1/1/09 – State of the Club

The October – December quarter of 2008 kicked off our 21^st year with style.  We had our second best attendance yet for this quarter with 160 participants (Club event attendance was 103 and Buda Chapter attendance was 57)!  We blew away what was our average for this quarter (56)!  We had 14 events, which tied our second best for this quarter (we had 10 Club events and 4 Buda Chapter events)!  For a break down on events see October – December Quarter of 2008 Facts.  In addition we had four men join the Club during this quarter and 12 men and one woman renewed their memberships.  We had three officer votes, three active member’s votes, and five polls during the fourth quarter of 2008.

What a year!  2008 was the best year to date for FCS events attendance with 618 total participants!  Our old record was 528.  We set record attendance for the January – March, April – June, and July – September quarters!  We had our second highest attendance for the October – December quarter.  We also set a record with 73 events in 2008!  Our old record was 58.  We had record numbers of events for the January – March, April – June, and July – September quarters!  We had our third highest number of events for the October – December quarter.  We also passed the 500 event mark (we now have had 506).

Yearly Attendance Grid

Yearly Events Grid

* = Record

As was noted on the 2008 Statistics page, we set four attendance records for event categories in 2008.  We had our highest Meetings yearly total attendance (161 participants; the old mark was 141), Nights at the Races yearly total attendance (82, this is the first year that we have had Nights at the Races), Turkey Shoot yearly total attendance (30, this is the first year that we have had a Turkey Shoot), and Varmint Hunts yearly total attendance (10, this is the first year that we have had a Varmint Hunt).  We had our second highest Canoe/Kayak Trips yearly total attendance (13; the record is 18) and Promotions yearly total attendance (20; the record is 29).  We tied our second highest Ministry Events yearly total attendance (4, the record is 6).  We had our third highest Sporting Clays and Skeet Shoots yearly total attendance (133; the record is 140).

We also set 12 event attendance records in 2008, including a Shrimp Boil (16), a Chili and Salsa Cook Off (6), a Turkey Shoot (30), a Night at the Races (18), the Ducks Unlimited Fun (Sporting Clays) Shoot (9), a Non-Chartered Largemouth Bass and Perch Fishing trip (4), the Llano County Clay Busters Open (Sporting Clays Shoot; 7), a Chartered Hybrid Bass Fishing Trip (6), a Buda Chapter Meeting (10), a Varmint Hunt (10), a Non-Chartered Trout fishing trip (2), and a Buda Chapter Officers Meeting (6).  We also tied one event attendance record in 2008 – a Non-Chartered Bay Fishing Trip (9).

We had significant declines in our Dove Hunt attendance (48; down from 65 last year but still our third best) and Bay Fishing Trips (9; down from 20 last year; we pulled off one trip and had to cancel two but still had our third best attendance).  We also had to cancel at least two Buda Chapter officers meetings, two scholarship deer hunts, two doves hunts (due to an approaching hurricane), a guided teal hunt, a guided duck hunt, a guided upland bird hunt, a 24 Hour sporting clays shoot, and a family campout.  Our average number of attendees per event was down from 9.10 in 2007 to 8.47 in 2008.

We ended the year with our highest number of first time guests (50; the previous record was 40, an increase of 25%) and second highest number of active members (57; the record was 81) and membership renewals (40; the previous record was 48)!

During Fiscal Year 2008 (9/1/07 – 8/31/08) we took in $1479.47 which was our second best year (the old record, set in Fiscal Year 2007, was $1690.96).

We met some of my 2008 goals, including:

1. Gain 35 new members.  (Not met, we ended up with 16)

2. End the year with 90 active members.  (Not met, we ended up with 57)

3. Have 550 participants.  (Met, we ended up with 618)

4. Implement 60 events.  (Met, we ended up with 73)

5. Implement a Father/Child Clay Target Shoot (possibly to include a campout).  (Not met)

6. Implement a FCS shrimp boil (or similar) for a Men’s Ministry at a local church (which will include a big name speaker).  (Not met)

The next quarter promises to be an exciting one for FCS members and guests.  We have 20 events planned (four of these events are sponsored by the Buda Chapter) including:

• Thursday, 1/1/09, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM – “Bring in the New Year” Shooting Range Shoot at the Eagle Peak Shooting Range near Jonestown.
• Thursday, 1/1/09 through Sunday, 1/4/09 – Winter Dove Hunt at Lee Ewald’s ranches near Dilley.
• Saturday, 1/3/09 – Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter) at a location to be announced.
• Saturday, 1/10/09, 9:00 – 11:30 AM – Sporting Clays and Skeet Shoot at the Capitol City Trap & Skeet Club (8707 Lindell Lane, 512-272-4707).
• Friday, 1/16/09 through Sunday, 1/18/09 –Father/Child Deer Hunt at Frank Hamilton’s ranch near Trickham.
• Monday, 1/19/09, 6:30 – 8:30 PM – Officers Meeting at Green Mesquite BBQ ( 1400 Barton Springs Road, 479-0485).
• Friday, 1/23/09 – Night at the Races (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter) at the San Antonio Raceway, contact Darryl Swann at 512-845-4078.
• Friday, 1/23/09 through Sunday, 1/25/09 – Non-Guided/Non-Chartered Blast and Cast (Duck Hunt and Bay Fishing Trip) near Corpus Christi.
• Thursday, 2/5/09, 7:00 – 9:00 PM – Austin Chapter Meeting at Ron Denison’s home (1009 Ambrose Cove, Pflugerville, 512-670-7717 – Home and Work, 512-217-4677 – Cell).
• Friday, 2/6/09 through Sunday, 2/8/09 – Non-Guided Hog Hunt at the Y.O. Ranch near Junction.  The date and location are tentative.
• Saturday, 2/7/09 – Trout Fishing Trip on the Guadalupe River.
• Saturday, 2/21/09 – Guided Upland Bird Hunt with Joe Schram near Thrall.  The date is tentative.
• Saturday, 2/14/09, 9:00 – 11:30 AM – Sporting Clays and Skeet Shoot at the Capitol City Trap & Skeet Club (8707 Lindell Lane, 512-272-4707).  The date is tentative.
• Saturday, 2/14/09 – Buda Chapter Meeting at a location and time to be announced.
• Friday, 2/27/09 – Night at the Races (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter) at the San Antonio Raceway, contact Darryl Swann at 512-845-4078.
• Friday, 2/27/09 through Sunday, 3/1/09 – Non-Guided Hog Hunt at the CzC Ranch near Mercury.  The date is tentative.
• Saturday, 3/14/09, 9:00 – 11:30 AM – Father/Child Sporting Clays and Skeet Shoot with the Men’s Ministry of Great Hills Baptist Church at the Capitol City Trap & Skeet Club (8707 Lindell Lane, 512-272-4707).  The date is tentative.
• Saturday, 3/28/09 – White Bass Fishing Trip at Colorado Bend State Park.
• Friday, 3/27/09 – Night at the Races (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter) at the San Antonio Raceway, contact Darryl Swann at 512-845-4078.
• Friday, 3/27/09 through Sunday, 3/29/09 – Non-Guided Hog Hunt at the CzC Ranch near Mercury.  The date is tentative.

We have 63 events scheduled for 2009 (15 of these events are sponsored by the Buda Chapter) but will probably be adding several more.

The FCS/Great Hills Baptist Church (GHBC) Bible Life (Sunday School) Class continues to roll along.  GHBC is located at 10500 Jollyville Road.  The class meets on Sunday mornings at 11:00 in room A-125.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to attend the department.

For 2009 I have six goals:

1. Gain 20 new members.

2. End the year with 65 active members.

3. Have 550 participants (this is lower than last year as we will be having fewer events).

4. Implement 70 events.

5. Implement a Father/Child Sporting Clays and Skeet Shoot.

6. Implement a Sporting Clays and Skeet Shoot with a church youth group.

Our new Dri Duck caps and cross/rod & reel/shotgun T-shirts are in!  See the FCS Gear webpage for details.

I hope to see you at an FCS event soon and hope that our Lord blesses you and yours richly throughout this New Year.

Following His trail,

Randy Rowley

FCS President