Dear Cedar hills Gun Club Members,
It has been a good summer for CHGC. We were able to complete several upgrades and maintenance items on nearly every club range, including new steel targets for both the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle shooters and the outdoor pistol ranges. With the growing membership and increased use of the range, we had to purchase new gate cards so we would have enough for all new members. We also purchased a batch of target cards for the clay sport controllers. The target cards are rather expensive at $1.25 each and the minimum order is 1000 cards. Used cards can be reloaded and placed back in the vending machine, minimizing the need to purchase new cards, so if you have empty target cards that you do not intend to reload, please drop them off in the 5-stand building or give them to Jed or James.
In May, our credit card service provider (Stripe) updated their security settings. This update broke the link to our website, so from approximately May to August no credit card payments through our website were processed. This affected approximately 45 new members/late renewals. We will be contacting those individuals and asking them to remit payment as appropriate. We have confirmed with Stripe that no one was actually charged anything in this time frame (Stripe never received any card information from us and our website does not store credit card information) so no one is being asked to double pay. It is embarrassing for us as we did not note the error sooner.
We also had to purchase a new load of clay targets. This year the cost increased by more than $4000 over previous purchases, with the bulk of the increase attributed to delivery charges. The sporting clays committee will review our target pricing to see if an adjustment is necessary as part of our annual budget cycle.
For some time, the club UTV has been giving us trouble. The charging system has failed completely and there is a problem with the fuel system causing significant reliability issues and hampering our ability to operate several venues, so we took it into the shop for a repair estimate. The repair estimate came in at more than $8,000 and there would be no guarantee that this would repair all the problems. The machine is worn out. Based on this news, the board has authorized the search for a replacement. To offset this upcoming cost, we will defer the purchase of new target throwers for 2023. We currently have enough target machines to run all of our shotgun sports courses, but we just can’t maintain those courses or the rest of the range without a UTV.
There was a report of damage to the indoor pistol range. A member noticed that it looked like someone had broken into the range through the back door damaging the door and the latch. Upon review of the security footage, it appears that this was a weather-related event and not an act of vandalism. We will work to get the door and latch repaired.
We are still seeing a lot of trash on the upper range, both at the firing line and downrange. Please make an effort to pick up your trash when you shoot. Remember that shooting trash of any kind is not recommended, but shooting glass bottles and garbage/food containing waste is strictly prohibited. In all cases, please pick up after yourself. Take trash home or place it in one of the trash cans.
The shotgun sports (Sporting Clays) committee is still looking for volunteers. James Martin is leading the committee (well, that is what Jed announced, though James looked surprised) and many hands make light work. If you are interested, please get in touch with James.
There will be a High School sporting clays shoot on October 8th. We are looking for volunteers to help set targets on the 7th as well as Trappers and Scorers on the 8th.
The lower rifle range, 22 silhouette range, and multi-purpose range will all be closed October 3rd. We will be received a load of dirt and rebuilding the berms on the lower rifle range and the multi-purpose range. We are planning to complete the work in one day, but there is a risk that the ranges will have to be closed for more than one day. If this is the case, we will post the closure at the range and send a message through the newsletter/website. If you are available volunteer to help move dirt, please reach out to a board member.
Finally, this will be my last club newsletter. Several personal and work obligations do not allow me to dedicate sufficient time to fulfill the duties of club President to my satisfaction or to the benefit of the club members. Based on this, I will be resigning my positions effective September 30th 2022. Our current Vise President, Troy Eppich has agreed to serve as club president until the general club meeting and elections in March. The board approved Troy taking over the remainder of my term via unanimous vote of board members present. I would like to thank you all for the opportunity to serve and the support you have given me in this position. I hope to see you all on the range as often as my schedule allows.
Ray Tracy
President, CHGC