Mason Gun Show April 7th and 8th
Delaine and June manned the booth at the gunshow in Mason for the weekend. Saturday started out great, we signed up four new members in the first two hours. The weather that weekend started out cloudy, windy and cool but soon warmed up and turned nice. This apparently had an affect on attendance at the gunshow so things slowed down rapidly. All in all we received some donations, talked to a lot of great people and considered the event worthwhile. However, we would like to see some volunteer help in manning these booths. If you would like to volunteer please contact June at mi_coord@2asisters.org or Delaine at mi_co_coord@2asisters.org. There are other gunshows that SAS Michigan can attend if we had volunteers to man these shows. Please contact us if you are able to help us out.
Shop-n-Shoot Weekend in Frankenmuth - March 17th & 18th
Delaine and I headed over to Frankenmuth the day
before our event in order to tie up the loose ends we
still had and, hopefully, get some R&R. Got the loose
ends tied but never did get much rest or any
relaxation! We did have to visit the nearby outlet
mall to pick up the shopping bags and discount cards
they provided for our attendees and, of course, we HAD
to hit a few of the stores while we were there (had to
make sure the discount cards worked, ya know). Our
charge cards got a good workout that afternoon!
After a good, healthy dinner we headed back to the
hotel and started organizing things for the next day
(mind you, our room was wall to wall boxes and bags of
STUFF!). We were up til 12:30 Saturday morning putting
together our Welcome packages and the Women on Target
goodie bags. (IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Delaine gets
uncontrollable giggles when she gets tired)
On Saturday morning we had a nice (LATE) leisurely
breakfast and went back to the room to gather our
paraphernalia for the registration desk. Even before
the hotel had the chance to set up the table, we had
attendees coming in the door looking to grab their
coupons and discount cards and head out to the stores.
That was the last we saw of them until dinner. Did,
however, see several cars in the parking lot that were
piled high with shopping bags!
About 4:00 we started getting a little concerned about
Juli B. Tried to get her on her car phone - no answer.
Gulp! What if she got lost....again! Left her a voice
message and hoped for the best. She arrived at the
hotel at around 5:30 - just in time to freshen up and
head over to the restaurant for dinner at 6. Greeted
her at the hospitality desk - what a sweetheart she
is!
We were also having the same concerns about Rep. Sue
Tabor since we had yet to see anything of her. Upon
checking further we were assured that this was
standard practice for her...and she would come in in a
whirlwind at the last minute. True to form, that's
exactly what she did! What a little spitfire and a
great asset to the Second Amendment Sisters
organization!
After one of our Associate Members gave the blessing
we were served Frankenmuth's world famous chicken
dinner with all the fixins..and more.
At 7:30 our first member meeting (which was open to
the public) began. Yours truly fumbled through a
non-rehearsed speech - trying to look out at the
audience as much as possible without losing my place
on the page! Fortunately, Julie Bednarzyk, Rep. Sue
Tabor, and Pat Alzady are all pros at public speaking
and provided a lot of food for thought. Sen. Joanne
Emmons was not a scheduled speaker, however, was
offered some time at the podium - which she eagerly
accepted. Bill Johnston, husband of one of our members
and a NRA instructor/training counselor, spent a few
minutes urging attendees to consider training to be
instructors.
We had a table set up in the back of the room with
t-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, gun fact books,
etc., which was converged upon both at break and after
the meeting.
Sunday brought us a beautiful day - for March in
Michigan. Sunshine and no wind - a little chilly early
in the morning but warmed up to the 40's by mid
morning.
In addition to all the registered shooters, supportive
husbands, and instructors; reporters from the Detroit
Free Press and the Associated Press, as well as a crew
from the Fox News Channel out of Chicago, spent the
morning talking with attendees, snapping pictures and
taping interviews. From these came more good
(national, no less) coverage than we had ever dreamed
of.
All the shooters, from novice to advanced, had a great
time. The instructors who volunteered their weekend to
participate in our event were exceptional. Without
their help our weekend would not have run as smoothly
as it did.
Everything flowed so smoothly - and with the weather
as cooperative as it was - we couldn't have asked for
anything more. Because of this, we will be making this
an annual event.
June Fellows
Michigan Coordinator
Grand Rapids Gun & Knife Show - January 6th & 7th, 2001
What a busy show! On both Saturday and Sunday the DeltaPlex was packed with people! June was joined by SAS Michigan members Erich Burgstahler, Barbara Stockford, and Jeff Fellows on Saturday. June, Delaine and Erich manned the show on Sunday. Well over 300 signatures were collected on the petition, one new member signed up at the show, but there was ALOT of strong female interest in joining our organization......especially when they heard about our upcoming Shop 'n Shoot Weekend!
Luckily we had just received a new shipment of membership forms as there were only a few left by end of day on Saturday. We sold out of our Gun Facts books, bumper stickers, and made a good dent in our supply of buttons. When young children accompanied their parent(s) at the booth, Erich would "buy" them a button.......they LOVED it!
There were a lot of words of encouragement offered as well as many comments from men about how glad they are to see women taking a stand to preserve and protect our second amendment rights.
It is amazing, however, to find so many people that still have never heard of the Second Amendment Sisters! That's why our attending gun shows is so important....it gets our name out in front of people!
This was definitely one of our better shows and gave us a real boost!
Ludington
American Heritage Gunshow
SAS members Carmen Hren and Don Youngs joined June and Delaine for a one day gunshow in Ludington at the Lands Inn on US-10. They were able to spur some interest in this area of the state. We really hope to hear from other members in the Ludington area who are willing to donate some time at these events or offer suggestions for other events. There are still many people who have not heard of the Second Amendment Sisters. We will continue to get the word out - gunshows are a great opportunity to do this.
Mason
Ingham County Fairgrounds was the setting for our latest event. SAS participated with a booth on Nov. 5 and 6 at this gun show. Thank you June, Delaine and members Barbara Stockford, Karen De Jager and John Kehoe for their help in manning our booth.
NRA Rally
On Tues. October 17, James Baker, Wayne LaPierre, and Charlton Heston arrived in Walker and Michigan SAS was there! Delaine and June manned our booth, passing out membership forms and information and selling all our t-shirts. It was standing room only as Mr. Heston urged the crowd to "Vote Freedom First!" Our own June was able to speak with Heston and also LaPierre who thanked SAS for what we are doing. Once again we would like to extend our appreciation to MCRGO for their assistance in our participation at this key event.
We were encouraged by attendance from Michigan SAS members at the rally from as far away as the Michigan/Indiana border and were also honored to meet up with our neighboring SAS members from Indiana.
American Heritage Gun Show
SAS made it's presence known just north of White Cloud at the Leighton Hall on M37. On Oct. 15th from 9-4 p.m. Lots of information was distributed and our t-shirts were sold. Thanks goes to Delaine and those who attended to the booth with her.
Red Flannel Day
Thanks to the generous support of the American Legion of Cedar Springs, we were allowed to set up a booth in their parking lot , in the heart of the Red Flannel Day festivities, on Oct. 7th. Delaine and June were at the American Legion at 7:30 a.m. and were met by John Kehoe, an SAS member from Ionia. Over the next few hours, they were joined by another 10 members.
The booth was pelted by rain, sleet and snow over the course of the day and almost blown away a few times, but thanks to the dedication of our leaders , some brave members , and the wonderful American Legion (who supplied us with coffee and encouragement) the booth stayed open . We handed out red balloons to the kids, membership forms and information on Proposal 00-02 to the adults.
There was a large turnout at the grand parade which featured our red pickup decorated with the American and Michigan Flags and the back window which states: 2nd Amendment - What part of "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED" don't you understand?
The Michigan SAS chapter also made a contribution to the Red Flannel Scholarship Fund . The fund benefits and encourages the furthering education of young women.
We plan to make the Red Flannel Days an annual event - but next time we will have a canopy over our heads!
September 4, 2000 Labor Day - Mackinaw Bridge Walk
On Labor Day, 2000 the Michigan Second Amendment Sisters teamed up with the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, MCRGO , to walk the Mackinaw Bridge in support of gun rights.
On August 17, the Detroit Free Press reported that the Million Mom March planned to walk the bridge and we immediately began making plans to be there. The annual 5 mile bridge walk is generally a family event and politicizing of it is not encouraged, but we had to be sure our side was represented in this case.
Many of us met up at the Econolodge in Gaylord the night before. We introduced ourselves in the parking lot, compared bumper stickers and admired our newly printed shirts (a special thanks to Doug James of MCRGO for helping us get them printed so quickly - they looked great!). Later we went to dinner as a group and made plans for the following morning.
Monday morning came very early. Gaylord is about an hour's drive from the bridge and we needed to be there by 6:00 am. to meet and prepare for the walk, which began at 7:00 am. The village had informed us that we would not be allowed to set up a booth, but that we could pass out information to walkers as they came off the bridge. Therefore, some of us walked the bridge while others remained on the finish line in order to hand out information as people arrived off the bridge.
Those of us walking met up with the MCRGO on the opposite side and could see the MMM waiting across the street. There appeared to have been 25-30 of them and they were holding a large banner. Later we discovered that several of them were from out of the state. One Detroit paper reported that bad weather had kept their numbers down, while the Lansing State Journal claimed there were 1,000 in attendance. The group we saw had no more than a couple of dozen and we definitely had them outnumbered. Rural Michigan is well known for it's sportsmen and support was on our side that day.
We were able to hand out all of our literature in a much shorter time than we expected. Support was great for our cause and several people expressed interest in joining our group. We hope to make this an annual event and plan to have an even larger crowd next year!
August 26th Women's Shooting Event
We attended a Women's shooting event put on by the Michigan Outdoors Women's Club (MOWC) at the Mecosta Sportsman's Club. The event was well organized and very educational for beginner shooters. There was good food, great weather and a great time for all that attended. There were licensed instructors who spoke and assisted in the shooting events. We were forced to leave early to prepare for our next event but were able to leave behind a table full of literature for anyone interested in our organization. It was a great opportunity to talk to other Pro-Gun Women's Groups and share ideas. This was the first of what is to become an annual event.
July 28/29 2000 Celebration on the Pond
We set up our very first booth in Morley, a small town just north of Big Rapids. What a learning experience! We were able to get a Banner made up in time for displaying, which helped to span attention andcuriosity from the public. We gathered signatures for the petition, were able to get several people registered to vote, and were also able to get several people signed up as Second Amendment Sister members. A small amount in donations was collected - every penny helps!
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