OCTOBER 1-7, 2014 UCW 25
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
Cigars and Guns Raises Funds for Families of Fallen Heroes
by ERINN CRIDER
It's no secret that being a soldier or a law enforcement officer is dangerous.
But the work is vital to the safety of our nation. Volunteers selflessly step
up to handle the business of the American people every day. Tragically, it
sometimes means that families are
left without their soldier or police
officer who have fallen in the line of
duty and they carry on.
Gary Clarke is one of the Founders of
North Carolina Tactical Response and
Community Care, a nonprofit designed
to help bridge the gap for survivors of
heroes who have made the ultimate
sacrifice. On Saturday, Oct. 4, NCTRACC
is partnering with The Range Complex
for Cigars and Guns, a fundraiser to
benefit NCTRACC.
Clarke and some of his friends
came up with the idea for the event.
"It just seemed like a natural fit," he
said. "When I was a team leader for
the Cumberland County SWAT team,
we enjoyed our jobs and many of us
liked fine hand-rolled cigars. We wanted to bring people together and also
benefit a nonprofit and this seemed like a good way to do that."
The main attraction is the 3-gun competition.
"The team at The Range Complex has designed a pretty nice realistic
scenario-based course with different shooting positions and different
platforms and things like that to provide some interesting challenges to the
competitors," said Clarke. "The main thing to is to give people a chance to
watch these professionals from military and law enforcement do what they
train for every day. There are some guys that are really good with weaponry
and they will compete. It will be entertaining to watch what they do for a
living and see them for compete for time and accuracy."
There is still time for competitors to enter the event.
"This is only open to military and law enforcement personnel to
compete," said Clarke. "We are very serious about safety and making
sure that no one gets hurt. Law
enforcement and military members
have a good understanding of range
protocol and safety along with the
kind of training that will make this a
fun event for them. This is going to
be a lot of fun to watch, too, because
so many of these guys are experts at
what they do."
While Clarke sees this as a fun
event for weapon enthusiasts, it
is also a good way for families to
come and see their soldier or law
enforcement officer in action.
"A lot of these wives and kids don't
really have a good idea of what goes
on at work for their loved one, so
this is a chance to meet other family
members, too," he said.
There will be an air-soft shoot house, face painting, vendors, food and more.
And, of course, fine hand-rolled cigars provided by Anstead's Tobacco Company.
"Since it is so close to Halloween, we decided to dress up the shoot house for
the kids and turn it into a zombie house," said Clarke. "There will be plenty to see
and do here, and the proceeds definitely benefit a good cause."
Tickets cost $7, children under 10 get in free. The event starts
at 8 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. Find out more at http://proshop.
therangecomplex.com/cigars-and-
guns-3-gun-competition.aspx or by
calling 910-670-4790.
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Serving the community for over 28 years
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ERINN CRIDER, Contributing
Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@
upandcomingweekly.com.