On Saturday, April 6, join the Monroe County Shrine Club at Powder Ridge Sporting Clays for their first annual Sporting Clay Shoot & Cookout Fundraiser to benefit Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. Starting at 10am, participants will enjoy healthy competition and a fun afternoon of sport shooting clays at 15 different stations. Local experienced shooters will be on site with some warm-up instruction for both beginner and veteran competitors. ATVs are welcome to ride from station to station. The event will conclude with a hog cook-out and sides provided by 50 East Casual Dining & Spirits. (Pictured above: Christina Entenmann)

Sporting clays are a type of skeet-shooting event where participants use shotguns to shoot small, round hard-clay targets that are launched into the air by throwing machines. According to the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, sporting clay shoots are one of the most popular, profitable, and fastest growing fundraising events in the country. Event organizer, Ricky Edwards says this is open for everyone with participants ranging from ages 6-99. They need to bring their own shotgun, shells (minimum 100 rounds), and ear + eye protection. He tells us there will be 8 shots per station in groups of 5. Asking Ricky what was the inspiration for this event, he says it began at the 2017 Farmer’s Day parade in Union. “There was a huge turnout of Shriners at this event with floats, bands, clowns, hillbillies, and motorbikes. Then I looked around and noticed there were several Shiners on the sidewalk watching. I had a moment to reflect and thought ‘Not all Shriners are clowns, motorbike riders, band players, or golfers. But most own a shotgun.’ So why not come up with something for everyone. I presented the idea to the club and it was approved for me to carry forward,” says Ricky.

This event is prepared to host 150 shooters. So far, folks from Charleston WV, Damascus VA, Bristol TN, Summersville WV, Princeton WV, Lynchburg VA, and several locally are registered to attend. Pre-registration is $75/shooter and $20 non-shooter which includes the cookout. After March 25, the registration will increase to $100. The goal is to raise around $5,000 or more for Shriners Hospitals. “You just never know how it will stack up until the end of the day. We will always accept donations.” He goes onto say, “The Monroe County Shrine Club is committed to supporting the Shriner’s Hospitals that provide specialized care for children with orthopedic conditions, burn injuries, and cleft lip and palate. All services at Shriners Hospitals are provided, regardless of the ability to pay.”

Asked if there are any upcoming fundraising events this spring, Ricky says yes! “Please join us for our 10th annual Golf Classic on Saturday May 18th at Fountain Springs Golf Course in Peterstown WV. Tee off is at 1pm and it is a 4-person team caption choice ball. Cost is only $260 per team and hole sponsorship is only $25. (Pictured above: Ricky Edwards)

Powder Ridge Sporting Clays is located on Tunnel Hill Rd in Caldwell, WV. For anyone interested in either event please contact Monroe County Shrine Club 95 Doss Shaver Rd. Union WV. 24983.

– HashtagWV #111. March 2019.