2018 Was a Busy Year for The Well Armed Women of Spokane Rifle Club
- Our year kicked off in February with our 4th Anniversary Celebration with 34 ladies joining in the fun — several ladies that attended the first chapter meeting in February 2014 that have moved away from Spokane made it a point to return for this special evening.
- In 2018, we had 3 guest speakers at our regular chapter meetings:
- RW Pegau, a local paramedic taught Emergency Casualty and Trauma Care teaching us how to correctly apply tourniquets and effective use of chest seals and clotting agent bandages
- Mike Krause, owner of Total Security discussed Personal Protection Inside the Home, local patterns in home invasions, and security/home monitoring options for residential homes
- Ben Carpenter, WA Field Agent for the NRA who discussed the grim future of 2nd Ammendment Rights in WA
- Topics covered during chapter meetings in 2018:
- Introduction to Handguns
- Firearm Care – Cleaning, Staging & Safe Storage
- Gun Handling Skills — The Essentials
- Safe, Legal & Effective Concealed Carry
- Mindfulness & De-Escalation Techniques
- Developing Effective Training & Practice Habits
- Accurate Handgun Shooting at Extreme Distances
- Effective Drawing from Holster – Safely, Reliably, Effectively
- Summertime meetings take place off-site at a private outdoor range: where many shooters learned to present from holster for the first time, and where many shot steel and moving targets for the first time
- The division invited the fellas to join us for our CoEd Skills Clinics held in March, April, September, and December
- Cablea’s in Post Falls invited the division to teach 3 workshops during Cabela’s NRA Days — Firearm Safety, Concealed Carry 101, Buying Your 1st Handgun — a total of 73 women participated in the workshops
- The division hosted an NRA Basic Pistol Instructor Course in 2018 with 16 attendees — 9 of them were from Women’s Division and the rest were from the local community — this means as a division, we now have 9 NRA Certified Pistol Instructors!!!
- The division hosted two NRA Basic Pistol Student Courses in 2018— 13 individuals successfully completed the September class, and 22 students successfully completed the December class
- In April 2018 the division represented SRC at the annual Sportsman’s Warehouse Ladies Night Out where ladies from our division handed out 220 firearm safety fliers
- In March 2018 the division’s entry of antelope chili in the Sportsman’s Warehouse Outdoor & Shooting Sports Non-Profit Chili Cook Off won 2nd place!
- In 2018, the division hosted 8 Gun Cleaning Clinics in the Spokane Area and provided all instruction and cleaning materials for the clinics
- In November 2018 we Partnered with Spokane Police Department SWAT officer, Frank Erhart to host an Essential Concealed Carry Skills for the Responsibly Armed Citizen course.
- The division hosted four women’s only and one co-ed 1st Shots classes at SRC’s indoor range
- In August 2018, SRC’s TWAW partnered with Seattle Children’s Hospital and Samaritan Hospital during the Safe Firearm Storage Give-Away where more than 300 gun safes and 300 gun locks were given to firearm owners in Eastern Washington. During the event, members of Women’s Division provided one-on-one training, teaching the gun lock recipients how to safely handle firearms and how to use their new free locking devices.
- In August 2018, Glock, Inc invited a division members to participate in a week of training at Glock headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia. Thanks to Glock, the division has a Certified Glock Armorer and a Certified Glock Operator available to help the division’s Glock owners.
- In October 2018, a member of our division traveled to Branson, Missouri to participate in The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapters National Conference to participate in the TWAW Regional Trainer Development Course.
- In January 2018, the division was selected as regional training hub to oversee the implementation of The Well Armed Woman’s new Instructional Standards & Development Program in Region 3 (Washington & Oregon). Now that the instructional standards have been identified, in 2019, the division will implement the program in our own chapter, and we will be working with and mentoring the other chapters in our region to ensure that they are also meeting instructional standards and utilizing best practices.
Looking Ahead to 2019: Beginning January 5th, the division will resume hosting women’s only and co-ed courses in Firearm Safety, Basic Handgun, 1st Shots, Handgun Selection, and Gun Cleaning Clinics at SRC. SRC members receive a discounted course fee and preferential scheduling. Any remaining seats are open the public.
In February, the division will begin hosting training classes to address the training required by recently passed Initiative 1639. The training will help responsible citizens obtain verification that they have completed the required training to purchase a semi-automatic rifle. Effective July 2019, those that desire to purchase a semi-automatic rifle must show proof that they have taken an approved training course from an approved instructor/school.
The Well Armed Women of Spokane Rifle Club will celebrate their 5th Anniversary on February 8th at 6pm during their regularly scheduled chapter meeting. Kevin Hupp from Davenport Sporting Goods is the guest speaker for the celebration.
