MCFG Members - Help Me Improve Our Safety Officer Program

[chizzle]

We've recently gotten some very negative reviews of the folks that are volunteering their time to be Safety Officers at our club, so I am creating this poll in an effort to help guide us in making our Safety Officer program better. Our Safety Officer program was created in an effort to do the following:

1) Document Safety Concerns
2) Stop Unsafe Actions on Club Property
3) Answer Questions
4) Help Shooters (especially new shooters) Be Safe at MCFG

My question to you is this:

How do you feel about your interaction with our Safety Officers at MCFG?

If you were on the Board of Directors, how would you improve our Safety Officer program to help achieve the 4 goals above?

 

[snuffy33]

I have not had any negative experiences with the Safety Officers. What "counseling" I've been given has been done in a professional manner.

 

[pudly]

I'm generally in favor of a RO program, but I often shoot in the bays and wasn't even aware of them until reading the recent threads. Better communication of such changes would be helpful. I think e-mail announcements would be a good mechanism to achieve this.

 

[chizzle]

I'm generally in favor of a RO program, but I often shoot in the bays and wasn't even aware of them until reading the recent threads. Better communication of such changes would be helpful. I think e-mail announcements would be a good mechanism to achieve this.

I agree with the email announcements. Unfortunately, we don't have a good database of emails, and many of our older members don't have email! That being said, we can work towards that goal, and we can do a better job of posting updates on the website.

 

[Simon6101]

Unaware

I was unaware of the rule change on regulating how many people can share a bay. My co-workers and I have on many occasions gone up before we went to work and done some shooting . Now I find out that we were violating the rules because there has been as many as 8 of us sharing a bay.

I guess the next time we go we will just have to occupy both bays.

 

[kazaam]

Is there like an anonymous tip jar where people can maybe write in what (if anything) they saw that was unsafe that visit (if they so desire)?

Suppose that's something. I haven't encountered any safety officers while I was there but as long as they're not annoying I don't think I'd mind it.

 

[chizzle]

Is there like an anonymous tip jar where people can maybe write in what (if anything) they saw that was unsafe that visit (if they so desire)?

Suppose that's something. I haven't encountered any safety officers while I was there but as long as they're not annoying I don't think I'd mind it.

The blaze orange safety concern forms are located right next to the sign in sheet and can be put in the visitor's fee slot in the door.

 

[shooter521]

I was at the range one morning last week, doing some test-firing of customer guns in one of the bays. I was the only one there. I had my gear set on the table at the back of the bay, and I would walk forward about half the distance to the target, load the gun, fire until empty, then walk back to the table with the gun pointed at the ground. While I was doing this, a gentleman had pulled his pickup onto the gravel "road" at the back of the bays, and was collecting the trash. Upon seeing me walking back to the table, he approached me and said "They don't want anyone open carrying a gun in the bays," explaining that I had to either case or holster the gun prior to returning to the table, or move the table down to where I wanted to shoot from. I thanked him for explaining that to me, but was unaware that it was in the rules (I don't consider a muzzle pointed straight down as breaking the 180).

The person in question never introduced himself to me by name, nor did he identify himself as a Safety Officer. He did not have a club badge visible, and was not signed in on the sign-up board (after he got done gathering the trash, he left). If he was acting in an "official" capacity, he should have said that. If there are rules changes made after the rulebooks are distributed, they need to be communicated to the membership, either by mail, Email, posting on the club website, and/or posting outside the clubhouse.

This was the first and only interaction I've had with someone who might have been a volunteer RO.

 

[chizzle]

I was at the range one morning last week, doing some test-firing of customer guns in one of the bays. I was the only one there. I had my gear set on the table at the back of the bay, and I would walk forward about half the distance to the target, load the gun, fire until empty, then walk back to the table with the gun pointed at the ground. While I was doing this, a gentleman had pulled his pickup onto the gravel "road" at the back of the bays, and was collecting the trash. Upon seeing me walking back to the table, he approached me and said "They don't want anyone open carrying a gun in the bays," explaining that I had to either case or holster the gun prior to returning to the table, or move the table down to where I wanted to shoot from. I thanked him for explaining that to me, but was unaware that it was in the rules (I don't consider a muzzle pointed straight down as breaking the 180).

The person in question never introduced himself to me by name, nor did he identify himself as a Safety Officer. He did not have a club badge visible, and was not signed in on the sign-up board (after he got done gathering the trash, he left). If he was acting in an "official" capacity, he should have said that. If there are rules changes made after the rulebooks are distributed, they need to be communicated to the membership, either by mail, Email, posting on the club website, and/or posting outside the clubhouse.

This was the first and only interaction I've had with someone who might have been a volunteer RO.

Thanks for the info, it is good to get some feedback from your shooting buddies It is really helpful to hear this, because it actually gives us some stuff we can fix (wear your Safety Officer hat, only enforce the rules, etc.).

 

[rimfire_crazed]

I believe the gentleman with the pickup truck is the source of most consternation, Shooter.

 

[chizzle]

I believe the gentleman with the pickup truck is the source of most consternation, Shooter.

Just so you guys know, I talked to him today for about 20 minutes and that problem should be solved from here on out. Any other suggestions for improvement would be appreciated, especially if you can make it to the Board meeting next week.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

I believe the gentleman with the pickup truck is the source of most consternation, Shooter.

Yes and no. I was going to stay quiet until the meeting but since this has been brought up here is my input.

I joined a club that did not need ro's as the membership took care since the beginning of the club. Can somebody do the math? Now a major decision has been jammed down our throat with NO input from the membership and NO communication to the membership.

 

[rhino]

Just so you guys know, I talked to him today for about 20 minutes and that problem should be solved from here on out. Any other suggestions for improvement would be appreciated, especially if you can make it to the Board meeting next week.

Thank you!

 

[chizzle]

Yes and no. I was going to stay quiet until the meeting but since this has been brought up here is my input.

I joined a club that did not need ro's as the membership took care since the beginning of the club. Can somebody do the math? Now a major decision has been jammed down our throat with NO input from the membership and NO communication to the membership.

That's simply false. I am not trying to pick a fight, but if you had been at the Board meetings or had read the minutes that we post in the bulletin board at the club you would know that this was discussed at more than one Board meeting before it was approved. The only reason that it exists, is because one of our normal members (not on the Board) championed the idea and proposed it to the Board. Even after it was approved, it took a month or more to order hats and vests for the unpaid, volunteer SO's and to have all of them attend special training put on by our Safety Director.

If I seem frustrated, it is because I don't appreciate something being characterized as "crammed down our throats" when we made all the normal attempts to communicate this to the membership that we would for any normal vote, and this process took several months while we sought input from our members.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

I stopped by yesterday to read the minutes posted on the board for that very reason and there is no mention so that is simply false. No e mail no posting on the board no mention at FNS.

 

[chizzle]

I stopped by yesterday to read the minutes posted on the board for that very reason and there is no mention so that is simply false

We don't have every set of minutes since the beginning of time posted on the bulletin board (won't fit)... We try to post the most recent month's minutes. Since this decision was made months ago, those minutes have been taken down and replaced with a more recent version. If you'd like to stay more updated, I'd suggest you attend a Board meeting where we handle this type of business.

 

[hopper68]

Not a member/not in the area but going to comment anyway.

To those complaining about RO's: Would you be willing to volunteer? If not at the range how about help setting up an email database to send out the minutes of meetings and other events.

 

[singlesix]

I stopped by yesterday to read the minutes posted on the board for that very reason and there is no mention so that is simply false. No e mail no posting on the board no mention at FNS.

Here you go
MCFG Indy Range - Club News

This was communicated in April.

 

[chizzle]

Not a member/not in the area but going to comment anyway.

To those complaining about RO's: Would you be willing to volunteer? If not at the range how about help setting up an email database to send out the minutes of meetings and other events.

Thank you for the support and the ideas. I was crunching the numbers last month and I figured out that a Board member puts in about 40 hours per year (1 work week) just attending meetings, not to mention all the work that must be completed outside the meetings. I know that folks who help with out mowing and maintenance put in many, many more hours than that.

Any help that people could give (instead of just criticism) would be warmly received. It is only by pulling together, rather than destroying ourselves from within, that we are going to make the club a better place for the next generation.

 

[SSGSAD]

I am NOT a member, but my brother joined recently, and I shoot FNS, and I think YOU GUYS are GREAT !!!!! Everybody is friendly and helps others. I have had a good time when I am at FNS. I will be returning as soon as the weather gets warmer..... Thanks to everyone, who has a part in this wonderful range !!!!!