YHEC State Championship
Oklahoma City, OK
June 3, 2000

Rain was in the air as registration began! At the OKC Gun Club on June 3, seven new registrants arrived on event morning - (hope they pre-enroll next year)

All the participants took the hunter responsibility exam, then assembled into teams and hit the ranges. The muzzleloaders got off to a rough start - (hope we can get new inlines next year)

But hey it was typical of my black powder hunting - wet!! And I bet everyone learned a little bit more about wet weather muzzleloading, they were being guided by the best hunter ed instructors and OK state muzzleloader members we have.

Shotgun started with a bye, and by the time their first group got there at 10:00 a.m., the OKC Gun Club Skeet shooters were ready to rock and roll.

The Orienteering instructors store their fowl weather gear at OKC GC, because at about 11 a.m. it became an official state YHEC event. The skies finally let go and we got wet. Be prepared is the scout motto and our boy scout/girl scout instructor always are. These instructors have shown the youngsters that mile section roads and barbed wire fences aren't the only way to find your way, they teach an invaluable skill.

At the 22 range, Tri-City Gun Club teamed up with the Women on Target and did a superb job as usual. It is a treat to see the women, young and old, show us guys up. They truly bring a little class to the benchrest when they're involved, hope to have more out this summer and Sept. 9^th to their 1^st big event.

Doug Hackney is the man! He moved all day Friday, set up the trails for Hunter Safety, Wildlife ID, and his 3-D Archery course. You know why he does it, when I asked all the kids at the end of the day what was the most fun, archery was yelled out by 10-12 kids. He knows what this is about and that's why he said to me Saturday evening, "See ya next year, Paul" thanks to all that help from the OKC Archery Division.

There is no better experience than going through the Hunter Safety course one-on-one with a game warden, talking about different gun safety issues, rules and regulations, and law enforcement scenarios. This is my favorite event, probably because of some of the young, innocent responses to life endangering situations. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation continues to be there for Oklahoma even when they constantly battle with budget constraints. That could legitimately keep them home.

Wildlife ID had a couple of neat twists on some usually easy questions. Thanks to the ODWC staff from OKC and Tulsa for all their support. Next year we will be linking the Hunter Education course dates with yhec.org and visa versa. Check us out for next year's schedule.

Lunch was prepared by Olde Orchard Inn, my brother Eric Conrady, and served by the hostess with the mostess, my mother Anna Conrady, with lots of help by the Heartland Chapter of the Friends of NRA. Vaughn Foods donated the salads, and Otis Spunkmeyer muffins. The staff at Edmond Security, Inc. puts a lot of time in on web design, mailing, advertising layout, etc.

My wife Sharon has computed everything for YHEC, while maintaining the stats and awards at all Oklahoma events to date(13). We had a blast and I couldn't do it without her!

Larry Riley told me if I got the money he would get 100 volunteers. Neither of us thought the other could pull it off.

Never say never, I came up with $24,000.00 through Friends of NRA and Larry had 110 instructors in 98, 114 in 99, and the number is still out for this year. It is amazing how many kids have their Hunter Safety card due to Larry's efforts.

The next time you run into Larry, thank him for OK YHEC, he is the reason we are here!