By GWENDOLYN WEILER
Moapa Valley Progress
Shorty and Lacey Tom, committee members of the Friends of National Rifle Association (FNRA), are busy making arrangements for the annual FNRA banquet to be held August 25 at the Clark County Fairgrounds. This event is the only fundraising effort held for the local FNRA chapter each year. All members of the community are invited to come.
“We are super passionate about helping the youth learn, and the FNRA has given us a huge grant for our shooting sports program,” Lacey Tom said. “This is all a way to give back to the FNRA for supporting our youth and the kids of our community.”
FNRA is the national fundraising leg of the NRA Foundation. Half of all moneys raised go back into state programs that support shooting sports. Although any shooting sports program can apply for money from the foundation, most of the money goes back into programs that teach minors how to handle firearms properly so that they aren’t scared of them or inclined to use them irresponsibly, Shorty said.
“Most of the money that we’ll raise will probably come back to our valley’s shooting sports programs, youth programs, and youth development programs,” Shorty added.
Money will be raised through ticket purchases as well as auctions and raffles associated with the event. Banquet tickets are $50 per person, and raffle packages are available for up to $10,000. Those who purchase packages will be entered into drawings to win assorted NFA merchandise and firearms. Shorty said there were over 250 items raffled and auctioned off at last year’s banquet.
Vegas Valley Wildlife Studio donated over $2,000 in taxidermy services to the auction and will also provide animal mounts for decoration. Ron Stocker, one of the owners and a resident of Logandale, said he is a strong advocate for FNRA. “You have to support these groups so that they don’t go away,” Stocker said.
The event will be catered by Two Gingers catering, owned by Logandale resident Denise Robertson. Dinner will be prime rib and salmon with a waffle bar for dessert.
The doors will open at 5:00 p.m.. Patrons will have an hour to mingle and participate in raffle games and the silent auction. Dinner will be held at 6:00 pm, followed by the live action and more raffle games.
Banquet and drawing tickets are available at the gun counter at Ace Hardware, online at friendsofnra.org, or can be purchased directly from Lacey by calling 702-672-4238.
Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available at the door.
