Hi Shooters,

It's official, as announced at the Washington State Shoot banquet, we have a Western Washington Youth Program(WWUP). This is registered non-profit corporation and will work hand in hand with the Eastern Washington Youth Outdoor Education Foundation. Created by Larry Rushing, with months of hard work and dedication, the foundations' momentum was fueled by it's Board of Directors, Larry Rushing, Walt Plonski, Bob Murata and Will Medlicot, along with the Sumner Sportsman's Club. These gentlemen donated their time and money to sponsor two youth shooting clinics this past year. Well done, guys!

Let me take a moment to recognize the generosity of six people who donated over $1,300 dollars to the shooting youth of Washington State: Steve Timm, $500 (an Oregon shooter at our state shoot), John & Kim Burlison $150, Art Heitlauf $500, and Will Medlicott $150. Additionally Debe Heitlauf donated her own brand new Beretta shotgun for a youth drawing. Hat's off gang, you're great.

Folks, my name is Jerry Johnson and I have been honored with the title of president of WWUP. The momentum for this great event comes from you, the competition shotgun shooter. You never stop striving for one more target, one more 'X'. You know all about the planning, the training, the strategies and the heartbreaks of sporting clays. But you never give up, you never quit, you build on your disappointments and learn from your zeros. Who can forget the long drives home Sunday afternoon with a tear in your eye and a broken heart; but your sadness soon fades and before the ride ends the burn in your belly comes up with a new plan, more training, and new strategies. 'Next time', you say to yourself, 'next time'. The day comes and you are center punching targets, nothing but smoke, dead a pair - 'Man that felt good'. You also know all about becoming a true sportsman or sportswoman and how to gracefully accept both victory and defeat.

Wow! What a journey gang. It's the journey that we share, the foundation, the building blocks of sporting clays and life. Our youth will take these lessons to school, their first job, college, their friends and family. This happens because of a special person - YOU the competition shotgunner. Be proud of yourself and be proud of the support you, too, can give to future generations of sporting clays shooters - today's juniors and sub juniors. Thank you for your current and future support of our sport. I am truly humbled to be part of this effort and look forward to talking with as many of you as possible about this great cause during the next few months.