Greetings and Merry Christmas,
I just wanted to update everyone about the club grant programs and a few reminders of coming events. The 2016 grant work is nearing completion – except for the background, the weather has beat us till spring – we finished the new low house on field 3 and last week we took delivery of three new traps for field 1. Once installed and hooked up we will have modern skeet again. Dick Perkins and I completed the application for another grant in 2017 for an estimated total of $46,103 worth of improvements. If approved we will remove the old club house and build a 24×24 storage building in the same location. We will remove the existing tower and build a new “pyramid” tower with 3 elevated shooting positions. We will also purchase 7 new sporting clay traps. According to the grant request, the club will have to come up with $13,834 in monies and in-kind services as their share. The more work we can do ourselves, the less money we will have take out of the treasury. We won’t know if our request is approved till next June – so stay tuned!
As in the past, this Christmas Season the members have taken the ten tags from our tree in the club house. Each tag has the age of a child and what they would like for Christmas. We got the tags from the Sidney Baptist Church tree and they requested the presents be returned by Friday the 16th. In addition to fulfilling the wishes of ten local needy children we would like to make a financial gift to the Sidney Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Several members have already donated to this cause and to them I say THANK YOU. In talking with the Fire Chief, he told me they would very much like to replace their 15 year old computer with a laptop. If you would like to contribute you can send it to Jim McMullen, 157 Middle Road, Oakland, ME. 04963. We’re doing this to show we are an asset to the community, not just a noise maker, and because we want to!
It is also time to be thinking about renewing your membership which runs from January to the end of December. A new membership blank is attached to this email – this will allow me to update your contact information should any of it change. This too should be mailed to Jim McMullen.
On behalf of the officers and many friends at Arnold Trail, we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!