 clays to each finalist. We had a $300.00 budget and expenses were about $275.00. We brought in $225.00 in donations which resulted in a total cost of $60.00. The shoot was a rousing success! Joe Afonso reports that there was a meeting at the Westborough Fish and Game Office of WCL board members and other league representatives from around the state. Ron Amidon, now the Commissioner of Fish and Game wants a Forum for the Leagues, run by the Leagues. There is a tentative meeting taking place sometime this fall to discuss more specifics.
Joe also has a flyer for a Grouse School on September 10, 2017. It will be at Massapaug Sportsmen’s Club in Sharon, MA. See Joe for more details.
Joe also has a flyer for a Grouse School on September 10, 2017. It will be at Massapaug Sportsmen’s Club in Sharon, MA. See Joe for more details.
Grant Writer/Committee
Chris Craigue created a new committee and chairperson. Tina Gianos has given the reins of the Archery Committee to Jason and she will now focus on grant writing. She’s virtually been doing the job already and she would like her enthusiasm to go in this direction. She will be working with other committee chairs if they are looking for grant money.
Good and Welfare
Kevin Chviruk will run the September Eboard meeting and the General meeting in October.
An $80.00 check was sent to the Princeton Ambulance and Rescue Fund in honor of Vic Shuster.
Please if you have any news that you would like to have included in this section, good or bad, contact any member of the Executive Board, and we’ll see that it is included.
Kevin Chviruk will run the September Eboard meeting and the General meeting in October.
An $80.00 check was sent to the Princeton Ambulance and Rescue Fund in honor of Vic Shuster.
Please if you have any news that you would like to have included in this section, good or bad, contact any member of the Executive Board, and we’ll see that it is included.
