PINE RIVER SPORTSMAN’S CLUB
FALL 2024 ANNUAL NEWSLETTER
First of all, we have a couple of major changes at the club this year. Starting in January, the monthly board and membership meetings will be held on the ***SECOND WEDNESDAY ***of the month. The times will remain the same; 7 pm and 7:30 pm respectively.
Membership dues will now be due on the date of the January board and membership meetings. This year dues have to be paid by ****JANUARY 8th.**** After that date, you will have to reapply for membership and pay the initiation fee in order to rejoin. A dues renewal form is with this newsletter. Please fill it out and bring it with you when you pay your dues. There are several opportunities to pay your dues; the dates dues will be collected at the club are on the dues renewal form and are as follows: Tuesday trap shooting nights (5 pm to 7 pm), at our meetings on November 6th, December 4th, or January 8th (before the 7pm meeting or after the 7:30 pm meeting); Sunday, December 15th (noon to 4pm – trap and skeet will be open for shooting also!), or at Friday breakfast on January 3rd (9am to 11 am). If you cannot make it to the club on any of those dates, a check can be mailed to to PO Box 73, St Clair, MI 48079. Your membership card will be mailed to you along with a slip stating you paid for a key. Keys can only be picked up at the club, not mailed.
For those who haven’t heard, our club president, Bill Furtaw, passed away in May. Our vice-president, Jim Kuecken, became president, and Tom Emerich stepped up to be our vice-president until the end of this year.
A BIG thank you to those who helped out at the club this year. Thanks to Tom Emerich who built our new picnic table and did maintenance at the club. Thanks to Jerry Measel and his grass cutting crew who kept the club grounds looking great! Thanks to Larry VanTiem for attending to our electrical needs. Many thanks to all those who helped out at the Friday breakfasts. Thanks to Robert Stocki and Jerry Measel for maintaining our website. Thanks to Steve Beatty and Ernie Hyde for putting in a pathway to the shooting range – our feet will be drier! Thanks to Ron Lemke for replacing the roof on the south trap house. Thanks to Steve Ellery and his assistant Dave Solgot for painting the skeet houses. Many thanks to those who put money in the rifle/pistol range donation box (which went towards the new pathway) or donated to the club or Toys for Tots!
Community Service – Toys for Tots is our main charity. Last year, St Clair County Toys for Tots helped over 2500 children. There is a collection box in the club house if you wish to donate an unwrapped new toy. Suggested toys include legos, stocking stuffers, games, nerf toys, remote controlled toys, books, hygiene items or cash. A $5 donation for each club member is given each year to Toys for Tots. We also sponsor Michigan United Conservation Club’s (MUCC) TRACKS magazine for elementary school children. A donation was made in memory of Bill Furtaw to the MUCC camp. We sponsored trophies for the 4H Fair shooting events last summer. We held our annual adopt-a road cleanup last April. Fifteen adults and scouts participated and picked up 12 bags of trash along with some car parts. The club charters BSA scout troop 315 which meets at out clubhouse on Tuesday nights. Scout Amanda (Ash) Currie completed her Eagle Scout project by building two scoring benches and a sitting bench for our club. The scout troop is looking for girls to join their troop. The St Clair High School trap shooting team consisting of 15 students used our club this past spring and summer for their practice sessions.
Since the newsletter is only mail once a year, check our website www.pineriversportsmans.com for up to information on the events at the club! Check the DNR website for Michigan Hunter Education information.
The club will be CLOSED FOR SHOOTING on November 15th so our neighbors can have the best chance to get their deer on opening day. ** No shooting before 9 am** The pistol and rifle range is closed on Tuesdays after 4 pm so the skeet field can be used safely! Please remember to clean up after yourself when shooting, especially make sure to pick up shotgun hulls. They are not kind to our lawn mowers. The club is looking for a few pistol/rifle shooters to change the range plywood out occasionally when it gets shot up. Come to a meeting and someone will set you up with the details.
FRIDAY MORNING BREAKFASTS – Our Friday morning breakfasts were well attended last year so we are going to do them again! Thanks to Tom Emerich, Tom Sayers, Steve Beatty, Joe Grabowski, and the rest of the gang who helped make last year’s breakfasts a great success! The club will be open for breakfast by donation for club members on Friday mornings starting on the first Friday of January and will run every Friday until the end of February. The breakfasts will start at 9 am. If you would like to help cook, come in earlier. This is a good way to get out of the house and meet your fellow club members.
TRAP – Thank you to John D’Antoni for running trap shooting on Tuesday night. He keeps the trap machines well maintained and helps teach others how to shoot. Trap shooters participated in the winter league, the traveling club winter shoot, the 16/25 yard league, and the District 8 Summer League. Thank you to our wonderful gals Lynn Rogers, Jill Measel, and Tracy Coverdill for running the kitchen during our hosting of the District 8 shoots and thanks to those who kept score.
District 8 Trap League results – Pine River Team #1 consisting of Marlene Bachand, Sherry Martin, Dave Solgot, John Coverdill, and Steve Martin took 2nd place for total targets (2077) and 2nd place for total points (21.5). Individual Winners – John Coverdill, 1st place junior, 3rd place top 10 (392); Hunter LeCluyse, 2nd place junior (392); Sherry Martin, 2nd place women (389); Linda LeCluyse, 2nd place veteran women (337); Clare Frederick, 1st place senior veteran women (393); Marleen Bachand, 2nd place senior veteran women (392); Steve Martin, 4th place top 10 (436); Mike Kliemann, 2nd place senior veteran (417); Gary Frederick, 4th place Senior veteran (400); and George Hamlin, 8th place senior veteran (379). 25 straights were shot by Steve Martin (2), John Coverdill (3), and Gary Frederick (2). Congratulations!
Winter Trap League will start on Tuesday, December 4th. The league will consist of 50 targets per score night. Score nights will be every other week. You may shoot ahead. Come to the club on Tuesday night for more information. There is a sign up sheet in the clubhouse. Come on out and have some fun!
The club will be open on Sunday, December 15th from 12 noon to 4 pm for trap and skeet shooting. Dues may also be paid at this time.
Skeet – Thank you to Chris and Brayden Kimberley for taking care of the skeet field and keeping the machines filled!
Archery – There is an archery practice area set up near the skeet house. Our archery chairman, Mike Krul, still would like to get a shooting range set up in the woods, but needs lots of help to make it happen. Give him a call at 810-300-4674 for more information!
Pistol – There was a pistol league shot on Thursday nights last May with approximately ten shooters participating. Thanks to pistol chairman Larry VanTiem for running the league this year. Look for information on the website for next year’s league dates.
CPL Classes – Give Dan Easterling a call at 810-329-2315 if you are interested on taking a class.
Our club is affiliated with CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program). Information is posted on the bulletin board in the clubhouse.
The soda pop machine in the clubhouse has been removed. Our electric bill has decreased greatly by doing this. There is soda pop available in the kitchen refrigerator for purchase, along with candy bars on the kitchen counter. T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, patches, and window decals are also available for purchase during club events. Feel free to sweep the floor or clean the bathrooms if it is needed. If you are the last person to leave the clubhouse, please make sure the lights are turned off, the doors are locked, the coffee pot is unplugged, and the heat is turned down.
The club is looking for a member to be our representative for MUCC (Michigan United Conservation Clubs). This entails attending the annual MUCC convention and maybe an occasional regional meeting. Come to a club meeting for more information and to be appointed by the board.
Nominations of officers and board members will be held at the December 4th membership meeting at 7:30 pm. Elections will be held at the January 8th membership meeting at 7:30 pm. Come out and voice your opinion and support your club! If you would like to propose and run a club event such as a dinner, hunter education, youth day, swap meet, game night, etc., please come to a meeting and we will get you started!
CONTACT INFORMATION
(if you have any problems or any questions)
President Jim Kuecken 810-278-6294
Vice-President Tom Emerich 810-488-0670
Secretary Nancy Klug 810-841-0068
Treasurer Mike Klug 810-841-3242
Trap/Youth Trap John D’Antoni 810-794-3332
CPL Classes Dan Easterling 810-329-2315
Pistol Larry VanTiem. 810-637-8378
Rifle Dan Lane 810-985-5781
Skeet Chris Kimberley 810-343-0070
Archery Mike Krul 810-300-3779
CMP Bob Britz 810-329-9512
Board Members — Ross Acre, Marleen Bachand, Bob Britz, Steve Ellery, Chuck Jasmin, Dave Solgot, Sean VanTiem, and Perry Wight