Do not raid investment funds

ATA plans to raid investment funds to pay for daily
Operations. Membership fees and shoot fees inadequate
Time to say NO

 

Is that the slush fund user-1 has been yapping about?

 

Birdrider that is not what the minutes state but I can guess your motives.

 

I seem to have missed that too.

 

Going forward, Executive director Gipson’s concern for the ability of the memberships and dues
to cover the cost of everything associated with the home office is becoming more and more
acute. Costs have always been kept in strict control, so the reliance is on revenue to keep our
operation of the office out of the “red”. The SCTP partnership memberships have prevented a
deficit for the last few years, but uncontrollable escalating costs have undermined the ATA’s
advantage. With no increases in revenue, the ATA will shortly be subsidizing the operation of
the office from the investment portfolio. Executive director Gipson has little doubt that the
revenue from membership and daily fees at the current rates will be adequate to cover our
future costs.
EC meeting - July 30, 2018

 

Meaning - the continued downward trajectory of revenue will force an increase in
membership dues (not necessarily a bad thing). My 'motives' are simply to state that
the investment fund should not be utilized for payment of daily operations. I think that
should be utilized only if (when) a move from Illinois becomes necessary (hopefully never)
I am a 100% supporter of the ATA and could care less where they hold the Grand as
long as it makes business sense and promotes the future of the ATA. (PS - for you
Shaeffer lovers, read the minutes closely and take another sip of your kool-aid)

 

I noted with interest how many AIM people are interested in Trap shooting compared to Sporting Clays and skeet.

Sad but true, these games give the kids a chance to interact while they are competing, and they like that.

As one young man told me at my old club..."Trap is boring"

Guess he has a point there.

 

ATA dues have been the same for how many years now? Are dues still $18 a year? I pay yearly and I "upped" at the Grand this year, can't remember what I paid. I'm thinking $18 - $22??? Might be time for a raise to $25 a year. I stopped at a sports bar for lunch the other day - 6 lousy wings, 2 drafts beers, tax and tip - $25, so $25 isn't out of line anymore for membership - one lunch.

The ATA owns "Trap and Field" now - it should be a money maker because 80% of it is ads.

Fewer and fewer people shooting every year and it's not going to get any better, so it will become a major problem in the future on how the ATA funds themselves.

 

Why not make dues $300?

With the rising cost of free K80 combos for the Presidents, and the rising costs of sending EC members to resort areas for mini grands, it is time for a revenue boost.

Whatever it takes to keep that place open and in Illinois!

 

The ATA has been known to use funds collected for one thing and it be used for another, there is obviously nothing in the By Laws that can stop them from doing so ... Several years ago the ATA collected a relocation fee from and on every shooter who signed up at a registered shoot, the relocation fee monies that were collected was used to buy all new Pat Traps, I do not recall ever being asked how I felt about it but can tell you it pissed off many, many members ... The ATA is going to continue doing as they please until the day comes where they are served legal documents to forbid them from doing so ... The State of Illinois has a new Governor, see how long it takes him to do something that adversely effects the WSRC and its existence ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

I call it the ATA's "hedge fund" .....

"The very name "hedge fund" derives from the use of trading techniques that hedge fund managers are permitted to perform. In keeping with the aim of these vehicles to make money, regardless of whether the stock market has climbed higher or declined, the managers can "hedge" themselves by going long (if they foresee a market rise) or shorting stocks (if they anticipate a drop). Even though hedging strategies are employed to reduce risk, most consider their practices to carry increased risks."

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102113/what-are-hedge-funds.asp

The "International ATA Charity" may need some more of "Bat's" help, with telling the unwashed masses how to "read" the "numbers" .....

 

Dave, (Brad's friend I hope) The only reason Registered ATA Trap Shooting is boring to that young man is you can't win 30 grand anymore. If the competition came back the boredom would go away. Easy targets are for the old farts that make up the ATA. Winston saw to that.

Ironically though one third of the ATA is made up of Jr's and Sub Jr's from the SCTP. They seem to not find Trap Shooting boring.
Brad

 

40 percent of the shooters have an average of less than 90 percent from the 16 yard line, shooting easy two hole targets. So who is bored, the 40 percent who average less than 90 percent or the the 60 percent who average more than 90 percent from the 16 yard line ? Just curious.

 

The old farts just got older. the kids never hung around much when daddy stopped paying the freight and if there's not a dime in option money anymore so nobody cares. Hanging around the motor home drinking beer and partying with friends is the new norm.

 

The tens of thousands that have left the sport. 200 birds, plus carry overs to the next day.

 

Let's see. For example,the late, great Frank Little broke a 99+ Singles average and a low to mid-90's handicap average nearly every year from 1970 until his death in 1992. He must have been awful bored almost never missing. Maybe all those clubs he attended trembled on his appearance and reduced the distances and angles. Then again he probably didn't care what hole the targets were in. Real ability has that effect.

 

So if those SCTP kids weren't forced to join the ata the numbers would be that much lower.

 

This is where we tell 'dawg facts matter. Frank never shot a 94, 95, or 96 average from the caps. One year he had an 89.
He could have said Frank shot low 90's from the caps, which was great at the time. A 90 used to be considered a score to brag about.

And now we get 'dawg's insult implying his wisdom is from old age. Save it. Get your facts straight.

 

Maybe you should get a few facts straight. Frank never shot over voice pullers when the biggest drawback from great back yardage scores were lousy pulls and cross calls. Those of us who were there remember the difficulty. Oh, and by the way, your reading comprehension skills are lacking. I suppose you can say Frank carried an 89 handicap average in 1965 but also carried several years of a 95+ handicap average. So either your lying, blind or both.

 

Maybe it's time for an apology for denigrating the official records of one of the finest Trapshooters and individuals ever to fire at a target. If you can't get your facts straight don't open your flapper. It's shameful to even speak of Frank in less than glowing terms especially from someone who's not worthy of carrying his shellbag. I knew him well and will always miss his presence.

 

My observations were with the kids having to shoot all three venues. Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays (they added 5 stand later at our club)

The kids enjoyed walking and talking between stations on the skeet field, Really Enjoyed the walk around the Sporting Clays course, and not so much of the trap and 5 stand shooting. It had nothing to do with their scores, they just liked the interaction between stations.

WE did indeed have one boy who stuck with trap, receive $5,000.00 of the Martin's money the very first time they gave the money for the GAH.

We had another very good youth shooter, who as soon as he graduated from the regulated AIM and 4H programs, went on to become a very good Sporting Clays shooter, and stuck with shooting that game.


Sad as it was, and as we all have seen, as soon as Mom and Pop quit paying their way, most dropped shooting all together for various reasons.

I was Just saying, not many of these kids did stuck with trap.

 

According to the State of Illinois web site , they lost another 45,+++ residents last year so things must not be all right in the Land Of Lincoln home of the Mini Grand ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

"Alternative facts?"

 

Please donate more to an org that freely gives K80 and Perazzi combos to the cronies at the top. You wont see them giving up those K80 combos before they raise dues.