We had a fantastic shoot last Saturday, the 12th. We had 82 shooters making it the largest shoot of the year for SMSS, I saw many faces I had been missing for quite a few months and a few that it had been about a year since I had last seen them. I don’t think I was able to get around to welcoming everyone back so I will tell you all now it sure was good seeing everyone. We had a few visitors from over in North Carolina with Rusty Slim Spur and fellow Outlaw Loose Cinch. We had a visitor from Texas that goes by the name of Johnny Morris who not only was a fine cowboy but was also a great shooter. I hope our path will cross again sometime.

We held the annual meeting and elections, some of the topics covered were; we chose to have the Smoky Mountain Shoot Out again in 08. We had a report from Hombre Sin Nombre about our finances; I talked about our relationship with ORSA and all the other items that have to be handled annually. We also held the elections; your officers for the coming year are as follows.

Ramrod - Tn Tombstone (President)
Asst. Ramrod - Keystone (Vice President)
Foreman - El Carrera (Range setup & scenarios)
Sec/Treasurer - Hombre sin Nombre
Chief Scout - Fiddleback
Marshall - Last Kiss* (Safety Officer)
Trail Boss - Lady Tombstone* (Smoky Mountain Shoot Out)
Territorial Gov. - Silver Dust*

*Elected to new position

I want to take this opportunity to thank Owlhoot Harden for all the work and time that he has given this club over the years as Territorial Governor. Owlhoot has served as TG for this club since the beginning of SMSS. He was ready to step down and I am glad it worked out for him and SMSS. We now have Silverdust as TG and I am sure he will do an equally good job.

It has been brought to my attention that we are getting very lax on our shooters working during the shoot. I know this is a great time to socialize with friends but everyone has to work to keep a posse moving and to prevent a single posse from dragging down the rest of the group. We expect everyone to help out. If this trend toward people not carrying their load continues we will start assigning positions to each shooter. The posse leader’s job is not running the clock as some people think, their job is to keep the posse moving and people working. Everyone knows what is expected of them during a shoot, however, I have noted a lot of people standing around talking or sitting at their carts waiting on the next stage. We have to have everyone help out during the shoot. If a cowboy or cowgirl does not carry their share of the work after a few requests to help, they will be asked to leave and not come back until such time as they can help out. It takes a minimum of 10 people working to make a smooth posse and a fun shoot for everyone involved.

Posse Leader

Timer

3 Counters

Brass Wrangler

Target resetter for shotgun targets

Loading Table Officer

Un-Loading Table Officer

Shooter

Loader

In the hole

Unloader

Shooter that just unloaded and taking guns to cart

That list is 14 people and we have about 15 people per posse. Is the answer larger posses so the work gets done and some people can loaf? That does not seem fair to the rest of the group as this will lead to longer shoots. I will be harping on this problem over the next few months or until we turn back into a working club. I will be talking to all the posse leaders to find out who is a shirker when it comes to helping the posse. If there is a pattern that develops, that person will be asked to leave. (Outside of health issues) This may seem to be a harsh stand but it is the only way I can see to make it fair on the whole club.

We need to plan on having a work day on June 30. That will be the fifth Saturday in June so no one has anything scheduled that I know of. We need to finish the mower shed, weed-eat, mow and some other maintenance issues. Hope everyone can show up and help out.

Good luck to everyone attending area shoots; you do us all proud and be sure to put the name of SMSS out there for everyone to hear. Our annual Smoky Mountain Shoot-Out will be March 27 – 29, 2008.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights

Tennessee Tombstone