Red River Archers - News Letters

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RED RIVER ARCHERS

3/14/2023

Hi All,

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and kill that rodent that didn’t see its shadow. I guess it’s been a while since the last newsletter. I’ve been procrastinating on writing this, and I’ve done a good job of it (procrastinating I mean). I will start this newsletter with the same reminder that’s in the previous newsletters. If you are new to the club, and even if you’re not, let me remind you that this is YOUR club. All work is done by volunteers.

First things first:

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped with our work day. The club room was painted, ceiling tiles were replaced, the frames around the target butts were replaced and the foam fronts on the targets were replaced. The range looks great. Let’s keep it that way.

Thank you to John Marchell and First State Bank for donating ceiling tiles.

On January 14^th Red River Archers hosted the Alliance of Competitive Archers (ACA) State Vegas tournament at our range. It was a great success. Thank you to all who made this a great event.

A special thank you to the kids from East Grand Forks NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) who helped Jim Bisson with concessions (thanks Jim).

On February 11^th Red River Archers hosted a NASP tournament. Our own Wayne Pietruszewski is the coach for the Sacred Heart School archery program and was responsible for this shoot. It was a very successful event with 85 participants. There was a good group of spectators all day long. Thanks to Wayne and all who helped with the tournament.

Thank you to Ryan Langseth, Max Hoefs, Darin Johnson and Jason Whitesock for cleaning and rearranging the zoo/storage area. We actually gained some usable space.

Thanks to the group that meets every Tuesday morning to set up targets for the 3D league:

Butch, Pat Heffernan, Rod, Cal Thelen, Max Hoefs, Jim Brower, John Brewinski,

Mike Herbert, RJ Erickson and Jim Bisson

Thank you to Jim Bisson, Ryan Langseth, John Brewinski, and Cal Thelen for inventorying the vitals and wheels for the 3D targets.

Thanks to John Brewinski for organizing and running the football pool book fund raiser again this year.

Also, thank you to everyone who does their part to keep the club picked up, maintained and looking good. Please take a moment to thank a board member, they do a lot of work behind the scene without any expectation of recognition.

Targets

We continue to offer paper targets for purchase, $1 each. They are located next to the office door. The honor system for payment is working, so we will continue to offer this.

Target butts

We are trying to find a way to keep the center of the butts from being shot out so quickly. A metal “rib” was installed on one target butt that divides it in half (left and right). We will see how this works. If you have any comments on it please let me know. Remember broad-head use is OK if you use your own target butt. If you shoot broad-heads into the range targets, you will lose your membership.

Storage lockers

There are still a limited number of storage lockers available for rent. The cost is $30 per year.

Leagues

Leagues are wrapping up in the next few weeks. If you haven’t tried it yet, there are still opportunities to come out on Tuesdays after 9:30 and shoot the 3D course. This is open to all club members.

Up Coming Maintenance Projects

We are looking at the following projects for the range:

· Paint the range.

· Wire the electrical outlets in the storage garage.

· Install a mop sink in the bathroom or shop.

· Move the shop and change it into a bathroom. Hosting eth ACA State Vegas tournament really exposed the need for a women’s bathroom.

Alliance of Competitive Archers (ACA) Events https://www.acarchers.com/

The 2023 Calendar of events has been released the shoot dates are as follows:

· Vegas State--January 14; Grand Forks--Red River Archers hosting. We had 71 participants, almost double the number from last year.

· NFAA Indoor State (5 spot or single)--February 25-26; Fargo--Sandhills hosting. There were 87 participants also a significant increase from last year.

· Indoor 3D State in conjunction with Nishu Buckle Shoot (March 10-11)--March 12; Bismarck--Nishu hosting

· Classic State 600--May 6; Watford City--McKenzie County Shooting Sports

· Field State--June 17-18; Minot--Souris Valley Bowmen hosting

· Outdoor 3D--July 8 or 9 (tentative), Hazen Bay--Buffalo Valley Archers hosting

North Dakota Bowhunter’s Association (NDBA) Events

· February 3-5, 2023 Oliver County Archers Indoor 3D shoot.

· Tentative March 11-12, 2023. Roughrider Archers Indoor Shoot.

· June 10- 11 , 2023 Roughrider Archers Outdoor Spring Shoot.

· August 12-13, 2023 – Roughrider Archers Outdoor 3D, Medora

Details can be found here: https://www.ndbowhunters.org/events

Updated/Expanded Facility

Update on our plans for a new/updated/expanded facility. The board has decided to pursue upgrades and expansion of our existing facility (unless someone wants to donate a chunk of land or money to buy a chunk). Right now the steps we plan to take are:

· Form a building committee (ask for volunteers from the general membership). We will be looking for people with experience in the building trades, including but not limited to:
o Construction manager
o Architect
o Plumbing
o HVAC
o Electrical
o Computer/internet
o Concrete
o Steel
o Finance
o Inspections/code
· Chang our non-profit status
· Talk to Jeff Monson. He was president during the last expansion project.
· Develop a list of needs/wants (get input from general membership)
· Develop design options based on the wants/needs. This will be an iterative process.
· Present design options to board.
· Get approval for a design from the board (possibly 3 designs).
· Develop rough cost for each option.
· Explore financing options including possible donors.
· Present options to the general membership at a special meeting. This will include the proposed cost and how we will pay for it.
· The general membership will vote on options at another meeting after members have had a chance to digest what has been presented.
· If the general membership approves, the board/building committee will move forward with the project.
· Solidify cost share with NDGF.
· Set up operating funds
· Bid process
· Deliver final work plan to NDGF. The plan must include everything.

Like I said before, this is not something that will happen overnight, but will take a few years of planning. Funding from NDGF is spoken for the next few years, but we have asked them to put us on the waiting list for funding.

RRA Leadership

President – Grant Dunham

Vice President– Ryan Langseth

Treasurer – Justin Brooks

Secretary – Emily Dumbeck

Board Members

Jim Bisson

John Brewinski

Cole Frederick

Max Hoefs

Darin Johnson

John Marchell

Calvin Thelen

Jason Whitesock

I hope everyone is had a good hunting season. That’s enough from me. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things. Good news, there will be another news letter in a few months. Please share your love of archery with a kid.

Grant Dunham

RRA President

RED RIVER ARCHERS

11/15/2022

Hi All,

Seems that time gets away from me these days. I am a little late with this edition of the RRA news letter, but better late than never. Let’s get started. Iwill say it again, if you are new to the club, and even if you’re not, let me remind you that this is YOUR club. All work is done by volunteers.

First things first, thank you goes out to:

Jim Bisson, John Brewinski and Josh Rogne for replacing the foam in the target butts and “refreshing” the stuffing.

Darin Johnson and Ryan Langseth for installing the lockers. They look great.

John Marchell and First State Bank for donating ceiling tiles for the club room and the range.

Also, thank you to everyone who does their part to keep the club picked up, maintained and looking good. Please take a moment to thanks a board member, they do a lot of work behind the scene without any expectation of recognition.

We continue to offer targets for purchase, $1 each. The honor system for payment is working, so we will continue to offer this

New foam for target butts

This pretty much speaks for itself. Periodically the foam in the target butts is replaced so we can continue to have a good shooting experience. Please, shoot at different parts of the target, so the centers don’t get shot out so quickly. Remember broad-head use is OK if you use your own target butt. If you shoot broad-heads into the range targets, you will lose your membership.

Storage lockers

The storage lockers are installed and available for yearly rental. The cost is $30.

Leagues

Leagues will be starting in January. Emails will be coming out soon with details.

300 – starts January 12^th

3D – starts January 17th

Up Coming Maintenance Projects

We will be having a work day at the range on December 3^rd details will be sent out in an email. The projects we will be working on are:

· Paint the club room, office, entry, bathroom, and shop

· Replace the wood frames on the target butts

· Replace water stained ceiling tiles

Alliance of Competitive Archers (ACA) Events https://www.acarchers.com/

The 2023 Calendar of events has been released the shoot dates are as follows:

· Vegas State--January 14; Grand Forks--Red River Archers hosting

· NFAA Indoor State (5 spot or single)--February 25-26; Fargo--Sandhills hosting

· Indoor 3D State in conjunction with Nishu Buckle Shoot (March 10-11)--March 12; Bismarck--Nishu hosting

· Classic State 600--May 6; Watford City--McKenzie County Shooting Sports

· Field State--June 17-18; Minot--Souris Valley Bowmen hosting

· Outdoor 3D--July 8 or 9 (tentative), Hazen Bay--Buffalo Valley Archers hosting

North Dakota Bowhunter’s Association (NDBA) Events

· February 3-5, 2023 Oliver County Archers Indoor 3D shoot.

· Tentative March 11-12, 2023. Roughrider Archers Indoor Shoot.

· June 10- 11 , 2023 Roughrider Archers Outdoor Spring Shoot.

· August 12-13, 2023 – Roughrider Archers Outdoor 3D, Medora

Details can be found here: https://www.ndbowhunters.org/events

New Facility

To make sure there is no confusion or false rumors, I want to inform the membership that the board is looking into options for a new facility. This is not something that will happen overnight, but will take years of planning. We hope we can get a project in the works and end up with a better facility. I will keep you updated as we proceed.

RRA Leadership

President – Grant Dunham

Vice President – Ryan Langseth

Treasurer – Justin Brooks

Secretary – Emily Dumbeck

Board Members

Jim Bisson

John Brewinski

Cole Frederick

Max Hoefs

Darin Johnson

John Marchell

Calvin Thelen

Jason Whitesock

I hope everyone is having a good hunting season.That’s enough from me. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things. Good news, there will be another news letter in a few months. Please share your love of archery with a kid.

Grant Dunham

RRA President

RED RIVER ARCHERS

7/21/2022

Hi All,

As promised, here is the next news letter for Red River Archers. Let’s get started. If you are new to the club, and even if you’re not, let me remind you that this is YOUR club. All work is done by volunteers.

First things first, thank you goes out to:

Dave Grubb – He talked to our neighbors about parking their vehicles on our property. This has been an issue for a number of years. All vehicles have been moved and Dave put up posts and cables to prevent through traffic on the west end of our lot.

Ryan Langseth – He installed the new Suggestion box, target pay box and Guest pay box. He also moved the outlet by the drinking fountain. AlsoRyan has been a big help in keeping the club room in shape.

Max Hoefs – He picked up the lockers the club purchased in Mankato and brought them to Grand Forks.

Also, thank you to everyone who does there part to keep the club picked up, maintained and looking good. Please take a moment to thanks a boardmember, they do a lot of work behind the scene without any expectation of recognition.

In case you haven’t noticed there have been a couple of new additions to the club room. The first is a suggestion box. It is to the left of the TV. Please feel free to use it (anonymously if you want). We have also installed a box with targets for sale, $1 each. We are going with the honor system, but we do have security cameras if this system is abused. So far so good.

New key fob system

The distribution of fobs for the new access system has gone well, but we still have members who need to exchange old for new. If you still need a new fob, contact me or another board member and we will arrange a way to get a new fob to you.

New foam for target butts

Storage lockers

We are still working to install the 30 surplus lockers from Mankato. The plan is to locate them in the storage room (zoo). I will send out an email if/when we need help installing them We will also send out an email to see who would like to rent one.

Leagues

Next month there will be 3 hunting warm up opportunitys. 3D targets will be set up August 17^th, 24^th and 31^st for any member to shoot .Justin Brooks will be sending out more information soon.

Up Coming Maintenance Projects

· Clean up storage room (zoo)

· Clean up Storage garage

· Fix roof leaks

· Scrub range floor

· Paint club room

· Install permanent barricades on the west end of the property.

· Replace foam in target butts.

North Dakota Bowhunter’s Association (NDBA) Events

· Saturday August 13 thru Sunday August 14 – Roughrider Archers Outdoor 3D, Medora

· Saturday August 20 thru Sunday August 21 – Velva Wildlife Club Outdoor 3D

Details can be found here: https://www.ndbowhunters.org/events

Alliance of Competitive Archers (ACA) Events https://www.acarchers.com/

Congratulations to the RRA members who competed in the ACA events this year:
Jim Bisson – Indoor 3D, State 600, State Field Round, Outdoor 3D
Cole Fredrick – Vegas 600, NFAA 300, Indoor 3D, State Field Round
Max Hoefs – Vegas 600, State Field Round
Darin Johnson – State 600
Ryan Langseth – Vegas 600, NFAA 300, Indoor 3D, State 600, State Field Round, Outdoor 3D
Jason Whitesock – NFAA 300, State Field Round
Note: Ryan Langseth competed in evey ACA event this year!
The Red River Archers annual general membership meeting and “Banquet” will be held Wednesday September 14^th at the range. Please plan to attend. We will be approving the new budget and electing club officers. Pizza and beer will be provided.

RRA Leadership

President – Grant Dunham

Vice President – Ryan Langseth

Treasurer – Justin Brooks

Secretary – Emily Dumbeck

Board Members

Jim Bisson

John Brewinski

Cole Frederick

Max Hoefs

Darin Johnson

John Marchell

Calvin Thelen

Jason Whitesock

That’s enough from me. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things. Good news, there will be another news letter in a few months. Please share your love of archery with a kid.

Grant Dunham

RRA President

Hi All,

Well, it’s time to try this again. It has been many years since we have had a news letter. I figure since we have lost touch during Covid it would be a good idea to reach out and let you know what has been and will be happening with your club. We have a small group of members that have volunteered their time to affect a few changes at the club. They include:

New key fob system

If you have been out to the range recently, you have noticed we have a new key fob system. Jason Whitesock and Ryan Langseth did a great job of implementing this. I think everyone has swapped out their old fob for a new one, but if not let us know, and we will work with you to get a new one. The new system gives us greater flexibility in sourcing new fobs and activating/deactivating fobs remotely.

New lights

In order to provide a better shooting environment, the fluorescent lights in the range out to 20 yards and the 40 yard line have been replaced with LED bulbs. The lights in the club room have also been changed over to LEDs. A small group of volunteers led by Ryan Langseth, did the change out over the course of a couple of nights and the results look great.

New foam for target butts

Storage lockers

We have obtained 30 surplus lockers from Mankato. These will possibly be located in the range and in the storage room (zoo). They will be painted (they are purple now) and made available for rent later this spring. If you are interested in helping with the paint, let a board member know.

Parking lot

The street paving on the south side of our lot is now complete. We have the option of having an apron poured (at our expense) or leaving the area between the building and the street gravel. The city will push the existing gravel back and put down a layer of cloth to help stabilize the gravel. Once that is done, we will look at options for the rest of the parking areas.

Leagues

League shooting returned to RRA after a 1 year hiatus because of Covid. In an attempt to attract new shooters, the format of the 300 league was changed to be more flexible. I wouldn’t consider this a success. We also had two youth shooting NASP (National Archery in Schools Program) format at 10 yards. Next year the league manager is planning to go back to a team format. Although participation was down, we all had a great time. Hope to see you next year.

The 3D league was also changed slightly to attract new shooters. The animal targets were set up Tuesday mornings and made available for the general membership to shoot during the day. This may be continued next year. Thanks to Jim Bisson, Pat Heffernan, Butch Fraiser, Rod Litzinger, Max Hoefs, Jim Brower, and Michael Herbert for setting up the targets each week.

North Dakota Bowhunter’s Association (NDBA)

We are no longer including an NDBA membership as part of our annual dues. The money that was collected for NDBA dues will now go to pay the special assessment for the street paving project. We still encourage everyone to get an NDBA membership. The NDBA is a group of dedicated archers working to improve and protect the rights and privileges of bow hunters and to promote and expand the sport of archery in North Dakota.

WHAT DOES THE NDBA OFFER YOU?

· A unified voice for all North Dakota archers
· A bimonthly newsletter, “The Archers Voice”
· Reports and notice of area tournaments
· Annual big game awards
· A communication network to keep you informed of current events
· A chance for every archer to support and to actively participate in promoting archery

NDBA POLITICAL ACTION

· Participate in Game & Fish Advisory meetings
· Lobby at the ND State Legislature
· Maintain a working relationship with the North Dakota Game & Fish Department

Alliance of Competitive Archers (ACA) State Vegas shoot

RRA hosted the Alliance of Competitive Archers (ACA) North Dakota State Vegas round Tournament on January 22. It was a great success. From the ACA website (https://www.acarchers.com/): The Alliance of Competitive Archers is the affiliated state organization for the NFAA. Through this affiliation, ACA can/will:

· Certify ranges for clubs
· Keep state and national records
· Offer the same structure that youth are accustomed to within their organized shooting sport experiences.

The ACA will host six state competitions at different venues.

· State Vegas, January 22 @ Grand Forks
· State 300, February 19 & 20 @ West Fargo
· State Indoor 3D, March 12 @ Bismarck
· State 600 May 15 @ Watford City
· State Field June 18 & 19 @ Minot
· State Outdoor 3D July 9 & 10 @ Hazen

State Champions will be crowned for each age group and shooting category. Four Archers of the Year…Adult Man and Woman; Youth Boy and Girl will be recognized. Our own Jason Whitesock is on the ACA board. Check out the website for more details website (https://www.acarchers.com/)!

Up Coming Events

· ACA State 600 May 15 @ Watford City
· ACA State Field June 18 & 19 @ Minot
· ACA State Outdoor 3D July 9 & 10 @ Hazen
· The Red River Archers annual general membership meeting and “Banquet” coming this fall. Details TBD.

RRA Leadership

President – Grant Dunham

Vice President – Ryan Langseth

Treasurer – Justin Brooks

Secretary – Emily Dumbeck

Board Members

Jim Bisson

John Brewinski

Cole Frederick

Darin Johnson

John Marchell

Calvin Thelen

Jason Whitesock

That’s enough from me. I’m sure Ive forgotten some things. Good news, there will be another news letter in a few months. Please share your love of archery with a kid.

Grant Dunham

RRA President