The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Sorry - I did mean this forum.

I'm impressed that he has already corresponded with Crystal. I'll be even more impressed when he contacts Dromia!

Vince

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

That'll be the day!

We are at the Europeans this weekend so maybe we will get he chance to meet the new membership chap

And the new Chief exec!

Gun Pimp wrote:The NRA have a new 'Head of Membership' and a new Chief Exec. Neither have shooting backgrounds so hopefully they will have a fresh look at things.

Am I alone in not being particularly impressed by this? Surely we want people who actually understand what it is we do, rather than bringing in a corporate one-size-fits-all mindset?

The new Chief Exec starts next month. He has been at Bisley informally already. So it's possible he might be around for the weekend, but he isn't contracted to the organisation yet, and moving from the Borders to Surrey inevitably soaks up your personal time. I wouldn't hold it against him at all if he isn't seen amongst the membership until after his formal start date.

Iain

Gaz wrote:

Gun Pimp wrote:The NRA have a new 'Head of Membership' and a new Chief Exec. Neither have shooting backgrounds so hopefully they will have a fresh look at things.

Am I alone in not being particularly impressed by this? Surely we want people who actually understand what it is we do, rather than bringing in a corporate one-size-fits-all mindset?

No, does not bother me in the slightest - as long as they can turn around the NRA and push it forward I really do not care what they background is - if they are the right people for the job(s) then so be it.

I've already had some correspondence with Richard Blackmore - he appears to be a doer rather than just talking the talk. I am already impressed with him.

Mike

Gaz wrote:

Gun Pimp wrote:The NRA have a new 'Head of Membership' and a new Chief Exec. Neither have shooting backgrounds so hopefully they will have a fresh look at things.

Am I alone in not being particularly impressed by this? Surely we want people who actually understand what it is we do, rather than bringing in a corporate one-size-fits-all mindset?

No, you are not alone Gaz! On the contrary, we are not and should not be impressed with anything but results. I have no confidence in the new CEO because he was selected by the same crowd that appointed Staples and kept him on for years when it was obvious after only a few months that he was not the right choice. They have also failed to act when it became known that the financial manager was an alcoholic and completely inept! What exactly was the contribution of Glynn Alger. No one has ever seen Matt Ensor. He must have "supervised" the range office through a two-way mirror. If you remove the wages paid to people that were not needed you will find where the loss came from! And the "solution" was to increase prices for target hire and let the members pay for all that nonsense! When the members started abandoning Bisley, the NRA started running Open Days to replace them. They are bailing a sinking ship without any understanding of what it is all about! And when it all fails, we can still turn Bisley into a down-market Butlins and promote it as a venue for Pakistani weddings and a meeting place for Hell's Angels. Eventually, these non-shooting activities will annoy the locals sufficiently to make them beat the path to their MPs to demand that the whole place be shut and turned onto a market garden. We are already preparing for that and the new CEO is a market gardener! clapclap

You are quite right in questioning "one fits all" mindset, because we are actually a collection of sports that have little common ground. What is the similarity between me (TR) and people that shoot with rifles fitted with bipods and silencers? About the same as between golf and cricket, being that they are both "ball games"! I love them all and they should all be there, but no one really understands "shooting". The staff certainly do not and the council even less so.

There is common ground to all forms of target shooting and this is where NRA fails miserably. What we have here is people problem and it is not at all surprizing that it is being overlooked because both our elected representatives and the staff keep well away from members and shooting. You are right in thinking that we need people that know/understand what we do, but how can they when they spend their time hiding in offices.

The most frequent question I hear being asked on the ranges is: "Are the NRA all there?" emrolleyes

A National Shooting Body can exist only if those whose sport it purports to represent regard it as such and it is a sad fact that the number of shooters that do not want to be members "of that useless body" is growing!

alexham wrote: I have no confidence in the new CEO because he was selected by the same crowd that appointed Staples and kept him on for years when it was obvious after only a few months that he was not the right choice.

Crap! Totally different bunch selected Staples, Alger and Ensor

alexham wrote: They have also failed to act when it became known that the financial manager was an alcoholic and completely inept!

True but certain people were at fault there - they are no longer there

alexham wrote: If you remove the wages paid to people that were not needed you will find where the loss came from!

Not true - it can be seen quite easily where the money went if you look at the accounts over the last years but a lot of it was down to the previous financial manager telling them they had made a profit when they hadn't.

alexham wrote: When the members started abandoning Bisley, the NRA started running Open Days to replace them.

Utter rubbish - Open Days started YEARS ago. The first ones were run by an outside company (can't remember name) and have been very successful in attracting new members (not to replace abandoning ones) as well as positive PR for the sport and the local residents.

alexham wrote: And when it all fails, we can still turn Bisley into a down-market Butlins and promote it as a venue for Pakistani weddings and a meeting place for Hell's Angels.

The NRA do NOT run Pakistani weddings - the NSRA and the Pavilion do those. Nothing to do with NRA at all! The HOG Rally is not a meeting place for Hells Angels - they are the Harley Davison Owners Group and probably have far more money than most of us. It is the most enjoyable weekend at Bisley and every shooter I know enjoys it just as much. Have you ever actually been to it?

alexham wrote: What is the similarity between me (TR) and people that shoot with rifles fitted with bipods and silencers? About the same as between golf and cricket, being that they are both "ball games"! I love them all and they should all be there, but no one really understands "shooting". The staff certainly do not and the council even less so.

Until recently most of the staff were shooters so this comment is yet again rubbish.

alexham wrote: There is common ground to all forms of target shooting and this is where NRA fails miserably. What we have here is people problem and it is not at all surprizing that it is being overlooked because both our elected representatives and the staff keep well away from members and shooting. You are right in thinking that we need people that know/understand what we do, but how can they when they spend their time hiding in offices.

I am an elected representative and until recently a member of staff - my door was always open to anyone. I know that most of the staff feel the same.

The main problem is how certain shooters treat the staff.

Alex - I have witnessed how you speak to staff who are trying to help you and as far as I am concerned I will not let you slag off hard working and decent people on this forum.

Karen