Generations Skeet Club (PA) hosted the 20th annual Holtz Memorial Shoot, a 5-gun affair, on June 2-5, 2023. This shoot is held in memory of Ralph Holtz, his wife Mary Louise, and their grandson Kyle Holtz. Ralph died in 2003, Kyle in 2004, and Mary Louise in 2018.
Except for an hour of rain on Saturday afternoon, the weather for the weekend was great. Fifty-five shooters shot at least one gun. Four Maryland shooters joined the festivities — thank you for coming! Top HOA finishers were Chris Kline, champion (395), Joe Vescovi, runner-up (395), and Denny Lehman, third (390). Missy Vescovi was Lady HOA Champion.
Thirty-one participants shot doubles on Friday afternoon. Bryson Fox emerged as Champion after defeating Gary Nace and Joe Vescovi in a shoot-off of 97s. Class firsts went to Mike Wollard (AA), Nace (A), Bill Calvert (B, after a shoot-off of 93s with Michael Moats), Joe Gans V (C), and Bryan Fox (D).
The 28-gauge shooting took place on Saturday morning with 47 shooters participating. Kline was Champion, but not before he won a shoot-off of 99s with five other shooters. Class firsts were Joe Vescovi (AA), Lehman (A), Pat Leyo (B), George Kirik (C) and George Gleich (D).
Shooting continued on Saturday afternoon with the 12-gauge event which involved 53 shooters and a rainstorm during the second flight. There were four 100 straights. Lehman won the shoot-off and was 12-gauge Champion. Kline, Clay Gormish, Bryson Fox, Missy Vescovi, John Davies and James Holtz, respectively, were AA, A, B, C, D, and E class winners.
On Saturday evening a bountiful meal was served including delicious grilled venison hors d’oeuvres prepared by Joe Vescovi, chicken, (grilled by Ryan Holtz) and a large variety of delicious desserts. Following dinner, the Generations Skeet Club’s President’s Award for 2023 was awarded to Pat Leyo for his long-term and outstanding service to the club. The Three-Man Blind event (to be based on Sunday’s .410 scores) was also set up with lively auction bidding for the 14 computer-picked teams after dinner. A total of more than $2,800 was wagered.
The .410 bore was shot on Sunday morning (46 shooters) with beautiful weather prevailing. Kline was Champion and AA1 with a nice 98. Other class firsts went to Wollard (A), Tom Shields (B), Jack Makdad (C), and Dan Amsler (D).
The 20-gauge event took place on Sunday afternoon. Jeff Meidinger roared out of B class, shot the lone 100-straight and was champion — way to go, Jeff! Wollard took AA1 after winning a shoot-off of 99s with Tyler Mroczka. Other class firsts were Joe Vescovi (A), Missy Vescovi (B), Paul Hunt (C) and James Holtz (D).
Ryan Holtz and Mark Strickland handled registration and score keeping/posting; Michael Vescovi was chief referee. Non-shooting referees included Renee Calvert, Paige, Andrea, Elle and Jackie McMullen, Braden Holtz and Alex Farrell. All did a great job, thank you!
Joe McGarvey provided homemade vegetable soup which was gobbled up on Saturday and Sunday. Biscuits and gravy were also available on Sunday. Joe Gans (3 and 5) made delectable sandwiches for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Renee Calvert’s chocolate chip cookies didn’t last long. As always, Pat Leyo provided filled and regular doughnuts on Saturday and Sunday morning, much to everyone’s delight.
The 3-man blind winners were Chris Kline, Roy Holtz and Dan Amsler, and each shooter received $55. Kline and Lynn Holtz bought the winning team at auction and took home $1,100 to share. Pay-outs went to the four highest-scoring team’s shooters and buyers.
Notable events included: Jeff Meidinger shooting his first 100-straight in 20 years in the 20-gauge; Emily Harshbarger shooting her highest registered score ever (95 in the 20-gauge); Dan Amsler being the “dark horse” in the 3-man team event by shooting an 86 (more than 10 birds above his average) in the .410 and spurring his team to win the event; James Holtz shooting 89 in the 12 and 94 in the 20, good for Junior and Class E first in the former and Junior and Class D first in the latter (Generations’ next wave of skeet shooting youngsters are on their way!).
A notable upcoming event is the Pennsylvania State Skeet Shoot which will be held August 18-20 at beautiful Shenecoy field in McConnellstown, PA. More than 250 shooters and more than $25,000 added money are being anticipated for this event. Please come and join in the fun!
– Contributed by George Gleich
