A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

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Doc Mark
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A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by Doc Mark » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:25 am

Greetings, Captain Ty, National Officers, William, and ALRA Patriot members,

A while back, I decided to take a poll of all of our ALRA Western Patriot membership, to see if they might be more interested in attending our National Gathering, if we changed the way we offer it. My question was simple: "Would you be more, or less inclined to attend our ALRA National Gathering, if we moved the dates to coincide with the Fort DeChartres Spring Trade Faire and Rifle Frolic?"

I know that our regular event at Fort D is not always well attended by our membership in the West, and previous queries on my part have found that it has to do with the high cost of making such a long trip to Illinois for the National, and the short time that the event is offered. For our Western membership, the distance to our National is far greater than it is for our membership in the East, for the most part. So, I decided to ask my question to see if our Western members might be more inclined to attend our National Gathering, if there was more "bang for the buck", so to speak, with our ALRA members competing against other groups in shooting contests, being able to visit and support a wide variety of great Traders, and having our own encampment within the scope of the Spring Trade Faire. Of our Patriot membership in the West, an overwhelming number of them, 92%, answered "yes", that they would be more likely to attend our National Gathering if we joined it up with the Spring Trade Faire and Rifle Frolic.

Gentleman, I believe we should move the National Gathering to coincide with the other Spring DeChartres event for several reasons, not the least is that more of our membership in the West, and I'm surmising the East, too, would very probably be more interested in investing the time and money to attend our event if we did so. I believe that, if we had our own encampment, and Darrel has already told us that we could have a nice chunk of Fort D. real estate to use, we could then have a nice jewel to show off to the other groups in attendance. We could field a large group of skilled ALRA shooters, which should do well in the various shooting contests that are part of the Rifle Frolic. Our members would also be able to frequent and support a wide variety of top notch venders, which is a win-win situation for both our membership, and those fine Traders, too. Additionally, because we would be doing what we do, we could very possibly attract some great new members into our ranks, taken from those who are already on a similar path as we, which is a great boost to the ALRA membership rolls, without having to winnow through the chaff to get to the wheat.

I truly think that this is a good idea, and many others have joined me in supporting it. Of course, the proof is in the pudding, and if we did happen to give this a shot, we could then see, very conclusively, if it would accomplish the goals I have laid out in this note. I believe that it would. Personally, I do not care about having to give up the Great Room, or the Captain's Quarters, and think that an ALRA encampment would be a great thing to see at the De Chartres event. I would very probably drive to this event, and would offer my marquee tent for our meetings, and such, if there was interest in that.

In any case, if we are wanting to improve the ALRA, and to attract more of our Patriot members to attend out Gathering, and new interest from other like-minded folks in becoming members of the ALRA, I believe that joining our event up with the Spring Trade Faire and Rifle Frolic would accomplish both of those goals. Let us give this a try, and see if my research and inquiries will bear fruit. What have we have to lose, my Friends? I believe that we stand to gain far more positive outcome than any small losses that might occur. Thank you for giving this request some serious consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you all at your convenience. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc Mark Rutledge
ALRA #224
Western Partisan
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.

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Re: A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by sasmo » Wed Oct 31, 2012 6:32 am

I vote to have the National Gathering in conjunction with the Rifle Frolic/ Trade fair.
Carl Miller
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Re: A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by Ty Davis » Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:32 am

It has been decided, with the consent of the Officers that we will go
forward with the 2013 National Gathering as our own event at De Chartres
like normal. The dates will be announced in an upcoming Gazette.

I have budgeted my time off to allow me to attend the 2013 De Chartres
Fair in April to see the event for myself. As Captain, I think it is
important that I have first hand knowledge of the event before considering
merging our event with it.

I have also encouraged Mark to attend and I now suggest that all of you
that can attend the April Fair in 2013. I think it is very important we
all have a good working knowledge of how this event runs.

After I have attended the 2013 Fair, I will report any findings or
concerns to the officer core so we can discuss them and make a decision on
the 2014 National Gathering.

Respectfully,
Ty Davis #198
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Re: A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by Doc Mark » Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:30 am

Greetings, Captain Ty, and All,

Many thanks for giving my request consideration, Ty. Much appreciated, and I will try my best to attend the DeChartres Spring Trade Faire, though I may have to miss our National due to a conflicting work schedule. We'll see how it all turns out. If, after all is said and done, you decide not to go ahead with trying a combined event, at least once, I will support you just as I always have in the past. Thanks, again, for being amenable to making further investigations into the possibilities of this happening. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc Mark Rutledge
ALRA #224
Western Partisan
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.

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Re: A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by Doc Mark » Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:00 pm

Greetings, All,

I was very much looking forward to our next National Gathering, but as luck would have it, we ended up getting a job in Santa Fe, NM which takes place during the time our National will be underway! So, sadly, I will not be able to attend this year's National Gathering at Fort D. However, as Ty wisely suggested the Officers, and Patriot members, of the ALRA try to attend the Fort DeChartres Colonial Trade Faire and Rifle and Musket Frolic, I checked into attending that event, if possible. As it turns out, I do have the time to do so, and have already made my plans, submitted my photographs, and bought my plane tickets to attend the Colonial Trade Faire.

The Colonial Trade Faire is being held at Fort D. on April 5,6, & 7, 2013. As it is a juried event, anyone who is considering attending will have to send along some photos of yourself, and your camp, to the event organizers, before March 28, 2013, as that is the cut-off for submitting your paperwork to be juried. I few highlights, for those that, like me, have never attended this event:

- Time period is 1750-1790, and all items brought, used, worn, shown, traded, or sold, must be representative of those time periods, with NO exceptions.

- The event has a set of strict rules, which you should read and understand, as any violation of them will preclude your being able to stay at the event.

- Best to act now, if you plan to attend, as it's a fairly popular event, and the longer you wait, the more the chance that you might not be accepted to attend.

The two contact fellows whom I used were:

- Andy Ordelheide 636-745-2873; and Todd Duncan taddy1767@charter.net. Both Gentlemen were polite, and very informative, and glad that some of us from the ALRA were planning to attend their event this year. They can send you the proper paperwork, and discuss any things that you might wish to know, with you, when you contact them.

If you can attend the ALRA National Gathering this March, please, by all means, do so! But, if the Colonial Trade Faire, etc., fits better into your schedule, as it did for me, then please consider attending this events, as I am doing. I know that others of the ALRA already attend this event, but as we have discussed holding our National in conjunction with this other event, it is more than worthwhile to see what the other event actually has to offer, and if holding both events simultaneously would work, or not work, for the ALRA. If you have any questions, please contact the Gentlemen about whom I wrote above. Again, both are good men, and will be more than helpful, should you desire to attend their event. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc Mark
ALRA #224
Western Partisan
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.

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Re: A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by Ty Davis » Wed May 01, 2013 9:58 am

Fellow Members,

I was able to attend the Colonial Trade Faire & Frolic at Fort De Chartres
in April to see if hosting the ALRA National Gathering in conjunction with
the Faire is feasible. While this is a very fine event, I still feel the
ALRA would certainly lose more than it would gain by combining our
National Gathering with this event. Most importantly we would lose the
sense of brotherhood Doc Mark wrote about in his recent article on the
ALRA 30th anniversary National Gathering that having the site all to
ourselves affords us. Therefore I continue to believe the ALRA should
hold the National Gathering as an individual event at this unique
historical site. However I do think members should continue to attend
events like the Faire, Fort Bridger and Martin's Station to set up ALRA
camps so the ALRA is given positive exposure and to possibly recruit new
members.

In an effort to give plenty of lead time, the 2014 ALRA National Gathering
will be held March 20-23 at Fort De Chartres in Illinois. I hope to see
many of you there!

Take Care,

Ty Davis #198
Captain
Ty Davis #198
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GA St. Lt.

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Re: A Suggestion for our ALRA National Gathering.

Post by Doc Mark » Wed May 01, 2013 11:16 am

Greetings, Capt. Ty,

After having checked out the Spring event, I totally agree with you. As mentioned in an email to you, the thing I liked best about the Fort D Spring event, was hanging out with our ALRA Bunch! I do think that the Spring event is a fine event, and well worth attending. But, I now feel that it's best to keep our National separate, and support your decision completely. Thanks for giving my idea a fair hearing. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.

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