I was thinking the Martins. We would have left to a better venue if not for them. Time to just put ‘em in charge. Anyone else?
That's actually a good choice, but they might be a little too emotionally enmeshed. What the WSRC really needs is an impartial, honorable, ethical business leader and fund raiser with lots of hands on, high level, competitive trapshooting experience. The candidate must not only be extremely fluent in the language of Illinois State politics, but also be capable of negotiating complicated real estate transfers with and on behalf of buyers, sellers, and contributors. The successful candidate must be able to effectively demonstrate methods and means by which all cash and credit transactions occurring at the WSRC shall, on an annual basis, stand the scrutiny of Illinois State Auditors. I would think any recent Chairman of Trustees of The Trapshooting Hall of Fame would make an ideal candidate.
I could certainly offer up a couple of my friends on here who would be most honorable, and know how to run the show. BUT, I would like to remain their friend, so I will refrain from publicly announcing my choices.
If you had the most ethical person in the world in the job, he would still be working under the E.C. How long do you think he would last with their oversight? Hire that man, then dissolve the E.C. and the B.O.D. Roger C.
Roger, I fail to understand how the WSRC Director would be working under the ATA? The ATA only has 2 Controlled shoots( Grand and US Open) a year at the WSRC. Totaling about 2 months including setup and tear down. The rest of the year they have nothing to do with the site. There have been a lot of changes at WSRC lately. I see this as a good thing for the facility, even if most on here don't care for the place. It's there, it's not going anywhere. Hopefully the new director has some good ideas for even more usage. Before this job title and appointment change, things were out of the WSRC directors hands on what they could and couldn't do. Just my opinion. I would hate to see any place close that offers shooting and recreation regardless of if I like the place or not.
Brad M The ATA will never be the organization it was set up to be. The E.C.'s have morphed it into their private piggy bank. We will never know how many deals like the trap machines, and the real estate purchase have been done. The H.O.F. building is a slap in the face of the members. The WSRC is not the problem, the E.C. and their control over the B.O.D. are the REASON THE MEMBERS WILL NEVER HAVE CONTROL OVER THEIR ORGANIZATION. Roger C.
Roger, That still does not clarify your statement that the WSRC Director is working under the ATA and or the EC.
Brad, I was being sarcastic with my first reply to your opening post. The point is moot. In reality, the position with its accompanying job description is not, as of December 13, 2019, being advertised on the State of Illinois Job Opportunities web site. Any organization would be well served to have an inbred relationship with a Director of WRSC. SASS uses the facility more than ATA. If they were able to place a sympathetic advocate in that now non-existent position, who would blame them? Until and unless Illinois is able to become fiscally responsible and thereby solvent, there will always be a Great Big Question Mark (?) following anything associated with WSRC, and as a result, the same will be true as regards ATA. As I like to say, when Illinois shits the bed, ATA will be homeless. That component of the ATA/WSRC relationship is all that is germane. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors, manufactured in large part for the entertainment of us lonely old hayseeds.
Brad, In case you were not aware, that place was built for the ATA. The other users are just side bars. The ATA was supposed to be the generator of revenue for that place. If the ATA was to leave, the rest of the users could not keep the lights on. The citizens of Ill. were sold a bill of goods, the WRSC was supposed to bring in a lot of money for the citizens in and around Sparta. That never happened and never will. Sad but true. The E.C. of the ATA was told by the members do not move to Ill. they did it anyway and are now paying for their folly.then they had members donate for the H.O.F. building, that was way over priced. Knowing that it would be owned by the state. How in the hell could any one playing with a full deck condone their stupidity? Roger C.
You bet he would. He'd say, "You've gotta be kiddin' me. I wouldn't build an outhouse over top of this shit hole. AMF, I'll be back in Florida before you finish reading this post."
Man, I wish I would have thought of that one. Him or the 183rd fighter wing out of Springfield Practice makes perfect!
Roger, I understand that in the beginning it was built to host the grand. There are a lot of other events out there that generate revenue as well as a world class event center that has weddings and corporate events just about every weekend as well. I would love to see how just how much revenue the WSRC brings in during a year compared to how much it pays out. I'm sure someone here can FOIA it like other things in the past. Then we can put the "Money Pit" issue to rest.
Hey haters! Sparta will do great with anyone at the helm. I hear rumors that one of the CC gang may be interested. I nominate Luke.
That would imply it has done great in the past 1,978 What you "think" and what is reality sure are different
All the information you are curious about has been discussed here ad infinitum, ad nauseum. I think you may be just a little bit late to the party. Not only is WSRC a blood sucking money pit, but the ENTIRE State of Illinois is a blood sucking money pit. Please engage in a little due diligence. I have found it very good for the soul.
Monica is employed by the IDNR, you can bet the ATA EC has a major amount of influence on most everything she does ( or did) in and about the facility ... The events other than the grand which does not pay its own way (annually) do not come close to generating enough revenue to break even on the facility taking into operational and cost to maintain same ... It was once said it takes 3 Million dollars per year ( 3 or 4 years ago) to maintain the facility, the amount generated by a combined effort of all of the annual events held at said facility is between 1.3 to 1.5 Million so there is a deficit that goes on to the other deficits over the years that total well over 25 million to the State of Illinois since opening the WSRC ... Say what you will but the place has proven to be a loser right from the start that adds to the States financial burdens (deficit) on an annual basis ... The ATA on the other hand has generated an income from being involved with the WSRC, but they cannot draw a crowd which would increase their generated income considerably ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
mudpack, Luke would be a very good choice, but I doubt if he would want to work with a bunch of loooooosers. Roger C.
Sheesh....I just want to know how many really give a rats ass who runs the joint. (yes I said rats) I don't see why merlo or any of his friends should care. The last gal running the place couldn't give free targets to the SCTP. If the SCTP doesn't want the place why should anyone else.....unless of course you are Wayne and it is in your backyard. Previous statement excludes Gipson, and his 2012PULL pals.
The speculation is over. Lauren Mueller (Illinois's ATA Delegate) has been selected as the Executive Director for the WSRC and I couldn't imagine a better choice. Congratulations Lauren.
Ms. Mueller is indeed an excellent choice for the WSRC. She has a very strong background in gun club and shoot management. As for her shooting abilities, well I can only hope to shoot as good as she does when I grow up! It’s a big job she will be taking on with many issues to deal with. I wish her the best of luck.
Great choice,her and the family do a great job running Brittany gun club home to the Illinois State Shoot.Always running great shoots.Wish her the best.
She will do a better job than me. Glad I did not have to fill in. I will be on the bench. I would like to hear her plan to get the SCTP back.
If Mueller is shoot manager of Brittany Gun Club I would think she is friendly with vendors like Lynn Gipson. I am sure that helps. Winky winky Wishing her the best of luck too.....winky winky
YA YA..At least Lauren is not a Political Stuge of the ATA,and the state of Illinois DNR. Who better to run the place than a shooter..Sure beats a a$$ kissing political hack running the place with zero experience.
No she is an Illinois delegate that has voted for or allowed free guns, taking money from the shooters at Sparta to go to the HOF building owned by Illinois. If she wasn’t cozy with the other ata hacks she would not be there. I am sure someone ran her name by Gipson. Not sure how that conversation went.
Let Her run the place and give the Lady a chance.......some of you can continue to stand back and run your mouth if that helps your ego.
Yes, she probably is. And, my expectation is that she will be professional and treat everyone with appropriate consideration and respect. Even the douches that frequent this place.
QUOTE="Federal, post: 77825, member: 758"]Let Her run the place and give the Lady a chance.......some of you can continue to stand back and run your mouth if that helps your ego.[/QUOTE] Does that go for the people you wanted to buy that stuff you had for sale on this site too? That's what is great about this site. You can say anything you want. Nice not having to post 50 times first huh?
Now there is a backhanded compliment if I ever saw one. LOL, Thank You BTW, you do know what site you are posting on right? Don't be so hard on yourself, I don't know if you are a "douche" or not. You will have to prove it before I can call you that.
Federal, I don't know what you call "running your mouth" but I found a few that would qualify perfectly. "Well brad, Dr long wind and Roger the zombie...start drinking your Kool Aid ...The Grand Will be in SPARTA ya hooooooooooo! " "Could DR.shortshot have somewhat less than a brain." "The Dr and Herman Munster must be on suicide watch!!! Watch for their obits!! " "Longshot still alive...how's the Crow Supper taste? You and ol Merlo sleeping in the same bunk tonight with a bottle of Crown and leftover Crow." Of course these gems were mixed in with your For Sale ads. And you didn't have to post 50 swipes at people first to be able to sell your stuff. If I remember correctly you posted that you sold ALL of those empties in part to the buyers on THIS site. Make sure to let all these people "running their mouths" know when those empties are for sale again in April. Good Luck with your future sales.
Flyersarebest, I put the empties up for sale if people want them ok if not that's ok to. You think it is a money making thing sell some and ship them. you will find out. There are people that need them I'd even sell some to you if you want them. Just like voting I may agree with you and I may not and that is ok This is the USA and we can think as we please. It is ok to disagree we can still shoot together and have our own opinions. Stock market is up, weather is great good luck in your shooting in 2020.
The pic takes care of the For Sale stuff Would you like to reply to the top portion of my post? Or maybe just tell people to watch for MY obit?
Good luck to Ms Mueller. It is unfortunate the forum has to allow Federal on the site. The one person that doesn't respect anyone's opinion. If churches have to allow gays we can have a queer or two. jmho
Does that go for the people you wanted to buy that stuff you had for sale on this site too? That's what is great about this site. You can say anything you want. Nice not having to post 50 times first huh?[/QUOTE] I dunno Flyers....I seem to recall a few (what I thought was a clever joke) mysteriously disappear rather quickly after posting about your favorite Sparta topic. Probably a glitch I'm sure .................... Flyer does not have access to the part of the program that bans users. Anyone banned has a line thru their name or the letters are blackened. Do you know of any?Anyone else claiming the ban title is looking for attention. I hope that helps. -admin
The WSRC is a loser, dead horse, you can put anyone in charge you desire and unless they can perform miracles that is not going to change ... The ATA let the members know exactly how important they were to the Organization when they went against the Polls that were taken that showed the Majority were opposed to re location in the State of Illinois ... One would have to imagine Monica's hands were tied to some degree while working for the IDNR and being influenced by the ATA to keep everything on an even keel, kind of trying to row a boat with no ores ... The attendance speaks for itself so changing the Director is not going to change what has already been established over the past 14 years ... The lack of attendance is not and never was the fault of the Director but is a direct result of the Membership resenting lack of appreciation over the years by the Governing Body (ATA) and no body else .. Until there are Major changes in the ATA the members will continue to make them pay by not giving them business ... There is no shortage of shooters just a shortage of shooters shooting registered targets and or attending the grand ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Did any other states offer to build anything for the ATA to entice them to go there? Mr Dean and the other site always say that illnews gave the ATA a place to shoot and ohio kicked them out so they had no other option. I'm curious as to what the other options were. does anyone here know?
Flyer does not have access to the part of the program that bans users. Anyone banned has a line thru their name or the letters are blackened. Do you know of any?Anyone else claiming the ban title is looking for attention. I hope that helps. -admin[/QUOTE] Sent you a PM back admin. No one was banned. Just a few posts went bye bye. No big thing
Flyer does not have access to the part of the program that bans users. NOW you tell me! I wondered why all those people were still here after I pushed that delete button.
Chris, I am not going to go over it and try to explain it all to you, (check out the archives) they had options even had one where they could of owned the land and had a low interest loan plus grants for the construction phases, they never gave it any consideration ... The Fix was in with the State of Illinois, who got what from whom is any body's guess but that is business as usual in the State of confusion ... The site they could of owned was in Texas and had any and all of the amenities they could of possibly wanted, was with in 15 miles of a Major Air port ... The ATA knew long before the time came to move that they would eventually have vacate the grounds in Ohio so if any searches were done it was minimal at best ... People from Sparta actually were at the Grand and left because they were told they were not going to be "that place" , obviously that all got changed again ... There was talk about purchasing the strip mined property in Sparta but it did not pass the due diligence the ATA paid a professional Company to come up with, so the ATA elected to lease same (still no due diligence) to get around it ... It was one Big Cluster F&%K and still is to this day ... We all know and read about it as it was or was not happening, no body is going to lay it all out for you so you will have to do some due diligence and search ... Depending on who you talk to you will hear a bunch of Bull shit or the facts, it was covered like a blanket on this site and its all there for you to read for your self and then you can make an informed opinion ... This site posted Facts not what they thought people wanted to hear ... Have fun ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Thank you! I was shooting at the time and attended every grand in Vandalia from 1990 to when they left Vandalia. I do remember the poll that they took. I walked away from trapshooting roughly in 2006 to raise my family and just started shooting again last year. while I was away from the sport I paid absolutely no attention to what all was transpiring in the ATA. I do know with the cardinal center being much closer to my location there is no reason for me to go to sparta.
Chris , That is pretty much how many to most shooters feel about the extra travels and associated costs ... There are some shooters who will go no matter when or where it might be, but where eliminates a lot of people with family's ... I have associated and talk to many shooters over the years, with Cardinal Center being the lessor of two evils many choose to shoot more events and give them (CC) the business instead of being inconvenienced and travel farther to do so ... The name "Grand" has been whored out to the point it seems there is a grand something someplace almost every weekend ... Family is always a good reason to step back, you can always pick up shooting again at a later date ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Those are two more good reasons to not travel to Sparta and then trying to get that smell off of you and your gear is another good reason ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
In case Ms Mueller does not stay my next nomination would be more of a people person. Nominate Dave Schaefer. Most popular person here.