Scenes from the 2004 Annual Meeting - Deppe

2004 Annual General Meeting
Junior Shooting
Editor’s note: At the 2004 TSRA Annual
Meeting, Association President Buddy
Chapman presented several Presidential
Citations for members who had performed
in an exemplary manner, and whose
contributions or achievements reflected
positively upon the TSRA. Of those
recipients, none attracted more attention
from the members and guests than 12 year
old Heather Deppe of San Antonio.
Heather, despite her tender age, has proven
to be an outstanding competitior, and
recently completed her first international
competition. She is rapidly showing
shooters across Texas and the nation, and
now the rest of the world, that she is a force
to be reckoned with on the international
shooting circuit.
After receiving her award, Heather gave
an acceptance speech that proved to be one
of the highlights of the convention. So that
our members not in attendance can get a
glimpse of this skillful and confident young
TSRA member, I am publishing the text of
her speech below.
Thank you, Mr. Chapman and TSRA for this
prestigious award. This is cool! [laughter]
It is a great honor to have my efforts and
achievements recognized by you. I would
also like to thank the NRA, CMP and USA
Shooting for the opportunities they have
given me. I’m also grateful to Mr. Don Rupp,
Mr. Bob Maxon, Mr. Emil Heugatter, Mr. Don
Lowry and Mr. Jim Nicholson for their
support. They have generously contributed
their time and equipment to helping me reach
my potential, like when my rear sight
ricocheted off my forehead at Camp Perry.
[laughter] Mr. Huegatter got the Army
Marksmanship Unit to repair it in time for
me to win the Junior National Trophy
Individual match. Most of all, I am grateful
to my father in heaven and, of course, the
one seated in front of me.
I got started in shooting sports as a result
of the NRA Marksmanship Qualification
Program. It was a lot of fun, especially when
my friends were doing it too. The
Qualification was more than just plinking; it
was a kind of competition, and I love
12-Year Old Heather Deppe
Honored by TSRA
competition. However, once I had attained
my first Distinguished Expert rating, I was
hungry for more opportunities to shoot and
compete, and TSRA was there for me. You
provided some of the competition I crave,
and showed me how fun and rewarding
competitive shooting can be. In November
of 2002 you hosted a Bullseye Pistol and
High Power Rifle Clinic in Waco. That was
Heather Deppe (center), with her parents, Katie
and Terrell.
my first taste of precision pistol shooting,
and it was nice to meet other kids with similar
interests. I quickly realized how friendly and
welcoming bullseye shooters are to juniors,
and I look forward to that atmosphere at
every event.
But your influence didn’t stop at the clinic
in Waco. I continued to see your
commitment to juniors at the Regional
Championship, and again at Camp Perry. I
wasn’t able to attend the State
Championship because I was busy
competing at the USA Pentathlon Junior
National Championship and USA Shooting
National Championship where I won Gold
Medals at each competition. [applause]
Please… continue your commitment to
supporting junior shooting programs. It is
disappointing and unfortunate that there
aren’t more girls my age involved in
competitive pistol shooting. You have done
so much, and yet there is so much more than
can be done. We need more shooting sports
camps, more clinics and more expos. These
events are educational, fun and inviting.
I remember the first expo I attended. It was
the Sportsman’s Expo in San Antonio where
I met various national champions and
Olympic shooters for the very first time. I
remember how confident they were in their
ability, and wishing I could be just like
that. Exactly three years later, I have now
competed in four national championship
events. Having won three of them, I feel
like my confidence is approaching that of
the athletes I met at the expo. In fact, I’m
now competing in many of the same
events, like the one I returned home from
this week: the Bavarian Air Gun
Championship in Munich, Germany.
Unfortunately, my scores don’t reflect my
performance. My scores were average, but
my performance was awesome! I was
shooting really well with great sight
alignment and fantastic trigger control,
but not many tens. I can’t count the
number of 9.9’s I shot. It was as if the gun
and the pellets had been trained to avoid
the ten ring! Haven’t we ALL been there?
[laughter and applause] Then, as I was
packing up after the match, I looked down
at my gun and then at the tin of pellets.
There it was on both of them: “Made In
Germany”. That’s it! It MUST have been
a conspiracy! [laughter and applause]
Fortunately, before leaving for this match,
my coaches told me that I wasn’t there to
take any gold medals away from the
Germans. This was to be a “technical
match” where I could experience the
unique Friends pressures of NRA Banquet of Speaker international will
competition, be NRA President travel, and Kayne of course, Robinson! jet lag.
Speaking of which, isn’t it about time for
breakfast? [laughter]
If it weren’t for people like Mr. Rupp and
Mr. Chapman … people like YOU who
make up the TSRA, NRA, CMP and USA
Shooting, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
You gave me direction. You gave me
motivation and most importantly, you
gave me opportunities. That’s all we really
need. I often hear it said that we, “are the
future of shooting sports and second
amendment rights.” If you truly believe
that, then I ask you to continue your great
work, and that you provide even more
opportunities for kids like me. Thank you.
page 12 TSRA Sportsman Vol. 36, No.2