by Mandi Ehler
Bonfield, IL (ISRA) – A few years ago, I participated in Legally Armed in Detroit, a project by Rick Ector. In one weekend, we trained around 1,200 women in firearm safety and they also fired a handgun. The best part? We made it FREE to the participants.
It felt so incredible to be one of the many trainers from around the country that volunteered to train these eager women. Some participants never touched a gun before and others had limited exposure.
Mr. Ector started this event after watching a news story of a women who was attacked and killed in his hometown of Detroit; he thought if she knew how to defend herself maybe the outcome could have been different, and this event was born. 2024 will mark the 13th year of the program and it continues to grow each and every year.
After attending for a couple years, I thought to myself, why don’t we do this in other areas of the country? If each of these instructors from around the country did this in their hometown, what a difference we could make! So, I am a believer in putting your money where your mouth is so I got to work planning one for Illinois. Here’s what happened at the first Empowering First Shots: Free Women’s Shooting Event at the Illinois State Rifle Association Range in Bonfield, IL on June 15th.
Ladies traveled from all over the state to have the opportunity to learn firearm safety and to be trained by a qualified female instructor for FREE. We offered four time slots for a lesson on gun safety and the fundamentals of shooting. From there, we headed to the range to shoot Ruger Mark 2 and Mark 3 pistols, loaned out from the ISRA.
Ten incredibly talented and certified female firearm instructors welcomed the ladies with big grins and a desire to teach them how to handle and shoot a firearm safely – and we even had food available.
The day was an undeniably great success. We trained just over 100 ladies in safe firearm handling and successfully sent around 2,200 rounds down range without incident.
We all shared plenty of hugs, smiles, and high fives the entire day. The women who participated walked away with the confidence of knowing they could safely and effectively use a firearm if the need arises.
Thank you to all our sponsors, donors, and supporters including Illinois State Rifle Association and the ISRA Range, NRA Grant program, Representative Jackie Haas, Mantis, Vortex, Armed Women of America (IL chapters), Southside Meats, Jewel-Osco, Meijer, Paula Stampley, USCCA, Snack House Ice Cream Truck, and Esca Tech (D-Wipes).
Thank you to all the Instructors and Range Safety Officers: Beth Bertrand, Deb Hayden, Dr. Lori Blackwell, Katie Cook, Donna Arrasate, Denise LaForest, Shameka Ambrose, Libby Pelka, Stephanie Aurigemma, Mike Cialdella, Doug Francois, Ray Cummins, and Tony Clark.
The plans for next year’s event are already in full swing! Next year will be a 2-day event and is scheduled for June 21st and 22nd, 2025. Please visit isra.org and click on the range calendar for more information, registration will open on March 1, 2025 for sign up. If you would like to volunteer for the event, please contact academy@ISRA.org.
We are looking forward to training even more women next year and for this event to continue to grow! Sign up early to reserve your seat!
