From the President's Corner


     The New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA) has been very busy and your association has been very effective this year. A lot of great things have happened in 2005. For some the biggest news in 2005 was the long awaited changes to our Concealed Handgun Law. Governor Bill Richardson signed the law just as he said he would and although I wasn't present the day he signed the new bill, I did have a chance to thank the Governor in person.

     The amendments and new law became effective June 17th. The concealed carry bill provided for all lawful shooters 21 and older to be allowed a permit, instead of the previous minimum 25 years of age. A permitted individual can now qualify with the largest caliber they are able to shoot for score in the training class and thus would authorize them to use any lesser caliber in their defensive carry instead of having to qualify with each caliber intended in carrying. The license term was increased from two years to four, and reciprocity with other states is finally being established. Your NMSSA, its Executive Officers, with support from our legislative lobbyist and the experience, expertise and financial assistance from the NRA made this event a success for 2005.

     In 2005, we had five mini board meetings and four fun shoots in Socorro, Carlsbad, Edgewood and Albuquerque. These events allow us to provide information to our members, the public and potential new members. I can not stress this enough that these events are our best avenue for communicating with our membership and the citizens of New Mexico.

     NMSSA had a presence at and had tables at several gun shows this year, but this is an area of needed improvement. The handful of members who staff these events are the core of volunteers who have been carrying the NMSSA for the past few years. It truly is disappointing with a membership in the 900s, that only five or six members are attending and staffing these events. It has been suggested that our Executive Officers and Executive Board Members should be required to attend at least one of the fun shoots during the year, as part of their commitment to the Association. I appeal to the membership to please help us at these events.

     NMSSA is an excellent organization. But like all organizations it is only as good as the volunteers that we have. I hope that all members are willing to help especially when we are hosting or participating in an event in your part of the Great State of New Mexico.

     Many wonderful and exciting events are being planned for 2006. New items are being proposed and help is needed to make these events work. Including new Fact Sheets on what NMSSA does and what we can do for the citizens of New Mexico. A new position is being opened, the Advertising Executive Officer, and we hope to have that filled early in 2006.

     Our Associations Webpage was redesigned this year and a new method for getting information out has been included in the Website. An electronic calendar will hopefully be established early in 2006 as a tool for not only our members but also for our potential new members. However, it is the duty of officers, clubs and members to submit articles, match schedules, club events, gun show schedules, etc., to the editor, so that our newsletter and calendar can serve not only our members, but all shooters and gun owners in New Mexico.

     Executive Board Members and Executive Officers continued to explore new avenues in 2005 to bring in more operating funds. With financial assistance from the NRA we were able to send three members to the NRA's University meeting in Salt Lake City. From that meeting, new grants and new ways of increasing membership were learned. I am happy to report that for the fourth year in a row our membership has grown. Although it is growing, we still have a lot of work to do. A new grant that we learned about in the NRA University, specifically for the increasing of membership was applied for in 2005. Although it was not received in 2005, I am very pleased to report for the annual report we did receive the grant January 19th, 2006. This new grant will effectively double our expenditures in the recruitment of new members in 2006.

     With this being the 72nd year of the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association we held our 71st annual meeting on January 21, 2006 at the New Mexico Tech Campus. The annual meeting had a very complete Agenda with a lot of great speakers: