May 2012, ATA Delegate Report
Jim Matteson, ATA Delegate

It appears the resurrection of the Rend Lake Gun Club is complete. I received an email from Ron Stadt telling me what a great season opening shoot they had. I checked with Larry Chinski to see what all had been done since my last visit. Larry and John Upcraft took over the Rend Lake facility in an official capacity in late 2011. Since that time, there has been a flurry of activity to get the program reinstated and in a big way. Their intention is to bring Rend Lake back to the true world class shooting facility that it was intended to be. It appears they have succeeded.

The first thing they worked on was water removal from the trap lines. John is a certified geologist and drilled a new drainage pit to remove water from in front of the trap houses. This also includes water removal from the sidewalks and pavilion locations. So far, this has been working wonderfully.

Every one of the Pat traps were removed and sent to one of our members where they were stripped down to the frame and rebuilt. They are expanding the trap line to the west, have purchased a new Pat trap and fully expect to be running a total of nine fields before the Grand. They have added wireless CVR voice systems and purchased a token system to allow members to pre-purchase rounds of trap and then shoot any time they wish. Larry had told me that a host of volunteers have stepped up and helped with everything from cleaning the club house and assisting running their ATA shoots to working on the grounds. Information on shoots, hours and scheduled events can be found at www.rendlakesc.com

I would encourage you to attend shoots at Rend Lake. Let's show these folks how much we appreciate their hard work and keep this club alive.

I'd like to recognize two of our younger shooters who performed well at the Southern Grand. Sub Junior, Dale Gerlich and Junior, Drew Strohecker each won several trophies and I want to congratulate them on their fine shooting and I look forward to more great accomplishments from these two fine young men in the future.

As always, I look to you for any newsworthy items of interest or information; any questions or concerns. I can be reached at
627 B Main Street, Mazon, IL 60444
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815-448-5120
815-735-2974

Jim Matteson
Illinois Delegate

April 2012, ATA Delegate Report
Jim Matteson, ATA Delegate

The most exciting thing I have to report on is the performance of our Illinois shooters in Florida and Arizona. The two most successful are juniors. The accomplishments of Anthony Fortino and Andrew Narvick have been fun to watch. Both are in their first year in the junior category. Anthony was Captain of the All American Sub Junior team last year, 3rd straight time as an AA. Andrew was on the All American Sub Junior team for the 2nd time.

Anthony traveled to the Silver Dollar for the Dixie Grand where he dominated the junior category. He broke the first 300 singles targets and went on to win 11 junior champion trophies and 3 Runner up trophies. Included in this dominate performance is the HAA Junior champ with 376 and HOA Junior champ with 948. A pretty good start on the new target year.

While on the subject of the Dixie Grand, it was really nice to see Barb Hermes shoot so well. She broke a 98 and then went on to beat AA Mitch Lovelace in a shoot off to win the Event 10 Handicap. Dale Gerlich, Illinois Sub Junior All American won the Handicap championship outright with a 98. He won Sub Junior HAA with a 383.Drew Strohecker, Illinois Sub Junior All American won Sub Junior Handicap champion and finished Runner up to Tony Fortino for HAA with 375. Tony, Barb, Dale and Drew are to be congratulated for their fine shooting.

Andrew Narvick traveled to Tucson for the Preliminary week of the Spring Grand. He broke his first ever 100 straight in the Event 5 singles. Andrew went on to win 7 junior trophies. He tied for an 8th with a 98 in singles. He won Junior HAA with a 379 and Junior HOA with 1231. He had a pair of 97's in doubles. He was able to shoot the first Spring Grand handicap on Monday before returning home. He broke another 96 which earned him another half yard. Nice job, Andrew. A week's shooting to be proud of.

I've said it before, but I cannot emphasize enough how much fun it is to see these young men do so well. It bodes well for the future of trapshooting in Illinois.

As always contact me with any newsworthy items of interest or any concerns or questions. I can be reached at:

627 B Main Street, Mazon, IL

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
815-448-5120
815-735-2974

Jim Matteson
Illinois Delegate

March 2012, ATA Delegate Report
Jim Matteson, ATA Delegate

We have the privilege of honoring three great Illinois shooters this year. Mike Jordan will be inducted into the ATA Hall of Fame at this year's Grand; and Jerry Graham and Bob Wahlbrink will be inducted into the Illinois Trapshooters Hall of Fame at this year's State Shoot.

Mike Jordan has performed at the highest level for a long time. He was inducted into the Illinois HOF back in 1993. Briefly, he has won HOA in Illinois 7 times, HAA 5 times and 4 times Illinois Singles Champion plus once as a Vet. I haven't counted how many times he has been on the All State Team or the All American Team. I guarantee not too many have done either more often than Mike. He spent a lot of years wearing Winchester red but now he works in Remington green. Personally, I really like the green. It would be nice if we could pack the room in Sparta for Mike's induction ceremony. Let's show him how much we appreciate his many years of shooting excellence.

Read more: March 2012, ATA Delegate Report

2011 State Team Announced
January 2012, ATA Delegate Report
Jim Matteson, ATA Delegate

I would like to recognize this year's State Team members.

Men Frank Bentley III – .9593 Steven Johnson – .9560 Mike Westjohn – .9501 AA Frank Haynes – .9496 Bradley Bomkamp – .9465 Charles Bickle - .9421 Ryan D. Stehl - .9383 Dave Dressler - .9378 Frank Payne- .9365 Randy Miller - .9355 Women Lauren Mueller - .9295 AA Janice Rigler - .9145 Ondrea Weikum - .9121 Barb Hermes - .8967 Rhonda Laurent - .8854 Sub-Junior Anthony Fortino - .9488 AA, ATA First team captain Dale Gerlich - .9127 AA Drew Strohecker - .8941 AA Andrew Narvick - .8920 AA Justin Schwankhaus - .8885

Junior Andrew Simpson – .9367 Larry West – .9339 Preston Crandell - .9294 AA Will Richars - .8834 Veteran Jerry Sedlacek - .9302 AA Larry Lark – .9125 John Teschky – .9035 Daniel Gannon – .8966 Rich VanEtton – .8948 Senior Veteran Mike Jordan - .9357 AA, HoF Jerry Graham - .9258 Bill Jordan - .9241 Kenny Jones - .9237 Larry Hight - .9190 Chair Shooter Ziggy Tkaczenko - AA

Congratulations to all who achieved this high honor.

Read more: 2011 State Team Announced