Wayne NRA Banquet scheduled for May 2

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on April 23, 2006 2:15 AM

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The Wayne County Friends of NRA Banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, at the Wayne Shriners' Club on U.S. 117-A at Brogden, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and include a steak dinner, an auction, and special drawings of items available only to attendees.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) of America, chartered in 1871, not only is the oldest sportsmen's organization in this country but also is an educational, recreational, and public service organization dedicated to the constitutional right of individual citizens to own and use firearms.

According to the December 2005 NRA journal, America's 1st Freedom, the NRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created in 1990, is this nation's leading charitable group in support of the shooting sports (p. 63). Friends of NRA banquets, held nationwide, raise funds to support the NRA Foundation.

Donors to the foundation fund more than 170 safety and educational programs that the NRA sponsors. In 2004, the foundation awarded a record 1,800 grants to programs, totaling more than $11 million. Since its creation, the foundation has funded more than 11,000 grants for a grand total exceeding $71 million. NRA officials expected to surpass the $80 million mark by the end of 2005.

The NRA Foundation has been hailed as one of the best-managed tax-exempt organizations in America, receiving four stars--the highest possible rating--from Charity Navigator, the country's largest independent charity evaluator.

While the volunteer-driven Friends of NRA program raises most of the funding for the foundation, millions of dollars come from philanthropic individuals, businesses, and other foundations. Proceeds from Friends of NRA events are divided 50-50 with half funding programs within the states hosting the Friends events and half funding grants at the national level.

Groups that benefit from foundation grants include shooting clubs, law enforcement agencies, scouting groups, 4-H and other youth organizations, hunting and other conservation groups, teachers, women, disabled sportsmen, and many other community service organizations.

Nearly 70 percent of grant funds support youth-related programs.

Since 1995 the Wayne County Friends of NRA has funded grant requests of $4,500 to the Tuscarora Council, Boy Scouts of America, and $4,700 to the Goldsboro-Wayne Law Enforcement Center.

For more information or for banquet tickets, call Chris Johnson, chairman, at 583-8328; or committee members Richard Mossholder, 658-2912; or Dave Meador, 735-2316.

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Dave Meador is Third Congressional District coordinator for the NRA and has served in the organization various other capacities -- all volunteer.