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- Thread starter roundball
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Yep. says "2004" and has a likeness of a chess rook or a Lincoln-log airgun pellet in the center. Not sure what that is supposed to be.
I was going to send $5 just because they remembered me for Christmas.
I was going to send $5 just because they remembered me for Christmas.
I thought the whole situation was strange...sending someone a mystery pin, for a year that was over, and asking for financial donations.
Didn't know if it was part of a mass mailing or somebody at the NMLRA being cute as a result of my memos about their departure from the Traditional NMLRA mission, canceling my membership, etc.
Didn't know if it was part of a mass mailing or somebody at the NMLRA being cute as a result of my memos about their departure from the Traditional NMLRA mission, canceling my membership, etc.
Well, I never threatened to resign, but I fired off some pieces of my all-to-fragmented mind recently.
Someone noticed they had a drawer full of 2004 pins that were soon to be obsolete and started fishing with them. ::
Someone noticed they had a drawer full of 2004 pins that were soon to be obsolete and started fishing with them. ::
Yep. Stuck it on my blaze orange baseball cap. Maybe it's a design of one of them new-fangled comical bullets?
Kinda looks like a Beeman Silver Jet pellet. ::
Kinda looks like a Beeman Silver Jet pellet. ::
Got one of these today too.Must admit that I find it ironic that they are using "traditional" as the sell since it seems that non-traditional is what sells.I have enough pins,address labels and people asking me for money as it is...
I got mine yesterday. The schmasheded up looking thing in the middle is supposed to be the log fortress on the primitive side at Friendship. I agree with roundball's opinion of the NMLRA's "traditional heritage" embracing "traditional inlines".
BTW, I've participated in the "Defense of Fort Green" match's on the primitive side, which is held in that very same building. The most fun match ever!!
BTW, I've participated in the "Defense of Fort Green" match's on the primitive side, which is held in that very same building. The most fun match ever!!
eace:
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I put mine with the rest of the pewter I have to be melted down for nose caps or knife bolsters...every little bit helps!
ronnyvous1
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2004
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Ol' Jimmy Fulmer is a pretty good man trying to run an organization that is outgrowing it's member base. I know he's trying like the devil to get new members and keep up renewals, but I think that if a straw poll was taken out here in the world, they would find that many, if not most, of us are put off by a constant barrage of fundraisers and credit card offers. I renewed this past year after several years absence, largely because I have a good deal of respect for Jim and the fact that any organization representing the BP shooter is better than NO organization. The Tax-exempt status prevents them from being overtly political, but the message gets out. Ithink the horn bag and rifle would have been a better choice for the pin than the blockhouse.
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I'm confused,.... how does an organization "out grow" it's member base with proper management??
YMHS
rollingb
YMHS
rollingb
ronnyvous1
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2004
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I think that there are a lot of factors. Economics plays a huge part. "Discretionary" funds are tough for people to find, taking a week off to go to Friendship or a Rendezvous isn't as easy as it was in the 90's for many folks. The average age of participants is getting older, and on and on. The hobby itself has also seemed to have peaked, attendance has stabilized, or even fallen off, at all but some of the more noteworthy events, and the huge influx of new people we saw in the 80's and 90's has ended. A lot of the tire-kickers have left, both shooters and reenactors.
To be sure, there are things which could have been handled a lot better! An argument that I have been having for 20 years is that the Association, despite it's giving lip service to the fact, is far from a truly "National" organization. There is a centrist sort of mentality that places a lot of the importance strictly on Friendship itself, and those who have geography on their side can take advantage of it. Oh, sure, when a bunch of the old timers went West, the Ben Avery Range setup came into being. But the shooting aspect of the hobby on a National level really was hurt, IMHO, by the loss of the old Levi Garrett Territorial programs, the monthly shoot reports in the magazine from charter clubs, all the things that got the Ass'n out into OUR neighborhoods, not theirs! I cringe when I see the costs incurred to keep the site at Friendship going, when every report I hear is that attendance is WAY down.
Bottom line is that the membership is about half of what I recall it being in the 90's. Mismanagement, to a degree, yes. Changing times, also a factor. Whatever the reason, adjustments have to be made, especially in the way the money gets spent. Capital improvements at Friendship should really take a back burner. I don't think that there has been any significant reduction in staffing and operational costs (some of which are fixed, like taxes, etc,) and elimination of incurring new debt has been addressed, at least where I have seen it, until the membership levels and income are figured out. One thing's for certain, those levels are not going to be the same as they were back in the day!
But having said all that, beside the NRA, who seems perfectly willing to give away my black plastic guns, there really isn't a viable organization of any sort for BP shooters other than the Ass'n., and despite it's flaws, which are many, I still think that an established forum available to those of us who shoot or reenact is worth a double sawbuck or so when I can find one to spare. I have a lot easier time swallowing the cost of membership (and the book, which does have it's redeeming qualities) than I do the horrific fees I pay every day for my insurance, gas, diesel fuel, etc.. The Ass'n. may be crappy, but it's CHEAP crappy compared to the rest, and it's something I get to choose to spend, on something I like to do, not arbitrarily taken from me.
To be sure, there are things which could have been handled a lot better! An argument that I have been having for 20 years is that the Association, despite it's giving lip service to the fact, is far from a truly "National" organization. There is a centrist sort of mentality that places a lot of the importance strictly on Friendship itself, and those who have geography on their side can take advantage of it. Oh, sure, when a bunch of the old timers went West, the Ben Avery Range setup came into being. But the shooting aspect of the hobby on a National level really was hurt, IMHO, by the loss of the old Levi Garrett Territorial programs, the monthly shoot reports in the magazine from charter clubs, all the things that got the Ass'n out into OUR neighborhoods, not theirs! I cringe when I see the costs incurred to keep the site at Friendship going, when every report I hear is that attendance is WAY down.
Bottom line is that the membership is about half of what I recall it being in the 90's. Mismanagement, to a degree, yes. Changing times, also a factor. Whatever the reason, adjustments have to be made, especially in the way the money gets spent. Capital improvements at Friendship should really take a back burner. I don't think that there has been any significant reduction in staffing and operational costs (some of which are fixed, like taxes, etc,) and elimination of incurring new debt has been addressed, at least where I have seen it, until the membership levels and income are figured out. One thing's for certain, those levels are not going to be the same as they were back in the day!
But having said all that, beside the NRA, who seems perfectly willing to give away my black plastic guns, there really isn't a viable organization of any sort for BP shooters other than the Ass'n., and despite it's flaws, which are many, I still think that an established forum available to those of us who shoot or reenact is worth a double sawbuck or so when I can find one to spare. I have a lot easier time swallowing the cost of membership (and the book, which does have it's redeeming qualities) than I do the horrific fees I pay every day for my insurance, gas, diesel fuel, etc.. The Ass'n. may be crappy, but it's CHEAP crappy compared to the rest, and it's something I get to choose to spend, on something I like to do, not arbitrarily taken from me.
Interesting what you wrote... I believe the NMLRA has made some very poor choices in the past, and only the future will decided if they have corrected their path?
Missed opportunities in my opinion have been not capitalizing on such movies as; Last Of The Mohicans, The Patriot, The Alamo... NMLRA should have made a move to keep these films in the public eye and created events (fresh events) around them.
They should be going full throttle on the Lewis & Clark craze right now, but they're not? A mention here and there is all I see.
Whether the entertainment that is put out by Hollywood reguarding muzzleloading themes is correct or not, these are missed opportunities when you don't run with some new idea's when the interest is there. People will follow entertainment into hobbies. Look at what happened with the Davy Crockett movies of the '50's???
New traditional interest could have spawned from these films, but instead they chose to stand fast on their modern inline support which has done more harm then good in my opinion.
Like I said, I thought what you wrote was very interesting, and I'm going to reread it several time to absorb it... Good post! :thumbsup:
Missed opportunities in my opinion have been not capitalizing on such movies as; Last Of The Mohicans, The Patriot, The Alamo... NMLRA should have made a move to keep these films in the public eye and created events (fresh events) around them.
They should be going full throttle on the Lewis & Clark craze right now, but they're not? A mention here and there is all I see.
Whether the entertainment that is put out by Hollywood reguarding muzzleloading themes is correct or not, these are missed opportunities when you don't run with some new idea's when the interest is there. People will follow entertainment into hobbies. Look at what happened with the Davy Crockett movies of the '50's???
New traditional interest could have spawned from these films, but instead they chose to stand fast on their modern inline support which has done more harm then good in my opinion.
Like I said, I thought what you wrote was very interesting, and I'm going to reread it several time to absorb it... Good post! :thumbsup:
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