Exciting New Program Coming to TSRA

[Charles L. Cotton]

I am launching a new program that will be operated under the auspices of the TSRA Executive Director's Office and it has the potential to increase TSRA's impact on the Texas gun-owning community and politics in Austin like nothing any of us have seen in decades. The new TSRA Volunteer Corps will be give TSRA and its members the ability to offer services, programs and expertise to Texans throughout the State on a scale and schedule no state has ever seen. At this point, I cannot go into detail as to the scope of what will be offered, but I can say that seminars mentioned in another thread are only the tip of the iceberg.

Steve Vandermolen (SRVA on TexasCHLforum) has agreed to accept the position of TSRA State Volunteer Coordinator (SVC) and I could not be more thrilled that he has agreed to take on this role. Steve and I have worked together on several Texas State IDPA Championships and numerous other projects and his dedication to duty will go a long way toward making this new program a huge success. I will leave it to Steve to give you more information about what the early days of this program will entail, but I assure you that we can and will use skills and talents from all walks of life. Over the years I have had countless people ask the simple question, "How can I help." While these dedicated individuals could be used for specific local events, we will now have the opportunity to coordinate on both regional and statewide efforts to bring more people into the gun-owning community. Education, training and involvement will become the new cornerstone of TSRA.

When I approached the TSRA Executive Committee with the proposal to create the TSRA Volunteer Corps (TVC) they were solidly in support of this concept, recognizing the tremendous talent and potential our Members can offer to Texas gun owners. They unanimously approved my proposal with the caveat that there must be a system in place to screen volunteers who will "carry the TSRA flag" and interact with people including juniors. This is understandable in light of the current litigation climate and since people and organizations who do not share our esteem for the Second Amendment would love to thwart this new effort that they will rightly perceive as a threat to their agenda. There will be an application process and what that will entail is still under development. Obviously, our insurance company will have some input.

I hope a lot of you are as excited about this new opportunity as are Steve and I. With your participation, we can develop a volunteer program that will be the envy of every gun/civil rights organization in the country, not just Texas. I will be very candid with you folks, development of precisely this type of program and outreach effort is why I agreed to accept the TSRA Executive Director position. We have tremendous potential to grow TSRA and have a positive impact on Texas gun owners, not just in political terms, but in their every day lives. When the call comes to join us in this effort as a member of the TSRA Volunteer Corps, please answer that call and offer your skills and talents.

Chas.

[nitrogen]

Absolutely awesome.

This kind of thing has the potential to do exactly something I always gripe about: outreach.

I'd love to be a part of it once it starts coming together.

[SRVA]

I am honored that Charles has asked me to act as State Volunteer Coordinator for TSRA. I believe this will be an exciting program that will get involvement from a broad spectrum of people across the state. Obviously, the program is still in development but I have some thoughts about what we can accomplish and how we can do it.

I believe we need to develop a select group of people across the state who can coordinate events, encourage membership through local membership drives, and develop a cadre of people with the talent to support them in these activities. We will need people who strongly support the free exercise of gun rights in the state and are willing to work within the TSRA to accomplish the organizations goals. I am willing to commit to identifying, recruiting, training and supporting this volunteer group to the fullest extent possible. As we grow, we will identify "what's in it for me" opportunities for the group.

Over the next few weeks, we will develop and deploy an on-line application process for people interested in joining. As soon as it is available, I will announce it here.

Our first project will be to support the TSRA annual meeting. We will support TSRA staff on setting up and providing personnel to help with specific tasks during this event. If you are interested in helping, please PM me with your contact information. As soon as I get a list of needs from the TSRA staff, I will start the recruiting process.

Growing the general membership of the TSRA will allow us to be the dominant political voice for gun rights in Texas. Developing and deploying a group of qualified and committed volunteers will support the organization in it's growth. The Texas CHL Forum members are a tremendous resource and I see many of the initial volunteers coming from here.

I appreciate Charle's confidence in me and will not let him, the TSRA, or it's members down. I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Steve Vandermolen

[Carrots]

Congratulations Steve, so much for the quiet life eh

[Paladin]

I think having a TSRA Volunteer Corps is an awesome idea and I have great confidence in SRVA acting as state voluneer coordinator!

One thing the TSRA needs is more presence. At gun shows I've seen NRA and GOA recruiters... but no TSRA recruiters... TSRA needs to have a presence at gun shows.

Texas Hunters and CHLs too often don't understand how the TSRA directly benefits them and don't know everything the TSRA has accomplished for them over the years.

Put me down as interested in helping out.

[SRVA]

Thanks Paladin, That is exactly the kind of thing we are considering. The other is to develop a TSRA "road show" made up of experts in specific areas to speak to groups across Texas on timely topics and encourage TSRA membership. We would like to have volunteers, known in their areas, assist with scheduling and coordinating the event. I believe this program is exactly what we need in Texas to develop the political influence of gun owners.

There are currently about 38,000 TSRA members in a state that has over 4.5 million gun owners. Imagine the ability we would have in Austin if 25% of the gun owners in this great state were members.

This volunteer corps will be the key to increasing our fund raising opportunities and helping grow our membership.

We will need volunteers for the annual meetings this February and I am ready to begin collecting the names of people interested in helping at the annual meetings or participating in the broader volunteer program.

If you or anyone else is interested, please send me a PM with your name, the city in which you live, and an email contact address, interest area and any special skills you have that would benefit the program and if you are currently a TSRA member. I will begin identifying and selecting volunteers.

Thanks for the support,
Steve