M
Macky Locklin
Guest
What follows this brief introduction is an article I wrote for our organization's newsletter, the "ARA News", which is currently in the mail and will be delivered starting tomorrow, February 16. The article may seem a little long for this Forum, but since many of you do not receive the newsletter, I've decided that I'd include it here in its entirety in the hope that it would explain a change that should be of great interest to the many loyal supporters of ARA.
It details a change in ownership of ARA.
Here it is:
As I write this, I’m feeling very mixed emotions about ARA, its beginnings and the transition that is taking place.
However, as I enter my 13th year of ARA involvement and my 22nd year of rimfire benchrest activities, I felt that it may be time for someone with the enthusiasm and drive I once had to take over and carry the game to new heights. Dan Killough is now the sole owner of the game, and believe me, if I didn’t trust him to keep his word that the game will remain unchanged, this transfer of ownership would never be taking place.
During our discussions, I insisted that the game, as it has evolved into the game we now know, will remain AS IS. He assured me that “it certainly isn’t broken, so there is no need to fix it”. So, have confidence that as you Match Directors make your plans for 2010 or for those of you lusting after that new rifle or new piece of equipment, the game will be here for you, just as before.
All records that have been set over the years will continue to exist, and any new ones will be added, as they are set. The A/Line formula will continue to be used in calculating overall standings of all competitors. There will be no changes to the methods of record keeping, no changes to the Hall of Fame or other aspects of the game. It’s all the same, except from now on, when ordering targets or any ARA related supplies or sending in Match Reports and fees, all that will now go to Dan. That will be explained elsewhere in this final issue of the ARA News.
One of my disappointments is that the automated, interactive scorekeeping program that I hoped to have in place by January 1, 2009 is still an ongoing project, and will continue toward completion. It is very complicated, and the young programmer that took on the job is a little overwhelmed by it all, but is still tweaking it. Dan plans to continue following its progress and implement it as soon as possible. I have faith that it will work and be completed sometime early in 2010. It will benefit all competitors, and will be an interesting, fact-filled, fun place to visit when it comes on line.
Think of the transition as “business as usual” in the game you’ve grown to love and in which you and many others have a substantial investment in equipment and labor. I simply would not allow anything to endanger the game I love, that WE love, or to interfere with the way we’ve competed since 1998.
I recall the very first thoughts of creating a new game as BR-50 died around us, and wondered what those of us who loved the game would find to do to fill its void. BR-50 had become a raging passion with me and many others like me in 1989, and the thought of suddenly being denied the opportunity to continue shooting benchrest rimfire left me with an emptiness that couldn’t be filled. Many friends had been made during those busy years, and the times were truly golden as we traveled around the country every weekend from place to place to meet and shoot. What a time!
Larry Brown, the irascible, self-billed “inventor” of BR-50 did not hesitate to pat himself on the back at every opportunity for his genius. To his credit, he DID invent a great game. But, many people found him impossible to talk to, to deal with, and ultimately were turned off by his genuine absence of tact and a complete lack of diplomacy. That being said, and for reasons I’ll never understand, he and I got along very well. That is, right up to the end of BR-50. But, in that regard, I was not alone.
Without getting into a complete history of his game, which included centerfire, rimfire and airguns, his real love was the latter, and he flatly told those of us who embraced the rimfire side of it that we were “idiots” for shooting a rimfire rifle when there was a “better technology” that was far superior to the unpredictable, century old rimfire cartridge.
While he was probably technically right, his genius failed to comprehend that statements like those fell onto the ears of most of us who shot rimfire as part of his game, and a full 98 percent of all BR-50 targets that were shot were shot with a .22 rimfire rifle. Consequently, 98 percent of his income revolved around those of us who loved the little rimfire cartridge and the rifles that shot it. To show the shallowness of his thinking, keep in mind that BR-50 was his sole source of income. So, metaphorically speaking, he shot himself in the foot, and it wasn’t with an airgun, because it turned out to be a fatal shot both for him and the fantastic game he invented. He simply didn’t comprehend the consequences of his statements, and they ultimately led to the end of a wonderfully conceived sport.
A lot of history can be written about those golden BR-50 years, and maybe I will do that sometime, or if there is someone out there that wants to take on the task, I can help with some information. I have all my old correspondence with Larry and much of the history is both in my head and in my files.
In 1998, ARA began its first season, and it quickly caught on all across the country. While ARA was ascending, Larry Brown’s game quickly entered a death spiral, crashed and burned with no survivors. And like the legendary Phoenix, from the ashes rose ARA, with its simple rules, a Board of Directors who exhibited flexibility and straightforward thinking and a willingness to listen to the ideas of the everyday competitor and actually implement changes in the rules. ARA caught on, grew quickly and a new game rose to take the place of BR-50. It has flourished since. Unlike BR-50 and Larry Brown, this game will continue, and I think it will continue long into the future.
And how can this piece not include a few words about Polly. Without her, this organization would have folded long ago. Her tenacity, her willingness to spend countless hours at the computer entering scores, solving problems, compiling endless statistics, keeping the schedules updated, assembling the many ARA News newsletters, making constant changes to the ARA website, fielding schedule changes, and always doing so with a cheery voice and a smile, I wish to thank her from the bottom of my heart. She is the one we all owe a deep debt of gratitude for putting up with all she dealt with since she started handling this in 2000. Thanks Polly.
Thanks also to everyone who has had a part in making ARA one of the most popular rimfire benchrest games around. The game is here for you, and although I’m not going to be at the head of the organization any longer, I will be out there with many of you, doing my best to aim for that perfect target. Good luck to you, my friends, and I hope to see you as I travel around to ARA events all over the country.
Macky Locklin
It details a change in ownership of ARA.
Here it is:
As I write this, I’m feeling very mixed emotions about ARA, its beginnings and the transition that is taking place.
However, as I enter my 13th year of ARA involvement and my 22nd year of rimfire benchrest activities, I felt that it may be time for someone with the enthusiasm and drive I once had to take over and carry the game to new heights. Dan Killough is now the sole owner of the game, and believe me, if I didn’t trust him to keep his word that the game will remain unchanged, this transfer of ownership would never be taking place.
During our discussions, I insisted that the game, as it has evolved into the game we now know, will remain AS IS. He assured me that “it certainly isn’t broken, so there is no need to fix it”. So, have confidence that as you Match Directors make your plans for 2010 or for those of you lusting after that new rifle or new piece of equipment, the game will be here for you, just as before.
All records that have been set over the years will continue to exist, and any new ones will be added, as they are set. The A/Line formula will continue to be used in calculating overall standings of all competitors. There will be no changes to the methods of record keeping, no changes to the Hall of Fame or other aspects of the game. It’s all the same, except from now on, when ordering targets or any ARA related supplies or sending in Match Reports and fees, all that will now go to Dan. That will be explained elsewhere in this final issue of the ARA News.
One of my disappointments is that the automated, interactive scorekeeping program that I hoped to have in place by January 1, 2009 is still an ongoing project, and will continue toward completion. It is very complicated, and the young programmer that took on the job is a little overwhelmed by it all, but is still tweaking it. Dan plans to continue following its progress and implement it as soon as possible. I have faith that it will work and be completed sometime early in 2010. It will benefit all competitors, and will be an interesting, fact-filled, fun place to visit when it comes on line.
Think of the transition as “business as usual” in the game you’ve grown to love and in which you and many others have a substantial investment in equipment and labor. I simply would not allow anything to endanger the game I love, that WE love, or to interfere with the way we’ve competed since 1998.
I recall the very first thoughts of creating a new game as BR-50 died around us, and wondered what those of us who loved the game would find to do to fill its void. BR-50 had become a raging passion with me and many others like me in 1989, and the thought of suddenly being denied the opportunity to continue shooting benchrest rimfire left me with an emptiness that couldn’t be filled. Many friends had been made during those busy years, and the times were truly golden as we traveled around the country every weekend from place to place to meet and shoot. What a time!
Larry Brown, the irascible, self-billed “inventor” of BR-50 did not hesitate to pat himself on the back at every opportunity for his genius. To his credit, he DID invent a great game. But, many people found him impossible to talk to, to deal with, and ultimately were turned off by his genuine absence of tact and a complete lack of diplomacy. That being said, and for reasons I’ll never understand, he and I got along very well. That is, right up to the end of BR-50. But, in that regard, I was not alone.
Without getting into a complete history of his game, which included centerfire, rimfire and airguns, his real love was the latter, and he flatly told those of us who embraced the rimfire side of it that we were “idiots” for shooting a rimfire rifle when there was a “better technology” that was far superior to the unpredictable, century old rimfire cartridge.
While he was probably technically right, his genius failed to comprehend that statements like those fell onto the ears of most of us who shot rimfire as part of his game, and a full 98 percent of all BR-50 targets that were shot were shot with a .22 rimfire rifle. Consequently, 98 percent of his income revolved around those of us who loved the little rimfire cartridge and the rifles that shot it. To show the shallowness of his thinking, keep in mind that BR-50 was his sole source of income. So, metaphorically speaking, he shot himself in the foot, and it wasn’t with an airgun, because it turned out to be a fatal shot both for him and the fantastic game he invented. He simply didn’t comprehend the consequences of his statements, and they ultimately led to the end of a wonderfully conceived sport.
A lot of history can be written about those golden BR-50 years, and maybe I will do that sometime, or if there is someone out there that wants to take on the task, I can help with some information. I have all my old correspondence with Larry and much of the history is both in my head and in my files.
In 1998, ARA began its first season, and it quickly caught on all across the country. While ARA was ascending, Larry Brown’s game quickly entered a death spiral, crashed and burned with no survivors. And like the legendary Phoenix, from the ashes rose ARA, with its simple rules, a Board of Directors who exhibited flexibility and straightforward thinking and a willingness to listen to the ideas of the everyday competitor and actually implement changes in the rules. ARA caught on, grew quickly and a new game rose to take the place of BR-50. It has flourished since. Unlike BR-50 and Larry Brown, this game will continue, and I think it will continue long into the future.
And how can this piece not include a few words about Polly. Without her, this organization would have folded long ago. Her tenacity, her willingness to spend countless hours at the computer entering scores, solving problems, compiling endless statistics, keeping the schedules updated, assembling the many ARA News newsletters, making constant changes to the ARA website, fielding schedule changes, and always doing so with a cheery voice and a smile, I wish to thank her from the bottom of my heart. She is the one we all owe a deep debt of gratitude for putting up with all she dealt with since she started handling this in 2000. Thanks Polly.
Thanks also to everyone who has had a part in making ARA one of the most popular rimfire benchrest games around. The game is here for you, and although I’m not going to be at the head of the organization any longer, I will be out there with many of you, doing my best to aim for that perfect target. Good luck to you, my friends, and I hope to see you as I travel around to ARA events all over the country.
Macky Locklin
got keep them ammo dealers and hotels going.Seriously thank you all its been a great dealing with you.