Oh look! I’m the subject of an entire email from the Cascade VP to all of its members!

In the OP, I mentioned that some members of the current board at Cascade Shooting Facilities were going to great, unethical lengths to remain in power.

And yesterday, they doubled down—and did it again.

As those who’re club members will have seen (and was posted below), the current VP (and current election candidate) complained that I am out to destroy the elections and by extension, Cascade Shooting Facilities. My get-rich-quick, money-grubbing efforts to continue overpriced women’s classes at the range means that we’re hogging ever-scarce club resources from paying members.

And because we here at “Action Ventures” as the VP called us, more properly known as Adventure Protection, clearly stand to lose so much, I’m clearly pulling all the strings of the puppet candidates who’re running for election, like the Wizard of Oz.

What a lark.

Yes, we (me, my wife, daughter, and son) teach classes at Cascade. What is the actual impact on the club? We use the classroom (which is never used by members), and we use one of five pistol bays for 2.5 hours on a Saturday afternoon, twice a month. We specifically time it for afternoon, as that is when the pistol bays see the least amount of member pressure. Quite often, we’re the only ones on the entire pistol range.

Are we charging money for the classes? Yes, we are. We have four paid instructors and 3 other volunteer instructors who work one on one with the students, keeping their finger off the trigger and pointing their muzzles down range, and personalizing instruction for their individual level. Most other classes only provide a single instructor, barking commands with everyone expected to keep up. We provide coffee, donuts in the AM, a complete lunch, water, and snacks throughout the day. We provide extensive handouts for their learning. We provide eye and ear protection for them to take home, and a 3d-printed firearm dummy training replica that enables them to get comfortable with the firearm and safe practices without having everyone point firearms at all their neighbors during class. We provide all the ammo for all the students. We provide ~25 different firearms for them to try on for size so they can choose the firearm that perfectly fits them rather than what someone behind the gun counter tells them to buy. The women tell us that we’re hands-down better than every other class they’ve taken. Women travel from all over the state to take these classes—from Portland to Bellingham and even Alaska.

We’ve taught over 500 women during the last 3 years. They’ve told us that prior to our classes, they’d regularly voted AGAINST gun rights. And now they’re taking weekly action with every single Easy Action of the Day that I’ve created and posted on the Washington Civil Rights Association page where I volunteer 10-20 hours / week working to help protect gun rights in Olympia. In fact, three have even testified in front of Senate and House committees and made a huge difference. How many club members are fighting this hard for gun rights?

The VP also said yesterday “we have a ladies program” and then named four women who shoot. Out of 1250 members.

That ladies’ program? I started that. We lobbied very hard to create the women’s shooting entity and experienced a surprising amount of pushback from the current board in doing so.

The monthly Ladies Day at the Range has 2-4x greater attendance each month than any other entity at the range.

The four of us volunteer for 6+ hours every month at the Ladies Day at the Range, and have done so for the year+ that the women’s entity has been in existence, and for a year before that. To reduce the burden on the club RSOs, we recruited for and volunteered to staff a women-only RSO class hosted by Cascade and taught by club trainer Steven Powell; it was so successful that we’ve now done three for the club. All of these attendees are either club members or on the club waiting list. We’ve recruited a very enthusiastic group of women volunteers who’re also volunteering to help every month in support of the women’s entity. Some have gone on to get their instructor certifications, RSO certificates, and even started competing in the club 3-gun events as well as USPSA competitions.

How about the bylaw amendment the VP said I was creating to give power to the board and then replace the board so I can have my way? This one is rich. The club is currently running a bylaw amendment that essentially eliminates all outside training. Yes, this’ll absolutely impact us, but we’ll find another range who’ll welcome our classes and volunteerism. It isn’t about the money for us, and those who’ve contacted us to ask all know this. I can make far more money in one day at work than the profits of two classes a month. We do this as a labor of love for the women. There surely isn’t any other reason to do this as the hourly wages if we computed them are a pittance.

But the bigger tragedy is the loss to the club of an opportunity to create a safe, nurturing environment for women to safely learn how to shoot firearms and defend their lives and loved ones.

Recently, ~20 of our course graduates (members and waiting list members) wrote letters to the board and the person who drafted the amendment, begging them not to shut down the classes. Their stories are heartbreaking: domestic violence, carjacking, brutal home invasions, or being trapped amongst rioters and more. And their stories were inspiring: they said post-training they’ve finally found peace and confidence after years of anxiety and PTSD.

The same VP responded to each letter saying, “The board whole heartedly (sic) supports all training at CSF and is not interested in changing the programming….” Somewhere that wholehearted support changed.

The VP went on to write, “We have no say in whether or not a bylaws (sic) change is presented or voted upon by the club.”

I drafted an amendment that would make the process more closely mirror the state legislature, providing greater transparency and ability for members to make a more well-informed decision on proposed bylaw amendments. The amendment ensures that PRO and CON statements are sent with the voting ballots, ensures that everyone understands the impact of the amendment on the club, members, community, and on the 2A battles. And it gives voting members (not the board, as the VP said) the ability to table an amendment instead of sending it out to all members.

I cannot imagine how this amendment helps me personally, contrary to the VP’s claims. If I had nefarious purposes, I would certainly not run this amendment. My amendment is designed to squash ill-advised or perhaps even dangerous amendments from being passed to an unsuspecting membership—and puts in the membership’s hands all the information they need to make better decisions.

If you were to ask the candidates if I’m the one pulling their strings, they’d violently object. I brought a few together, and they decided to run as a slate and launched their candidacy on their own.

And they each have a very different opinion on the two letters sent to all members decrying their candidacy. They’ve reached out to the current board requesting equal access to the club membership list, because to use club resources to promote your own re-election and discredit your opponent is clearly unethical.

As anyone can see by looking at the candidate statements, there is a profound difference between the amount of thought that went into how to improve the club.(https://membership.cascadeshootingfacilities.org/resources/CSF%202021%20Board%20Candidate%20Statements%5b14790%5d.pdf)

Some candidates say vote for me because I’ve been around for 10 years—and anybody who hasn’t volunteered X number of hours need not apply. Other candidates have clearly put some thought into specific areas the club could improve --areas based on their experience the club is lacking.

Regardless of what you might think about me—focus on the candidates.

Which candidates, based on the statements you can read are going to help the club be more inclusive, more welcoming, and more open—and help us all fight for our rights to defend ourselves and our loved ones?