By PAUL DAVIS
Outdoors Editor
A victory for firearms enthusiasts in November's presidential election may have kept the number of attendees at the 25th annual SEMO Friends of NRA banquet down a little, but organizers still were pleased with the event.
"I'm happy with it, and everything went smoothly," said SEMO Friends of NRA Committee Chairman Andrew Heuiser. "I think the eclipse worked against us a little, too, as people left town to get a better view."
About 325 people attended the event, Heuiser said, compared to 435 a year ago in the run-up to the election.
The evening began with a social hour with various games, raffles and a silent auction,
"The games did really well," said Heuiser. "We didn't have any complaints."
Karon Campbell's Tasteful Creations served up a steak and chicken dinner after the social hour, quickly getting those in attendance through the lines and fed.
"The steaks were perfect," Heuiser said. "Everything was excellent."
Heuiser noted the committee has never has a single complaint about the food in all the years Campbell has catered the event.
After the dinner, volunteer auctioneers Felix Baker and Trent Stillwell conducted a live auction, where items such as framed prints, an autographed Charlie Daniels fiddle, exclusive firearms and more were up for grabs.
"The auctions did really well," Heuiser said, "and I can't say enough about our auctioneers volunteering their time. They sent a lot of neat items home with people."
At a Friends of NRA event, you'd expect lots of guns to be given away, and over the course of the night, 74 various firearms went home with new owners.
The Friends of NRA Gun of the Year, a Daniel Defense M4 rifle, was won by committee member Ryan Heuiser in a Thermos raffle drawing.
This year's banquet, Heuiser noted, had about 40 sponsors, which was down a little from past years.
The sponsors, he said, are vitally important to the event's bottom line because they help offset other costs.
"We certainly appreciate all of our sponsors," Heuiser said.
"I'd just like to say thanks again to everyone for coming out and supporting the Friends of NRA's mission," he added.
That mission includes funding firearms safety training, range development and more.
Locally, money from the Friends of NRA helps support the 4-H shooting sports in Butler and surrounding counties, area high school trap shooting teams and more.
Next year's event, Heuiser said, is expected to take place the Saturday after Poplar Bluff's schools start, on Aug. 18, though circumstances could change the date.
If you're interested in helping on the committee, give Heuiser a call at 573-429-2423.