Markham Skeet Club

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2008 Hawaiian Shirt Open

June 7th and 8th, 2008

Turnout More than Doubles Targets Thrown Last Year

Next Event is July 5th and 6th, 2008

The 2008 edition of the traditional Hawaiian Shirt Open at Markham Skeet was a surprise and a success. The last two years "Hawaiian Shirt Open" shoots were held in rainy, windy weather. Not this year, as decent weather allowed some top notch performances to be posted. While it was a bit warm (OK, so it was really warm), and the "shirt selection skills" of some shooters was sub-par, many shooters donned the "mandatory-optional" loud print shirts that give our June shoot it's name. Here's a tip for next year - 100% cotton. JC Penney's has 100% cotton print shirts that are perfect for this event! Beware of Rayon (nylon and polyester, etc.), it is fine if you are "half-baked", because if you wear it in the June heat, you'll be "completely baked" by the time you finish a single event! Rayon bad, cotton good - got it?

Turnout was terrific, with 27 different shooters and 7200 targets thrown. Last year we had 13 shooters / 3400 targets, and the year before 14 shooters, when both were shortened by rain. Big difference! Thanks to all who attended and made this shoot such a success. The newly publicized NSSA Class All American Team competition was no doubt a contributor to the attendance, and we applaud the change and the notice to shooters.

Gun and Class Champs

The Loud Shirt 12 Gauge Event

Last year a 96 topped the 12 gauge event, but not this year! Not one, but two 99's were posted by competitors Jim "Tiny Jim" Vahey (CH) and Rocky "The Rockster" Long (RU)! Third went to Todd "The Traveler" Bowman with a 97. Class Champ honors (and 100 Class All American (CAA) points) went to Chuck Farnham, Gary Stoye, Steven Sagal and Alex Rennert. See complete results for other finishers.

The Baggy Shorts 20 Gauge Event

Not content with a solid showing in the 12 gauge event, and a Runner Up finish, Rocky "The Rockster" Long posted yet another 99 in the 20 gauge event to take Gun Champ Honors. Runner Up went to Nick "Too Tall" Azan with 98 and third went to Jim "Tiny Jim" Vahey with a 97. Class Champions also earning 100 CAA points were Haynie, Vazquez, Sagal and Weissman.

The Sandy Sandals 28 Gauge Event

Chuck "The Weatherman" Farnham posted an exceptional 98 and take Gun Champ in the "Gentleman's Gauge". Chuck "Club Champ" Fohlbrook posted a 97 for the Runner-Up title and Steve "Lowgun" Haynie took 3rd place. Also earning 100 CAA points were Class Champs Gary Stoye, Jim Vahey, Tony Cicchirillo and Rocky Long.

The Tiki Torch 410 Event

The real "barn burner" event in weather is usually the little gun, the idiot stick, the gun that separates the champs from the pretenders - the .410 bore. While the weather was a huge improvement over the previous years (thanks to The Weatherman), it was not entirely perfect. In addition to the heat, there was a nice stiff breeze to cool things a bit. Alas, such cooling breezes provide some excitement with the little gun. Posting 93-93-93 was good enough for Champ-Runner-up and 3rd for Chuck Farnham, Chuck Fohlbrook and Robert "410 First" Vazquez. (Gee Robert, what's to complain about?) Class winners earning 100 CAA points were David "D" Lee, Nick "Too Tall" Azan, Michael "Book'Em" Baranet and Rocky Long.

The Diamondhead Doubles

The new 50 bird format we've instituted for the Doubles event has been a big success. We are seeing much more participation in this format, and the negative feedback has been limited to one or two comments. Since we are getting twice the number of participants as when it was a 100 target event, we will remain with a 50 target event. We do however wish to hear your opinion, so let us know what you think. Event winner, second and third each receive 100 CAA points, while class win-place-show receive 50-37-25 points, respectively. Champ was Mike Gosik, Thomas Tamayo was Runner Up and Jim Vahey was 3rd - all with 45 out of 50. Class winners were Mike Baranet and Steve Haynie.

Hawaiian Shirt High Over Allhttp://www.mar

The HOA Champion title went to Chuck Farnham with a 381, Chuck Fohlbrook (375) squeaked out Runner Up by one bird over Third Place Steve Haynie (374). "Class Crowns" for HOA are awarded to Andre Williams, Jim Vahey, Steven Sagal and Rocky Long. No, not "class clowns..."

HOA Crowns, with all attendant Rights and Privileges are hereby awarded to each of them.
Well Done!

(There are no CAA points for HOA and HAA, just so you know.)

Complete Results are posted here:

12 Gauge	20 Gauge	28 Gauge	410 Bore	HOA
	Doubles	Summary

Thanks to all who attended and to Steve Sagal for handling the food arrangements for both days of this shoot. Thanks to Ellen Rieske (and anyone I overlooked). Your support is appreciated!

IMPORTANT SKEET NEWS - PLEASE READ !

Talking about Talking

Please review your "Skeet Tournament Etiquette" and make sure you're being courteous to your fellow shooters during registered rounds. There is a nice article on the subject here: http://www.markhamskeet.org/skeet_etiquette.htm Are you really courteous?
Several complaints were received of conversations by the same offender behind shooters distracting them at our last shoot. We will address the issue privately with the shooter, but perhaps we all need a refresher. While some conversation may not bother you, it's possible that it bothers someone else - we are all different. While we're mentioning it, if you see or hear distracting activity on your field, don't be afraid to remind offenders that they might be disturbing the shooter in the "box". Step up and remind them politely.

Price Changes:
Several things are going to affect our prices in the near future.
There will be a price increase by Broward County for our targets in October, though we do not have the amount yet. We will pass this amount on to shooters. We had managed to avoid "passing on" the last increase, but we must pass this one on. We will try and post the new amounts being charged as soon as we know them.

In October, we will begin charging an additional fee of $5.00 on the first event entered each day. This charge will appear on your receipt as Banquet Tickets. This fee will offset increased costs of lunch and beverages provided to the shooters. A simple price increase would unduly benefit single gun shooters at the expense of multi-gun shooters. This arrangement is as fair as we can be to all shooters, though it is more cumbersome than a simple price increase to administer. This charge is NOT optional - it is not for lunch specifically, and every shooter will be assessed on the first gun of each day. We have seen that such a system works well for the Trap division of the club, and we are opting to use their model. The good news is that we will try to upgrade the lunches with this more predictable source of funding. Believe me, you'll not buy a better lunch for $5.00 on your own - and if you think you can, you need to volunteer for Lunch Chairman! Step Up!

A Fellow Shooter, Mark Ehnle, needs our help.

We received some bad news from shooters Frank and Stella Ehnle about their son, and fellow shooter, Mark Ehnle. This is from a letter from Stella explaining what is happening now.

As you know our Son Mark had cancer in 2006, he was in remission, but we just found out it has come back.
He is going to be out of work and does not have any insurance (for wages). We know it is going to be a long road to recovery and we are doing everything humanly possible to get him the treatment needed. We are not worried about the Medical bills, since they have many foundations and the American Cancer Society has many plans for people without insurance.
What we are concerned about, is his everyday expenses and his family.
We are asking all our Skeet friends for whatever assistance they may be able to do.
Please also pray as hard as you all can.
Marks address is:
23105 Dover Dr, Land O' Lakes, FL 34639.
His phone number is 813-996-0668, I am sure he would love to hear from all of you at your convenience.
Thank you all and may God Bless you all

And in a later letter:

We were able to get Mark an appointment at the Moffit Center yesterday. The prognosis was better than we expected, at least this can be treated. It is going to be a long process, they first have to shrink the tumor to a small enough size to remove it. The doctor does not want him to go back to work yet because this mass is so large it can affect his other vital organs. He has started the treatment and has another appointment on July 25th.

Since he is going to be out of a job for quite some time, we are asking our friends and family for any monetary assistance they may be able to donate for helping with his everyday expenses.

We are going ahead with the shoot scheduled July 19th and 20th and we will have a donation jar located in the kitchen.
We are trying to get him Social Security and Medicare, but the process takes long and we do not know if they consider this enough for him not to be able to work.
Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to do so. Hope to see you all at the shoot.

Many of you know Mark from the Polk County shoots, working hard behind the counter with registration and results. Mark has volunteered many hours of his precious time to the sport and it's a good time for all of us to show our appreciation.

IMPORTANT: IF ANYONE IS GOING TO SEND A CHECK TO MARK, PLEASE MAKE IT PAYABLE TO
STEPHANIE EHNLE
23105 Dover Drive
Land O' Lakes, FL 34639
THANKS FOR ANY HELP AND AGAIN, PLEASE KEEP HIM AND HIS FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS.

We will be soliciting donations for Mark at our July shoot, so bring an extra 10-spot or more to kick in - he'd do it for you!

RAFFLE

We are raffling off a case of ammo to benefit Mark. We will be selling chances @ $5 each (or 5 for $20) for the winner’s choice a case of (12 or 20) gauge Game loads #8. $5 will could get a $60 value. Winner need NOT be present to win (Put number and name on back of ticket.)

Can buy tickets at July 5-6 shoot or this Tuesday night (7/1/08) at the range – see Steve Haynie.
Winning Ticket will be drawn Sunday after last gun, and we will call the winner to allow pickup if not present.

All proceeds to Mark.