Newsletter Archives for the V.G.C.A.
V.G.C.A. NEWS January, 2003
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This Month's Topics:
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General
Congratulations to everyone who was able to get the word that the snow
caused the delay of the meeting until the next evening. We owe many thanks to
Gary James and Dan Gagliasso for agreeing to stay an extra day and present the
program before returning to California I wish I could have been there, but I had
to consider the business first.
Secretary’s Comments
Folks, the first thing I would like to say is that I wish I could have been
there. The second is to thank Addison for writing almost all of this newsletter.
December Meeting
The December program was fantastic. It was a joint effort from the NRA and
VGCA. Phil Schreier brought in Gary James and Dan Gagliasso from California.
Both were producers and directors of many Hollywood films. Gary presented a
wonderful presentation that included a video that contained many famous moments
from many very famous Hollywood films - Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Tom Selleck,
Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda etc-that went back to the 20s and 30s and came up
through today. After we enjoyed that, we all went up to the museum where the
“Real Guns of Reel Heroes” display was still in place. (It will be leaving the
museum in January so get there soon if you have not seen it). Dan described and
explained the famous guns that were there---Harry Callahan’s SW Model 29... The
Sharps from Quigley Down Under... John Wayne’s rifles from many of his movies...
Roy Roger’s gold-plated .45 Single Actions. It was a fantastic presentation. He
walked us through the entire exhibit with anecdotal information about some of
the individual pieces that was funny and informative.
The snowstorm prevented our even trying to have the meeting on Thursday. Phil talked them into staying over for an extra day (probably by canceling their airline tickets home). We had well over 70 members and guests. We had pizza since the NRA Cafe was closed. It was a great evening. We owe special thanks to Mike and Ronnie Orsinger and many others for their emergency service. The NRA VCR player grabbed the only video tape and would not release or play it, and there was only one copy. Thanks to pliers, wrenches, knives, Leatherman tools, assorted connectors and wires, and a considerable amount of cussing and yelling, several of us completely destroyed the VCR player to extract the all- important video tape and we ran across the street to Circuit City to get a replacement VCR The tape was damaged by the original NRA machine, but our members rose to the occasion and fixed it with scotch tape and an incredible amount of expertise and cussing, yelling, and sweating. They made it work! We were afraid to test the tape since we felt rewinding it would be a disaster. We decided to go for broke and attempt to run the repaired tape during the presentation, and it worked just fine. Gary and Dan expressed amazement that we were that fanatic to make it work. We said, “Welcome to Virginia”!! How- little do they know about us!! Phil’s help cannot be understated so thank him the next time you see him.
Board Nominations
Emory Hackman presented the three-nominee slate for the Board of Directors.
They are Larry Hare, Ernie Lyles, and Rick Nahas. Gary Holderman was nominated
from the floor and agreed to let his name stay in nomination. The three present
members are Ernie, Gary, and Elmo Phillips. There will be a few words about each
of the nominees at the end of the Newsletter. Those who are elected will serve a
two-year term beginning right after the January meeting.
Ballot Card
A Ballot Card is enclosed with your newsletter, and in accordance with the
Bylaws must be mailed in in order to be counted. The deadline for receipt is 21
January. Please remember that ballot cards brought to the meeting cannot be
counted.
Future Programs
We need ideas for programs for 2003. There will be three NRA-VGCA
presentations. If you have any ideas, please contact Phil Schreier or Addison
and let us know what you would like. There have been several suggestions
including Harpers Ferry Rifles, Flintlocks, and -45 1911s. January Program. In
keeping with the 100" Anniversary of the 1903 Springfield Rifle, the program
will be-on January 23 at 7:30-1903 Rifles. Bring them all in and be prepared to
discuss them with the membership. Start doing your research and let's all learn
something about these wonderful rifles that served our nation for so many years.
The meeting will be just one big show and tell. Bring in anything for sale, and
we can also have a swap meet as well. Address Lists. You have all heard Mike
comment in a joking way about the difficulty in keeping his Membership List
current with up-to-date addresses. Well, the phone numbers and email lists the
EXCOM has are very out of date. This was quite evident when trying to call the
membership to let them know that the last meeting would have to be changed from
Thursday to Friday due to the snow. Please-all members-check your phone number
and email address and send a note or email to Addison. His email address is
HurstA@mediasoft.net His phone number
is 540-882-3543 and there is an answering machine on when he is away from the
office. Without your current information, you make our job much harder. We will
set up a flash Email Message Program to inform all email addressees of important
information. Once you receive the information, please make every effort to call
all of your friends or other nearby members of the changes. Not everyone has a
computer. We are well over 300 members now, and communication is very difficult
without constantly updated information. Your address information is held by the
EXCOM and is not released to the public. I was amazed at the number of invalid
phone numbers I had for members. Wrong area codes, etc.
VGCA Web Page
There is now a new icon on our web page: www.VGCA.ORG. It is a little cloud
that says "weather alert". If you open the web page and it is flashing, please
open it for it contains important information about the meeting etc. It might be
a change in the meeting or other important things about which you need to be
aware. We will use it for all urgent messages to the membership. Larry Hunt is
to be recognized for his fine work in keeping our web page current and
interesting. I plan to ask the EXCOM to make him a permanent nonvoting member of
the EXCOM just as Charlie Rathell and Emory Hackman are. These folks are so
important to the running of the Association that it is important to recognize
and keep them involved in the operation of your organization. Larry just
mentioned to me that in the very near future his firm will be able to offer
another service to VGCA members that will cost us nothing. He will be
establishing a bulletin board for VGCA members that will enable you to leave
messages, offer things for sale, and indicate what you wish to buy. It will be
done with a password. I will keep you informed as this valuable service comes on
line. Make suggestions for things dealing with the web page to Addison for the
time being. Be sure to check our web page for great information on Al Edge. Al
is, as I expect you know, a true artist who makes early percussion and flintlock
Kentucky and Pennsylvania rifles. It is simply unbelievable what he is able to
produce. Al had the blacksmith display outside of the last show where he
demonstrated the 18* and 19th Century methods of preparing metal in the forge
for production of fine long rifles. He is a treasure and he is a VGCA member who
deserves your support.
President’s Corner
Please take our flyers to area shows between now and the March show at
Hugo’s. As you travel to shows, please keep an eye out for possible locations
for ow future shows. We will have plenty of flyers at the January meeting. As I
have stated many times, we do not have a lock on Hugo’s forever. We could lose
this location at any time. If you have suggestions, reduce it to writing and
send it to me or any EXCOM member. You may or may not know or know of Herb
Woodend. Herb was the chief curator of the HMS Pattern Room in the UK for many
years. Herb retired recently and is considered as an absolute treasure of
knowledge of the development of small arms in the UK and the world from the
beginning to the present time. His efforts resulted in the Pattern Room
accumulating one of the most extensive small-arms weapons collection in the
world. In addition to that, he is quite a character and a great human being.
Herb was stricken with cancer, is in the US now for treatment, and has racked up
a bill for over $l00K. John Wallace is taking contributions to help defray his
medical costs. Please send any contribution you can to John (The Herb Fund) at
his address: John Wallace, 1296 Worthington Lane, Greenville, NC 27858. Herb’s
local address is: Rotary House International, Attn Herb Woodend, 1600 Holcombe
Blvd, Houston TX 77030. Phone number 713-790-1600. He would love to hear from
VGCA members and any words of encouragement certainly would help. Please drop
him a note of support.
Please take the time to vote in the election for the Board of Directors. Each of the nominees is an excellent choice. Unfortunately, we can only have a three-member Board of Directors to serve with the four Officers as members of the Executive Committee.
Nominees
The four nominees are listed below in alphabetical order.
Larry Hare. Better known as Mister Show and Tell, Larry is an important
adviser to the EXCOM. He has made the Secretary’s job easier by agreeing to be
the Membership Chairman. He also volunteered to ease the burden on Ed Costello
by managing the collection of dues and maintaining that particular roster. He
also has compiled and continually updates a Telephone and Email list of the
members who choose to be included. The list was invaluable during the recent
snow-delayed meeting. Larry has allowed his name in nomination in the past and
would like to be a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
Gary Holderman. Gary is one of the five percent that does 95 percent of
the work in any organization. For at least 10 years Gary has been the official
photographer for the membership cards. He has also led the Show Committee for
many years being extremely helpful to Jim Burgess and just as helpful to Phil
Hill in making our shows the successful events that they have been and are. When
there is something to be done, you will usually find Gary involved. He has been
on the Board for the last four years and has been instrumental in all that has
been accomplished during that time.
Ernie Lyles. Ernie has expressed a strong interest in being reelected to the
Board and the EXCOM. Ernie has been a member of the Board for the past four
years and has been instrumental in the progress that has been made. He can
always be found supporting our functions and has quietly, but fervently,
supported all of the initiatives and believes the VGCA should continue on the
path it is following. When there is something to be done, Ernie steps forward
and does the job.
Rick Nahas. After many years, Rick has finally agreed to run for an
elected position in the VGCA. Rick is known to many as “Mister Smith and
Wesson,” not only because of his vast knowledge of S&W firearms, but because he
co-authored a book about them that is equal to any research effort on any other
firearm that is in print. Rick helps out at our Gun Shows and picnics. He can be
seen at many shows throughout the United States and always represents the VGCA
and the Second Amendment as an unofficial unpaid more-than-worthwhile emissary.