Itasca Gun Club Annual Meetings

The 2023 Annual Meeting of the Itasca Gun Club   

The 2023 Annual Meeting for the Itasca Gun Club was held Friday January 27^th at the Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids, MN.  84 members attended.  We had a social hour, a pork loin buffet dinner and then a short business meeting. 

At our annual meetings, we have two sets of prizes.  The club buys 3 guns, which are raffled off as a fundraiser, with tickets costing $5.00 each.  It’s a mix of handguns and long guns, and the type of guns varies year to year.  This year we also had a gorgeous quilt as part of this fundraiser, designed and sewn by Larry and Patty Christensen.  For the winners of the gun raffle, the last few years we’ve had local people/businesses on site to enter data into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and get approval that evening instead of needing to go to a store in town later on for that process.

Before the meeting comes up, volunteers from the club membership check in with local businesses and ask for donations for door prizes, with enough for everyone to get a door prize. We can always use extra help in asking for those donations.

For this year’s door prizes, we gave away things like hats, sweatshirts, targets, gun cleaning kits, cleaning materials, ammunition, high tech flashlights, headlamps, LED camp lanterns, screwdriver sets, knives, packs, range bags, ear plugs and muff-type hearing protectors.  As usual, there were a number of gift certificates and gift cards donated from a number of area businesses. 

The full list of businesses to donate prizes is below.  When you’re in these businesses, please give them a thank you for supporting the Itasca Gun Club

Glen’s Army Navy Store

L&M Fleet Supply

Cole’s Hardware

Northland Off Road

Rapids Brewing

Klockow Brewing

Mad Dog’s Pizza

Sammy’s Pizza

Country Kitchen

Dottie’s Restaurant

Forest Lake Restaurant

Applebee’s Restaurant

Boulder Tap House

Recognition:  There are always people who step up and put in a lot of volunteer time going above and beyond to keep our ranges and our programs running smoothly.  We can’t ever settle on a “most valuable member” award each year, because there are too many who should be recognized.  For them we have the “Vinnie Rittmiller Almost as Valuable as the Most Valuable Member” award.  The 2022 winners of this award are Mark Irving, Charles Millard and Tom Raiche.  These members have put in a notable amount of work that’s important to the club and other members.  Their names will be added to a plaque that resides at the clubhouse.

Votes were taken on the election of officers for 2023, a dues increase and special temporary range passes for our military people on leave in the area.  The slate of officers was unopposed, the dues increase passed by the required 2/3 majority, and the special military access to the range also passed.

Raffle Winners:

Margie Kelley, Ken Haubrich, Roger Heikkinen, Tom Boland (and Coach)