The USA’s 2nd Annual Capital Area Sporting Clay’s Shoot literally began with a bang at beautiful Pintail Point on the eastern shore of Maryland.  And throughout the morning and early afternoon, 160 union sportsmen and invited guests happily banged away as they participated in the USA’s largest shooting event to date.

Among the clay target busting (and sometimes missing) crowd were top ranking union leaders including AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka, Roofers’ President Kinsey (The Ringer) Robinson, Painters’ President Jimmy Williams and Boilermakers’ President Newton Jones. Incidentally, Robinson and his team won the event, while his wife Mona (Lil’ Miss Sure Shot) and her team trailed close behind.

In true sporting tradition, newcomers and old hands were welcome, with the experienced shooters tutoring “apprentice” shooters as they pulled their triggers at both easy and difficult targets. Well-known British shooting instructor and all around gent John Higgins was also there to lend encouragement and professional advice. Like the old potato chip commercial that said, “bet you can’t eat just one,” first-timers discovered that once you smoke a clay pigeon, you want to do it over and over again. It’s just plain addicting.

In addition to the challenging 16 station course, three fundraising stations gave shooters that chance to break bouncing “rabbits” and going away and incoming “birds” for a five or 10 dollar donation. Shooters who broke their targets received raffle tickets, which they deposited in cans next to dozens of items donated by friends and sponsors of the USA. During the post shoot luncheon, winners were drawn and lucky recipients walked away with everything from knives to treestands to a new Beretta shotgun. Winning teams received trophies and, while Ringer Robinson and his team tried to look surprised, those familiar with his team’s shooting prowess just smiled knowingly.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka didn’t join a team but moved around the course with USA Executive Director Fred Myers visiting stations and lending encouragement to everybody he met. Unable to resist, he occasionally stopped at a station and showed that he’s more than a fair to middling shot, often breaking six targets in a row. Trumka, who holds the USA’s #1 membership card and has been a moving force behind it from the beginning, reiterated his support for the USA and promised to help make it grow because as he said, “This is our organization, its for us and our families.”

This reporter had a blast as well. I got to travel around the course with President Trumka, visit with old friends like Kinsey Robinson and Steve Kelley of the UA and meet many new people. Most of all, I got to see and experience how the USA and the union members play together. It felt like a big family get together, and I felt like part of the family.

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Check out photos from the event

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