St. Louis, MO – The country’s largest women’s shooting organization held its National Shooting Chapter Leader Conference Oct. 3-5, 2014 in St. Louis MO. Local The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter leaders, Marti Stonecipher, Kari Ramsey & Renee Ramsey who lead the Copper Basin Chapter attended this leadership building event.
With the number of women who own firearms for personal protection skyrocketing, there are now over 200 of The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapters in 44 states, all formed in less than two years. Chapter leaders from coast to coast traveled to St. Louis for three days of seminars, training and for the chance to meet and network with their sister chapter leaders. The Copper Basin Chapter meets monthly at the Copper Valley Christian Center and The Copper Basin Sportsmen’s Club to provide a woman friendly environment for women to learn and grow as shooters.
“The firearm industry has been slow to meet the unique and specific needs of female shooters. The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapters create a safe and unintimidating environment for women to explore shooting and to hone their skills,” states Carrie Lightfoot, founder of The Well Armed Woman. An NRA Certified Instructor and entrepreneur, Lightfoot launched The Well Armed Woman to be a comprehensive and intelligent resource for women gun owners. The Well Armed Woman designs and offers holsters and other shooting accessories for women as well as valuable information and resources to help them navigate the male driven world of firearms. “Our shooting chapter program brings together women of all ages, backgrounds and political views and in their monthly meetings learn safe and responsible gun handling skills,” says Lightfoot.
The three-day event was sponsored by some of the largest names in the firearm industry. The following companies contributed to make the event possible: Ruger, Mossberg, Glock, Walther Arms, NRA-ILA Frontlines, Magpul, Command Arms, CCW Safe, RWC Group and Gun Tote’n Mamas. “These companies prove their commitment to work to meet the needs of women shooters through their tangible and very real involvement in women’s events like this” shares Lightfoot
Special events for attending chapter leaders included exciting shooting opportunities at Top Gun Shooting Sports in Arnold, MO and at Ultimate Defense Firing Range & Training Center in St. Peters, MO. Chapter leaders attended seminars on various subjects, such as range safety, effective leadership, and being an ambassador for responsible women shooters. Special guest Gabby Franco, former Olympic shooter and two-time contestant on the History Channel’s reality show “Top Shot” presented a session focused on training new shooters. Franco was also the keynote speaker at a special evening banquet held on Saturday Oct. 4 to honor chapter leaders. “Can’t say it enough, the conference was awesome. I have so much more to share at my meetings”, shares Char Lynn-Schroeder.
Women interested in learning more about firearms and The Well Armed Woman Chapter program can visit www.thewellarmedwoman.com. To learn more about the local Copper Basin Chapter and how to join, email copperbasin.twaw@gmail.com or call Marti Stonecipher 520-400-8914, Kari Ramsey 520-827-9910 or Renee Ramsey 602-920-3765.