Bitter and I just returned from a “Friends of the NRA” Banquet at the Middletown Township Country Club. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Friends Banquets, it’s 35 dollars per person, or 60 dollars per couple for the dinner. Before the dinner there are all kinds of raffles and silent auctions, followed by a live auction after dinner. Prizes are anything from cash prizes to firearms. Sadly, I didn’t win any of the raffles, though we came close. If we had arrived 5 minutes earlier, we would have been a winner. But I did win one silent auction item:
I thought it was cheesy, but Bitter liked it, so I bid on it, and put it over my Bench of Evil. The proceeds for the dinner, raffles and auctions go to the NRA Foundation, and doesn’t go to any of their political stuff. The Foundation does educational outreach and support for the shooting sports, so even if you don’t like NRA’s politics, it’s always safe to give to the Foundation if you just want to support the shooting sports. Half of the proceeds are guaranteed go to supporting shooting programs in the state hosting the dinner, in our case, Pennsylvania.
Friends Dinners are great fun
We sponsor at least one dinner every year, ($200-$250) & this past Sept took 3 Instructors & their wives, Our table won two guns & some other prizes.
2 years ago I won a Smith 642, with CT Grips
So the dinners not only help gun clubs in your state but can be very rewarding as well.