Held in July in Cooperstown, New York, in conjunction with the Evans Open Cancer Shoot, the Boyd Memorial Cancer Shoot once again exceeded the previous year’s event in fundraising. A donation of over $7,000, which is $1,000 more than in 2016, will be made to Relay for Life to help find a cure for cancer. Glenn Stafford was the High-Over-All winner.
This event was started by the desire of one registered skeet shooter, in whose memory the event is named, to bring back registered shoots to Cooperstown. The event is in its fifth year of growth, thanks to many people critical to its success. The foundation of this event started with the Cooperstown Sportsmen’s Association offering to host the fundraiser and donating all the targets for two days of shooting. Second is the shoot committee under the leadership of chair Joyce Boyd, who keeps alive the spirit of her late husband, Spike Boyd, whose inspiration it was to have a home registered shoot. Our skeet and trap shooting community generously gave donations and recruited sponsors for targets broken. Many individuals and surrounding businesses also made significant contributions.
Last but not least, the National Skeet Shooting Association has provided three free memberships each year to boost participation by registered shooters. Two of our club members who received these memberships, Jeff Navratil and Rick DeBar, shot their first 25 straights in a registered shoot at this year’s event. Our club members who received these membership in the past have made it a point to make their annual renewals.
The New York State Skeet Association has also been very generous by giving free advertising in the state annual shoot calendar publication. This has drawn shooters from a wide area within the state of New York. Thanks to both organizations for their support.
By no means will the success of this year’s shoot end our fight against cancer. We all have much to do.
– Contributed by Ted Kantorowski
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