Approximately 75 shooters, sponsors, FFA members, and guests gathered for the third annual Tyrone FFA Fun Clay Shoot on Sunday, September 20 at Warriors Mark Wingshooting Lodge and Kennels in Ginter.

“The goal of the committee was to raise $2200 to help support the activities of the FFA Chapter and to also offset costs for the Agricultural Program and to develop leadership skills. This is one of our three major fundraisers set for this fall,” said Tyrone FFA Chapter President Brandon Decker.

One of the things that makes this event special is that is it planned and run entirely by the students in FFA.

“Mrs. Hoy, our advisor, and the Gilliland Family, who own the facility, guided us through the planning of the event and running of the equipment, but the students do all of the work from getting sponsors, designing t-shirts, working the traps, entering participants, and even following up at the end with thank you notes and recommendations for the next year’s event,” said Chapter Vice President, Baylee DelBaggio.

“We had a great turnout and will continue to run the event in the future,” said DelBaggio.

“Our chapter is for the students and run by the students, so having them plan and execute an event like this helps to teach beyond the four walls of the classroom,” said Hoy.

“Students develop their public speaking, writing, and leadership skills; along with business management of record keeping and budgeting,” added Hoy,”We are also very blessed to have great supporters within the community who continue to serve as sponsors and participants in the Fun Clay Shoot.”

Participants ranged from first-timers to professional shooters.

“I have been waiting to participate in this event for the past two years, I finally made the age and hunter safety requirements,” said Garin Hoy, 7th grader at Tyrone Area Middle School.

“I’ve carried my Dad’s ammo for the past two years and finally passed the job to my sister Nora who has three more years before she can compete. It was a rough start but as I moved through the stations I improved, I did pretty well for my first-time ever shooting at moving targets,” said Garin Hoy.

All class winners received a trophy and bragging rights for the year.  The winners were:

Class A – Mick Markel

Class B – John Boone

Class C – Gregory White

Class D – Adam Boone

Class E – Jeff Peterson

Overall Youth Winner – Carter Maceno

Tyrone Area FFA Chapter Overall Winner – Charles Beard

Sponsors for the event were:

Supreme Level: baldeaglepellet.com, C&L Lawn Care Inc., Cold Bore Custom Firearms, D. Peterson Jr. Enterprises LLC, Evergreen Farm Inc., Forney Financial Solutions LLC, Lytle’s Transfer & Storage, Spruce Creek Tavern, and Warriors Mark Fencing.

Gold Level: Cabinet Fashions LLC, Hoy’s Awards & Trophies, and The Hoy Family

Silver Level: Conrad Family Farm, LLC, DelGrosso’s Foods Inc., Four Cherry Dairy, New Pig, and Old Pike Gun Shop

Bronze Level: Mac’s Market & The Gridiron, Simondale Excavating, and Tyrone Milling.