ENTRANCE ROAD REPAIRED!

The entrance road to the club was repaired late yesterday evening.  Work crews regraded the road and repaired the sub-base where the potholes were located by cutting them out and repacking with new material.  Then a layer of black tar was sprayed on the base and a new layer of light colored asphalt material was laid and rolled.

This was not a cheap repair and we ask all members to help preserve this new condition of the road by SLOWING DOWN!  Keep the speed 10 mph or less.  This will help eliminate the need for folks to slam on the brakes in order to stop at the gate and keypad and creating potholes.  The same is true when exiting the club.  Folks pick up speed when leaving and then make those same hard stops at the intersection of Erie Street creating potholes there as well.   

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100/200-yd Rifle Range

The Club is scheduling workers to rebuild the cover on the 100/200 yd rifle range that was destroyed by the recent storms.   This also includes rebuilding the concrete shooting bench at lane 15.  Once these repairs are completed, we should have the Red Lights operational again.  We anticipate these repairs will be completed, weather permitting, over the next several weeks.

600-yd Rifle Range

Currently bringing in dirt to fill in the low area retaining water near the protection berm and target pits.  There are also plans to move the tan target house behind the protection berm.

Silhouette Range

This range is currently closed while worker are hauling in dirt and rebuilding the berms.  They are also filling in low spots.  This project is scheduled to be completed by end of December.

New Training Bays

Dirt is being brought in and placed for a new 14-ft tall impact berm in across the road from the existing 25/50-yd.  handgun range.  Plans include the construction of concrete filled block safety walls for two 30-yd. bays.  These bays will be similar to the Action Range allowing for transitional work typical of current training environment and practical shooting competitions.  We hope to have this completed by end of 1 Qtr. 2021.

Roadway Repairs

A shortage of contractor availability due to COVID and storm damage restoration has delayed the repair and regrading of the roadways.  We are working to get this done as soon as possible.

Berm Maintenance

We will begin mowing and spraying of the impact and protection berms across the range soon.  The Club has and is spending significant amount of money to bring these berms back up to proper heights for safety.  It is important that we maintain these berms keep vegetative growth properly contained to prevent erosion, settlement or breaches.

We ask for everyone's patience and understanding during range closures as this work continues.  We try to minimize the impact to our member's use of the range.  Remember that mowers and workers have the right-of-way!  Keep checking the Events calendar for notice of these closures.

The Range Safety & Rules Committee has been working on a revision to the Club's Standard Operating Position based upon input from members, safety issues noted by Range Safety Officers, and recent range improvements.  Revision 10.1 was was formally adopted by the Board of Directors on November 10, 2020 and is now the current SOP in effect. 

All members should download a copy of this latest revision and make themselves familiar with all rules. You may download by clicking the following link button: 

Standard Operating Procedures - Rev. 10.1

Two noteworthy changes are the deletion of the prohibition of any rifle caliber greater than 8mm, and the addition of Hunter Archery now being allowed on the Silhouette Range with certain restrictions.  The following is a summary of the changes:

1.0  Club Rules

• Added item requiring members to obey all traffic, range closure, or other safety signs
• Added new item #19 addressing children not allowed to roam around on the range unsupervised

3.1 Action Range

• Deleted 8mm rifle caliber restriction
• Added item #7 requiring members use the shorter target frames 

3.2  25/50-yd Handgun Range

• Added item #2 prohibiting shooting from the prone position

3.3 LTC Range

• Added wording to item #1 prohibiting shooting from a kneeling, sitting, or prone position.
• Added wording to item #3a and 3c related to approved targets and placement
• Added item #4 "Do not shoot the concrete block safety wall.

3.4 100/200-yd Rifle Range

• Removed redundant items that are covered in the General Rules

3.5 600-yd Rifle Range

• Deleted 8mm rifle caliber restriction  
• Removed redundant items that are covered in the General Rules  
• Added item #4 related to the raising and lowering of the red range flag

3.7 Silhouette Range

• Added new items to allow hunter archery on the north side of the range, as shown in the revised diagram.

4.0 Rules of Organized Matches

• Added new item "Failure to submit an approved range safety plan may result in the cancellation of the said match."
• Added new section "7.0 Lost and Found Policy."

Appendix A

• Revised Board of Directors List

Appendix B

• Revised Range Safety Officer List
• Added a new Penalty Matrix

Appendix C

• Revised list of instructors 

Appendix D

• New.  Provides a list of Range Safety Plans

This Saturday we are teaching a Range Safety Officer (RSO) course. Please register here: https://goldentrianglegunclub.com/event-3981264

The Range Safety Officer (RSO) course is designed to prepare Golden Triangle Gun Club RSO volunteers who posess basic firearms knowledge of how to properly take control of firearms on the firing line, how to identify stoppages and malfunctions, and how to properly clear them. Upon completion of this course students will become NRA certified Range Safety Officers. Certified Range Safety Officers are required for all shooting competitions and events. 

All workbooks, tests, certificates, firearms, and dummy ammunition are provided in this course.

THE COURSE OUTLINE:

The Role of a Range Safety Officer

The purpose of a Standard Operating Procedures

Range Inspection 

Range Rules

How to conduct a Range Safety Briefing

Emergency Procedures

Firearm Stoppages and Malfunctions

How to properly control a shooter on the firing line. 

Range Layouts and Limitations.

Qualifications required to be eligible to take this course:

1. You must be 21 years of age. 

2. Want to volunteer as a Club RSO for 2-4 hours per month or at matches/events. Will be added to the volunteer RSO list to be called upon as needed. 

Lunch is provided.

Renewal period is from September 1st through October 1st every year. After, October 1st, you are still welcome to be a member but will have to sign up as a new member and pay the initiation fee as your membership lapsed. 

We are offering a Range Saftey Officer (RSO) class on October 24th, 8am-6pm. If you are interested in serving at the club as an RSO a couple of hours a month, contact Richard Worthey or sign up for the free class on the Events page. Goldentrianglegunclub.com/events 

Maintainence-

We are getting several loads of dirt over the last quarter of the year to make more improvement to the ranges. If we need to close a range, temporarily, we will post it on the Events page so check before you head out. 

Next Board Meeting-

November 10th at 6:30pm in the Activities Center. Please Register on the Events page as seating is limited. 

Next Orientation: November 17th at 5:30pm

Congratulations to everyone who has renewed their membership.  We know it was a big change this year and we appreciate your patience.  With COVID we were not able to roll this out at the Annual Meeting, as we had planned, but we shifted a few times and to date 82% of our membership has renewed. If you haven't renewed, it is ok, we are still accepting renewals. 

In this newsletter we wanted to let you know of a few things such as how to get your new membership card with the gate code, how to renew your membership if you haven't, news about the Annual Meeting and some updates from the September board meeting. 

We thank you for your patience and if you need help, please let one of the following officers know. 

• Ron Page, President (409) 729-GTGC
• Richard Worthey, Director of Safety and Training (409) 210-9333
• Heather Yvonne, Director of Women's Programs (The Pistolettes), Club Secretary/Treasurer (409) 210-1867

For questions about your online account, please TEXT Heather at
(409) 210-1867 or email her at gtgcpistolettes@gmail.com

The Gate Code Will Change on October 1st.

On October 1st, we will add the new gate code to the system.  If you have attended Orientation, you can log into your account and you will automatically see the new code on your card.  You can print out the PDF Membership Card or you can use the App, Wild Apricot for Members, to display your Membership Card.  Here is a link to the APP. You can even save it as a photo on your phone if you prefer. 

If you log on and find that your membership card is not displaying the gate code because it says, Access Granted After Orientation, this means that you have not attended Orientation and will need to register for an upcoming class. The class schedule is under Events on the Club website or you can click here:  Events Be sure to scroll through the events page to find an open class. We are only allowing half capacity due to COVID. 

With all of the circumstances of 2020, we will leave the existing gate code in place until March 31, 2021 to allow people more time to go through Orientation BUT on April 1, 2021 the code will be removed and you will no longer have access to the Club if you have not attended Orientation.  We have just over 800 members who still have to attend Orientation, so we ask that you do not wait until March. 

Board Elections

It is 2020, and that means it is Election time.  We will be voting on two year terms at the Annual Meeting and wanted you to be able to read the Bio's of those nominated for each office, prior to the election.  You can find those on our website here:  Board Members

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting has been a moving target this year due to COVID and the Hurricane season.  We are hoping to still rent out the Port Arthur Bob Bowers Civic Center as in years past, as soon as they open to the public, we will know more info.  This will allow for the maximum in social distancing and we are hoping to LIVE stream it as well.  Our back up plan would be to send a newsletter like this, with links to items to vote on electronically.   

News from the September 8th Board Meeting

• Road repair is a standard thing every year and we will begin preparing for the wet season (winter) soon by filling in holes in the roads. 
• The Bylaw changed unanimously passed with 18 of 23 Board members voting and of those who voted, all were in favor of the change; all members were notified of the proposed change in July and the Board unanimously passed creating a Military/LEO membership category for active, retired and disabled military/LEO as well as updating the name of other membership levels to match the online system. 
•  We are looking for additional volunteers to be RSO's and we will host an RSO class on October 24th from 8am-6pm.  Please let us know if you are interested in taking this class and serving as a Club RSO by contacting Richard Worthey, email: richard@gunclubsafety.com 
•  Andre Rosales, the Club's current Secretary/Treasurer resigned his position and recommended Heather Yvonne as his replacement. The motion to accept his resignation passed and the motion for Heather to be his successor passed unanimously. Heather's term as the Club's Secretary/Treasurer is effective immediately. 

Can I still renew my membership?

Yes, you can renew one of three ways. 

1. Online, here is a tutorial: Tutorial
2. Mail in your check to the PO BOX below, made out to GTGC 
   (it is averaging 3 weeks for mail to reach us, per the Post Office) 
   Golden Triangle Gun Club
   P.O. Box 5305
   Beaumont, TX 77726-5305 
3. You may pay with check or cash at Orientation. 

The 600 Yard Range will be closed for stump grinding on:  

9/8 Tuesday 

9/9 Wednesday 

9/10 Thursday 

9/11 Friday 

We apologize for the inconvenience. 

Membership renewal is due today. 582 people received the reminder email. We understand that some have paid by check and mailed it in to the PO Box and we want to give you an update and let you know that the average mail delivery that use to take one to three days , is now averaging, three weeks. Please understand that all checks have been notated as of last night. The fastest way for you to pay is online is by logging into your profile scrolling down and renewing.

Don’t forget that you also have to have a membership orientation class. This Thursday and next Thursday we are offering orientation class at 5:30 PM, you will have to sign up online if you show up at the door you will have to wait to see if no one shows for their registered slot. We still have openings in both classes. There will not be any classes this Saturday as it is Labor Day weekend. If that is the only time that you can take it please let us know and we will see if we have enough interest to be able to pull together one class.

Thank you for everyone’s understanding and flexibility as we are taking our renewal online. We know that it has been a learning curve and we respect and thank each one of you for your efforts.

As of Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM, Entergy crews have restored power to the gun club range, and the fallen power pole and utility lines have been repaired.   No significant damage to the range.

We will resume the Member Range Safety Orientations.  Check the EVENTS page for the schedule and to register.  Please remember that we are following the Federal, State and Local guidelines for social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID19.  Therefore, it is very important for you to register first to attend.  Otherwise, if the maximum capacity of 30 is reached, you will be turned away.