Yippee, Yahoo… We Are A Little Excited Too!

At the recent Shot Show, held in Las Vegas, one of the evening highlights is always the Outdoor Channel awards event.  Every year the tickets for this event are hard to come by, so when you land some then you get to join about 2,500 other folks at the Hard Rock theater.  This year our Babes with Bullets team was invited to sit in the VIP section (YIPPEE) as we were nominated for “Best Online Series.”  We were joined there by Todd Merkow, President of Outdoor Channel digital and his wife, Lisa, who is also a Babes alum.  The hosted bar and dinner was enjoyed by all, along with laughter and applause for a variety of awards, my second favorite award being for “Best Blooper” (now come on…who doesn’t love a good blooper?)

My first favorite award has to been when Todd took the stage and announced the nominations for “Best Online Series” followed by saying the magic words “the winner of Best Online Series is Babes with Bullets.” (YAHOO!) I do remember thundering applause with multiple whoops and hollers coming from the audience; which later I found out was probably generated by our sponsors and fans from OTIS Technology along with several of our camp alum. I remember going up to the stage with Kay and Lisa, accepting the award, and saying a few words at the microphone.  (Actually I don’t know what I said but I was told that I was short winded for a change.) Kay then thanked our Foundation sponsor Smith & Wesson, as without their financial support, along with providing the camp with firearms, Babes with Bullets would not be entering its eighth year.  I remember Lisa thanking our campers, after all camps are for them and about them.  Then we were whisked back stage for an interview and photos. We came back to our table just about the time the last awards were being announced. The rest of the evening was a wonderful time of being congratulated by friends and meeting many new people related to the outdoor industry as well.

If there was an unfortunate part to this event it’s that our head camera gal and editor, Marilyn Vogel of ProVideos4U, was not at SHOT Show with us this year.  This award is being shipped to her; after all without the “magic” that she creates with viewing and editing hundreds of hours of tape, we wouldn’t have any webisodes to offer up.  And I never did make it back to thank Todd  Merkow for his support over the last two years and for providing a home for our Babes with Bullets webisodes which are located at OutdoorChannel.com/BabeswithBullets.  I’d also be remiss in not sending out a thank you to Jared Gustafson, our Outdoor Channel producer, for the extra things he does for our webisodes.

The day after the awards event, Friday, was the last day of SHOT Show and Outdoor Channel hosted us at their “Celebrity Big Shots” booth that afternoon.  They provided trading cards for us to autograph and we enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with several fans of our series and even pass out flyers about the 2012 camp schedule, which is also available at BabeswithBullets.com. Upon arriving home from SHOT Show 2012, I was tired and elated for both the success of the Women’s Outdoor Media Association, which our booth was very busy with many new members and sponsor requests, and the success of Babes with Bullets.

So Yippee, Yahoo and we can’t wait until SHOT Show 2013!

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HEARTBEAT of the WOMA for November 2011

The WOMA's Deb Ferns (Left), enjoying time with her new POMA gal pals, Laurie Lee Dovey (center) and Lisa Metheny (right)

I’m so proud!  I’m actually getting my monthly “Heartbeat of the WOMA” blog out before the last day of November; it’s like a miracle. In tune with the theme of November I’m going with notes of Thanks Giving for the people and events that entered my life this month. There isn’t any doubt in my mind that it was God’s blessings on me for the way this month turned out.  For instance…

THANKS to Ducks Unlimited (DU) and Bay Flats Lodge for inviting me, along with other women in outdoor media, on a “Blast and Cast” trip. This event made a lifetime impression on me and it was only 48 hours long. FYI – I’ve already written an article for the WOMA about my experiences in the duck blind and fishing, but what I didn’t write about is the blessings I received in terms of new gal pals!

To give you some brief history, the WOMA was created in 2008 to concentrate on media of any type that related to women in the outdoor venues of shooting sports, hunting, fishing and archery. Like any new kid on the block, the WOMA struggled in the beginning for recognition and to figure out where we belonged in the outdoor media world. When we started the WOMA, there were already two large outdoor media groups in existence, the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA).  To be blunt, I wasn’t sure if POMA or OWAA wanted much to do with the WOMA, so we weren’t working on building a relationship with each other.  I’m thankful that is now a thing of the past!

Lisa Metheny from POMA and Deb Ferns from the WOMA at the recent Ducks Unlimited camp at Bay Flats Lodge

Last spring, I was invited by an OWAA board member to join their group, and I have very much enjoyed getting to know the OWAA executive director, Robin Giner, and other members of the OWAA team. Then at the recent DU trip, I had the opportunity to share a hunt and meals with the executive director of the Professional Outdoor Media Association, Laurie Lee Dovey and POMA board member, Lisa Metheny.  Long story made short, our WOMA president, Marsha Petrie Sue, became a member of POMA within 24 hours of my leaving the DU event.

Kudos goes to Laurie Lee for sending over a benefit that is immediately available to all WOMA blogger members: a no-cost listing in the online directory at www.outdoorbloggerdirectory.com.  And another big Kudos because within a few days of leaving the DU camp, Laurie Lee became a member of the WOMA!   I feel blessed to have new outdoor friends and I don’t think a woman can ever have too many (right?)  I’m already trying to work out a date with Lisa, (on the left in the second photo), so she can take me turkey hunting. I’m not sure how that will go, since I found out I’m not allowed to talk and I can’t do my normal yoga in a blind movements.  All that said if Lisa’s game to make me into a turkey hunter than so am I!

THANKS go to Julianna Crowder, a fellow WOMA member, who also operates aGirlandaGun.com, and Sheldon Carruth of TexasMultiGun.com. Julianna knew that our Babes with Bullets firearms program (I’m the camp director) was looking for a place in Texas to host an event and she had women already recruited for us. We struggled to find a range with the bays and equipment we needed, along with a reasonable day rate. We had just about given up hope when Julianna stepped up with a commitment from Sheldon to cover a significant amount of our range fees through their Texas Multi-gun club and he also provided equipment, like target stands. To Julianna and Sheldon, you both “walked the talk” of getting more women involved in firearms training -thank you!

THANKS to my awesome Babes with Bullets instructors, most of them are also WOMA members, for making the last 2011 camp in Tucson a huge success! I’m sorry that each and every one of you can’t be with me on December 10th as I meet up with the BBC here in Tucson. The BBC is coming to tape a docudrama pilot on Babes with Bullets and you can bet I’ll get some information about the WOMA in there too!

Next month I’ll be reporting on the new board of directors for the WOMA, along with updates on SHOT Show quickly approaching in January. The WOMA has secured a booth, L344, and it has a great location near the NSSF Press Room. My prayer for you in this next month is that you each go and make a newfriend in the outdoors and most importantly remember to hold Thanks Giving in your heart through the holidays.

Deb Ferns
Chair

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Fishing versus Firearms….Tough Decision!

Why is Deb holding up a fish?

Babes with Bullets…doesn’t sound like a fishing camp right? Well in this case we just finished our second annual “Babes” camp for OTIS Technology employees. The Lucky Star Ranch (and it’s attached gun range) is a first rate facility which is owned and operated by the OTIS “family.”  It also has a first class fishing lake with big bass!  Since I live in Tucson, not known for its great fishing, I really enjoyed catching this 5.5 pound bass. And yes, I baited my own hook and took my fish off without help. While I didn’t fillet my fish (thank you Brad Bartlett) I did cook it, along with several others caught by the Babes instructors. We enjoyed an awesome fish feast that final evening at the OTIS camp even though I did manage to get the smoke alarms yelling on that last batch of fish when I let the oil get too hot (my bad…)

By the way I can’t give enough kudos to OTIS for their commitment to employee training. What always amazes me, year in and year out, in talking with dozens of women in the firearms industry at the large annual SHOT Show, is how many of them have little or no experience with any type of gun! OTIS Technology, along with other sponsors of our Babes camps like Hi Viz Shooting Systems, invest training dollars into their female employees because they recognize the value of having women “walk the talk.”  In other words if you are going to make your living providing products for firearms,
hunting, fishing or archery, then it would be a good thing if these employees understood how and what their products are used for.

It has far reaching effects that I want to share with you…
* 26 women come to a camp, 24 of them have never shot a handgun before.
* All 26 women finish a three day firearms course with a wonderful safety
record and a new self-confidence that you can’t put a dollar amount on.
* These women work for the same company but in a variety of departments. At
this camp they all work like one big team where new friendships are forged
and team attitudes are solidified.
* Within a week of leaving camp 18 of the 26 women have applied for their NY
pistol permits.
* Within a week of leaving camp 13 of the women are submitting paperwork to
purchase their first firearm.
* Within a week of leaving camp 11 women have contacted me to have their
sister, or mom, or daughter, or partner, attend a future camp.

This was but one camp where firearms training was the main course of the
three days and yes, the fishing was pretty good too!
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Heartbeat of the WOMA – July 2011

My goal was to have a Heartbeat blog by the beginning of each month. I only missed that deadline by 29 days here in July (sad, so sad.) I’m not going to beat around the bush; bottom line is summer is very busy for my meeting planning business (my paying job) and we were slammed with huge camps for Babes with Bullets ™ through May, June and July. In fact our July three day camp, recently held in Chicago, was one of the largest ever with 32 women participating and varying in ages from 18 to 71. Besides being a well attended camp we also had a “pro gun” article from the Chicago Tribune (link is below in case you have an interest) which generated over 2,000 emails with requests for more camps in the Midwest. So despite Mayor Daley’s adamant “anti gun” stance it seems the women in that area want to learn how to shoot! God bless America that they have the right to do so and only because the Supreme Court basically told Mayor Daley he’s been wrong for decades on his personal interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.

Moving off the subject of our camps and back onto business for the WOMA I urge you to read the minutes each month from the board of directors’ meeting. We address issues presented to the board by the members and that’s where the discussion is held and a vote taken on how to proceed with the member request. For instance several new members wanted to know how they could become more involved in various WOMA teams. Again, read the minutes of the meeting to find out what projects are being worked for the teams of:

• Web – contact Cindy@theWOMA.com

• Moderating/Editing – contact Editor@theWOMA.com (this goes to Heide Kaser, Cindy Noyes and Deb Ferns)

• Membership – contact Melita@theWOMA.com

• Public Relations/Marketing/Sponsorship – contact Marsha@theWOMA.com

Reach out to the committee person noted, who is basically the team lead, and let them know how you would like to participate. For instance a new member, Cami Eisenzimmer, offered to take on Facebook and Twitter for the WOMA and update it weekly with a theme for each week no less.   New member Amy Carducci also volunteered to help us with the website.  Considering that the entire board is volunteers having someone like Cami and Amy step forward is huge and I love Cami’s quote of “I don’t want to rock the (WOMA) boat, just add a little wind to the sails.” FYI – in my mind Cami isn’t adding just a little wind through her involvement in the Woma’s social media; instead I think she’s like a breath of fresh air!

Moving on to other areas where we would like to see more members involved is tradeshows and assisting with sponsorships. The PR team wears many hats and marketing the WOMA at various tradeshows across the country is just one of the hats. In August in the Midwest is the ATA tradeshow, in November in Reno is the National Association of Sporting Good Wholesalers conference, and then in January is the huge SHOT Show in Las Vegas and in spring the huge NRA annual convention, this year held in St. Louis. Then in the summer we’re invited to participate in the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) which is held in Alaska next year. We have been invited to participate in each of these events with a complimentary table in the registration area along with a listing in the tradeshow program. We would love (LOVE) to be present at these large national events but again it takes members stepping forward to staff the table, hand out brochures, talk about what the mission statement is for the WOMA and on occasion doing an interview about the WOMA to local media. While at most tradeshows we can work out for you to have free “shared” housing, the member picks up their own expenses to attend in terms of airfare, rental car, and food.

If you have an interest in becoming more involved in the WOMA, possibly in the tradeshow area, please let me know. It’s easy to reach me at Deb@theWOMA.com and those of you who email me know that I’m pretty darn good about getting back to you fairly quickly. Last but not least for the month of July we had two new members join us; Doctor Dawn Obrecht and Morgan Craft. Every month I’m impressed by the members who are joining and this month with Dawn and Morgan that trend continues! Hope you are all having a great summer and that we have the opportunity to meet at either a fall retreat (still a work in progress) or at a future tradeshow. Take care…

Deb

Chicago Tribune Link: Babes with Bullets and other women who believe the Constitution …

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Lisa Learns to Roller Ski!

Lanny & Tracey Barnes (WOMA members and Olympic Biathletes) attended a recent Babes with Bullets camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  The twin sisters “roller ski” to stay in shape for their 2014 Olympic quest.  Here they are showing Lisa Munson, our Babes instructor, how to roller ski.  I suggested we start Lisa at the top of the hill and just push her on the roller skis to go down; we’d catch her at the bottom.  No one thought that was a good idea except me.   As you can see in this photo they all survived the lesson just fine!

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WOMA Members Attend Babes With Bullets Camp

Being a part of the WOMA is such a fantastic thing.  We are offered, and we share, so many opportunities through this organization.  Last fall I attended the annual WOMA retreat in Gunnison, Colorado.  It was a pleasure to meet some of my outstanding colleagues that make the WOMA happen.   I was invited to sign up for a shooting camp while I was at that retreat.  The camp is called Babes with Bullets and the director is the WOMA’s very own Deb Ferns. I enjoy shooting very much and had been wanting to work on my pistol shooting so I was interested right away.  I signed up for the pistol camp which was to be held in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  I anxiously awaited spring time and camp.  It would be my chance to practice with my pistol as well as meet up with more WOMA members and also make new friends who may share the vision of the WOMA.

We received our camp updates from Kay Miculek.  She is head instructor at Babes with Bullets, as well as multi-time National and  World Champion.  Our latest update informed us that May is spring time in many parts of the country, but in Steamboat Springs,Colorado, the snow was still coming.    She was in touch with us with last minute reminders, preparations and housing information.  We were unable to get to Bear Mountain Ranch, where we were supposed to be staying, so Kay sent info with a new location to be called home for three days.   We made our trek to camp and I joined up with fellow WOMA members, Marsha Petrie Sue, Chris Quam, Lanny Barnes, Tracy Barnes, Anne Draper and Deb Ferns.

Due to the weather, the Babes with Bullets crew had to do a lot of improvising and they didn’t miss a step.  They made camp happen without a glitch and teh 20 ladies, including our WOMA members, were able to relax, have fun, and most importantly, learn a lot in just a few days.  We did quite a few dry fire drills with our pistols, learning to safely quick draw, raise, steady and shoot our pistols and then finally learning to shoot and reload while on the move.  It was so amazing to see ladies who had never touched a pistol quickly maneuver and shoot the various stages at the camp.

Despite the snow, rain, sleet and hail, the camp was outstanding and I would recommend it to any lady whether they are long time shooters or have never touched a firearm.  The instructors are athletes who hold multiple National and World titles and, despite their grandiose achievements, are very professional as well as extremely friendly.  The ladies at Babes with Bullets were fabulous.  We learned a lot and met and made new friends.  Thank you to the WOMA for giving us the opportunity to meet such outstanding women.

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Gimme Shelter! Babes shooting in the rain

A spring storm including rain, hail, snow and wind didn’t dampen the spirits of the Babes with Bullets camp led by WOMA Chairman Deb Ferns and World Champion Shooter Kay Clark-Miculek, Bang.Inc. They stirred up a batch of fun knowing that even the weather couldn’t rain on their parade.

Recipe for a good time:

20 eager shooters (Including 4 WOMA members)

2 Olympians and WOMA ambassadors (Lanny and Tracy Barnes)

4 fabulous coaches

20 Handguns

Paper targets and steel to taste

Stir in the unpredictable Steamboat Springs Colorado weather, creative thinking, humor and warm clothing and you have one very good time!

Expecting to stay at John and Anne Drapers fabulous Bear Mountain Ranch in Colorado, the campers were sent directions for travel. The winter weather, however, had been particularly relentless and access to the lodge, located at 9200 feet, was not going to happen. Emergency re-planning set in, condos were rented and the campers were redirected to similar luxury at Trapper’s Crossing Resort.

According to the weatherman, the storm was forecast to move through but of course it didn’t.  So waterproof outfits were pulled from suitcases and zip lock bags gathered to cover the guns.  Many insightful shooters carry umbrellas in their gun cases. The set up crew cleverly secured plastic cleaner bags and paper targets were covered.

We did take a break for coffee and hot cocoa when the lightening and hail started. Our pace quickened after the end of that cloudburst.

Fun filming by Marilyn for the Outdoor Channel and fabulous food by Mary Anne just added to this great event. Every day it just seemed to be more fun.  Thankfully the last day of shooting was greeted with sunny skies and warm temperatures. The dances of  “rain, rain go away” must have worked.

I’ve posted the pictures on flickr from our fabulous event!! Maybe our camp song should have been Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head: and my gun, ammo, targets, etc…

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Sara Ahrens, WOMA Member and Top Shot!

Congratulations are in order for WOMA member Sara Ahrens for being accepted as one of the next 16 competitors on the History Channel’s hit show Top Shot!  Sara was a previous “Group Goddess” at the ‘Babes with Bullets’ camp she attended in 2010.  You must shoot the best group out of all your classmates at camp to win that title.  Best of luck Sara!  We are pulling for you.

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My First Hunt – Buffalo by Durango

I had been presented with the opportunity to harvest a buffalo with two other WOMA members.  I had wanted to get into hunting, but had only ever shot target sports previously.  I didn’t know where or how to begin.

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Babes at Bondurant

Babes with Bullets® is an organization that believes in providing women the opportunity to experience soft adventure. To allow them to step outside of their comfort zones through a safe and fun firearms training camp. Periodically the Babes instructors also get the opportunity to have a little fun!

Hi, I’m Debbie Keehart, one of the Babes with Bullets ® instructors. After our November ladies pistol camp in Mesa, Ariz., we got to experience one of those little adventures! Through the amazing coordination skills of our beloved Camp Coordinator Deb Ferns and the Bondurant Media Relations Manager Eric Tunell, Kay Miculek, Lisa Munson and I got to race shifter karts at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix.

Kay Miculek, Lisa Munson and Deb Keehart

Now I’ve done quite a bit of high speed off road driving and some go-cart racing, but these shifter karts were the coolest, with a max speed of about 100 mph! They sit about four inches off the ground with no side panels, so you really feel the speed and the power! Awesome!

Bondurant’s Chief Instructor, Mike McGovern, explained the function of the karts and gave us some interesting information on the school and past students. Would you believe an 85-year-young lady took one of Bondurant’s multi day courses? Bet she put “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena” to shame!

After hearing that story, I was more than ready to drive these high speed 125cc SuperKarts! Now, you don’t just jump in and take off. First you go through a briefing on how to get in and out of the kart. You learn about the gas, brake and shifter. But we all know the best way to learn something is to practice. So, that is what came next!

We were fitted with jackets, gloves, head socks (for cleanliness), helmets and neck rolls. Then taken out to the track to suit up and sized up for the karts! Extra seat cushions were needed so we could comfortably reach the foot peddles. With a push start from our instructors, the karts were fired up and we gently rolled on to the track to practice shifting. Down the straight-a-way and back up we went. Shifting through gears 1thru 6 and back down again. We were now ready for lesson two!

One of our handsome driving coaches got in his kart and had the three of us ladies follow him like ducklings following a mama duck. Around the track we went learning the best line to drive. One by one we were allowed to go ahead on our own. After a few warm up laps, we were starting to rock n roll! There was no waving of a green flag or a flashing green light; but, I think when I put the “peddle to the metal” and flew by Kay, she and Lisa realized the race was on!

The track had a variety of turns and twists to test any driver’s skills. Every lap we made we learned how to drive a faster smoother line. Less braking and more shifting. At this point you are probably wondering about spinning out or crashing – there was no crashing, but there were a few spin-outs. No worries, the car just spins a little and the motor cuts off. You stay in your cart until one of the nice gentlemen comes to push start you and sends you back on your way. I do have to admit, that when we drove by someone after a spin-out, we would wave at each other! I’m guessing that’s a pretty girlie thing to do! However, we thought it was a good way to say “Don’t worry I see you and I won’t crash into you!”

Like anything else, all good things must come to an end. Before we knew it, we were being waived back to the pits to leave our SuperKarts for another day. One word of caution when leaving the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving; you will have this overwhelming desire to mash down on the gas peddle of your personal vehicle and race home! Please follow the speed limit and drive home safely! The orange cones on the street probably mean road construction and not where to make your high speed turn!

Kay, Lisa and I shared our track experience all the way home that night and the following days. We encourage all of you to test your skills on the track too!!

Many Thanks to:

Deb Ferns – Our Babes with Bullets ® Coordinator who broke her ankle just a few days beforehand and had to forego the racing but was a trooper none the less.

Jaci Janes – Our photographer.

Eric Tunell – Bondurant’s Media Relations manager for allowing us the special class and to do this media piece.

Mike McGovern – Chief Instructor at Bondurant for sharing his knowledge of the SuperKarts and the various driving classes offered.

Brand Arter – Sale Representative at Bondurant for his guidance and direction.

For more information on the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving contact:

www.Bondurant.com

Brandon Arter

Sale Representative

barter@bondurant.com

1800 652.KART (5278)

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