Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#219
Liz Bush
Deputy Executive Director,
NRA General Operations
I had a chance to film some shows with the NRA staff at the NRA HQ in Fairfax, VA. With time in my schedule, I asked a friend on the BOD who else I could have. She suggested Liz Bush. I wasn’t familiar with her name, but she’s got her hands on many things going on at NRA. It was great to have some time with her. I was in need of some NRA teaching materials, but wasn’t able to get those from HQ on this trip. They come from a warehouse somewhere else.
Liz’s position at NRA is the Deputy Executive Director of General Operations. It covers everything that isn’t political. She works with everything from Community Engagement Departments to Women On Target to Friends of the NRA. She tends to the community outreach, clubs and range associations, education and training, law enforcement training division, competitive shooting, NRA Museum, the NRA range, shows and exhibits department, and even the Eddie Eagle program. Like she said, everything but politics! She may have donned the Eagle costume once. But there was a height requirement.
Growing up, her family had a number of firearms and her father was into shooting where she grew up in south New Jersey. Eventually she and her husband moved to the DC metro area. She went into marketing and worked retail but didn’t enjoy it. Her father suggested applying for a job at NRA.
But when she got a job at NRA is when she really got into learning about firearms and shooting. She did go through much of the NRA Training Programs. And when there are changes within the programs, she gets to be part of the test case. She’s gotten really good at trap shooting and often her husband won’t go shooting with her. Doing a project with Mark Keefe (RSWC #216), Liz found she really likes the GLOCK 19. She talked her mother into buying one, too!
There’s a lot more programs than I know or even realize that the NRA offers. There’s a Youth Hunter Education Challenge. It’s the next level after a regular hunter ed course.There’s eight levels for challenge. This program has between 40-50 courses and reaches about 4,000 students. The NRA Day program is a mixed bag of all the disciplines for new shooters and gun owners. It’s like an open house for shooting. The clubs that host NRA Day have the flexibility to design the program to what they’d like to offer participants. The Women On Target hosts nearly 100 events a year and reaches 4,000-5,000 women each year. The Range Services department helps ranges and range owners who are looking to start or improve their ranges.
One of the programs is the Friends of the NRA. I’ve been to a few of these around the country. The great thing about them is not just hanging out with like minded people and having something in common. The funds raised are split between the NRA and the state where the money is raised in the form of grants.
Over the years with NRA, Liz has been moving through different departments and different areas. It’s fantastic to see that one job can lead to several different positions and cover lots of various aspects of keeping the organization going. The people that work at NRA HQ genuinely enjoy working for them and doing what they do. They’re there to support it’s members and get the word out about shooting, gun ownership, and the benefits it brings.
We did talk about Phil Schreier (RSWC #182) the NRA Museum. Phil is a celebrity due to all his appearances on the History Channel and Outdoor Channel programs. And I need to find some time to get back down to take in the museum and all it has to offer. Maybe I’ll get some other folks from the NRA to hop in the stagecoach!
Favorite quotes:
“We really focus on the programs, any touch points with the members. Anything that gets them pulling triggers.”
“It says a lot about for the people and the community and camaraderie that we have as employees at NRA.”
“Eddie Eagle is probably one our most successful programs, reaches millions of kids a year.”
“Sporting clays is fun, it’s like a round of golf but for shooters.”
“We’re one big team and over the years learned what everyone else is doing.”
National Rifle Association
NRA Explore/NRA Programs
NRA Facebook
NRA Instagram
Friends of the NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
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Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
Self Defense Radio Network
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