Athlete Endowment
By: Kevin Neuendorf Director of Media and Public Relations
Eighteen Athletes Earn First Athlete Endowment Grants Worth $27K
be recognized by rewarding the fi rst Athlete Endowment Fund grant recipients. With one goal already achieved, Behrens is steadfast in his pursuit of even greater sup- port with $3 million being the next targeted goal he’d like to see raised, thus en- hancing the grants and sweetening the assistance. “The goal is to build a
National Junior Olympic Trap Champion Emily Hampson was awarded one of the endowment grants this year. She also won gold at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl earlier this year.
The goal of USA Shoot-
ing’s Athlete Endowment Fund came to fruition re- cently as 18 athletes were awarded over $27,000 worth of grants to help sup- plement training and com- petition as well as target and ammunition costs. Thanks to numerous do- nations, the Athlete Endow- ment Fund achieved its ini- tial investment goal of $1.5 million earlier this year and thus began the process of handing out much-needed grants to athletes in hopes of maintaining USA Shoot- ing’s competitive excellence well into the future. Howev- er, these grants are seen as just a stepping stone to what was intended when the Ath- lete Endowment Fund fi rst began. Recognizing the need for USA Shooting to build its
own base of fi nancial sup- port, Col. D. Behrens be- gan the Athlete Endowment Fund in 2005. What began as a small inner circle of Behrens’ hunting buddies, has now blossomed into a very loyal and dedicated group. The Bunker Club (pictured below) was born at a time when USAS was in a tight fi nancial position, but in immediate need of replacing bunker trap ma- chines at the International Shotgun Range in Colorado Springs. The machines cost $200,000 and the Bunker Club members came togeth- er to successfully help com- plete the project. With that success, Bun-
ker Club members then de- cided to make a long-term commitment to USA Shoot- ing athletes and the fruit of that labor is only starting to
10 USA Shooting News | September 2015
strong foundation of USA Shooting athletes by assist- ing aspiring and talented competitive shooters and to help them develop their shooting skills in order to become high-level competi- tors and Olympians,” ac- knowledges Behrens. “We are in this fi ght for the long haul with the confi dence to know that it will benefi t our athletes forever. We hope to get more people involved, including our own shooting community, as they become
aware of the program and the long-term benefi ts for our athletes.” This year’s grant award-
ees were selected by the USA Shooting coaching staff and Director of Operations, Dave Johnson, through an application process. Sit- ting on the USA Endowment committee was Captain (US Navy) Carl Kilhoffer who is also a member of the Bunker Club. Support was prioritized for developing athletes in all three shoot- ing disciplines that have not yet earned team status with USA Shooting but have shown strong future poten- tial in training and compe- tition. The USA Shooting Athlete Endowment Fund is expected to award grants on a yearly basis moving forward with the monies awarded expected to rise in the coming years.
Members of the Bunker Club at a recent function. Left to Right: Geri Herold, Bob Herold, Carolyn Jensen, Steve Jeffress, Doug Jensen, Karen Melarkey, Mike Melarkey, Gail Jeffress, Col D. Behrens, Matt Eggley, Jennifer Eggley, Tim Maier, Mike Sloan, Tom Holland, Kyle Miller and Mike Molak.
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