Holmes chamber offers members shot at different target

For years the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau has hosted its annual golf outing at Fire Ridge Golf Course.

Now there’s another target for its members to aim at, although they have to trade in their gold clubs for a rifle.

A record 16 teams gathered together at Airport Ridge Sporting Clays, west of Millersburg, on Friday, May 16 to participate in the third annual Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau Clay Shoot.

The event began three years ago when the chamber brass felt not everyone enjoyed playing golf at the annual chamber golf outing and wanted to add a unique option to those who didn’t golf.

What has taken place has caught on well, and the Airport Ridge facility was bustling with dozens of sporting clay participants.

Fortunately, following last year’s rain-drenched event, the skies were bright and sunny on this nearly perfect spring day.

“This is just perfect,” said Tiffany Gerber, chamber executive director. “We were sweating earlier when there was talk of storms moving into the area, but what we got instead was ideal weather. This event has rapidly become another one of our signature events.”

This year’s event was under the guidance of chamber membership and finance manager Samantha Whitworth. The day included a breakfast and lunch, and based on the laughter, chatter and sometimes good-natured jabs coming from the participants, everything came together perfectly.

Gerber said much like the golf outing, she heard tales about how several of the teams were bringing in ringers to compete.

However, for the most part, this day was about having fun and sharing a day together as chamber members and business teammates.

“We feel very blessed that we were able to max out the number of participants on the gray course this year, so hopefully next year, maybe we’ll have enough to move it to two different times,” Whitworth said.

When the chamber first pitched the idea of hosting a clay shoot, they weren’t sure what the response would be, but in a very short time span, it has blossomed into a highly anticipated event among chamber business members.

“Our aim was to create a different type of opportunity for fellowship among our members other than golfing,” Gerber said. “Plus, this event does something else: It introduces some of our members to yet another fantastic attraction right here in Holmes County.”

Gerber said while the chamber promotes everything Holmes County and Amish Country has to offer tourists, another important part of what they do is inviting local community members to explore venues they may not know a lot about.

The event saw plenty of sponsorships from throughout the chamber membership businesses and organizations, including the major sponsorship from Centor, which has sponsored the event each year. Each station throughout the shoot sported signs showing their support, and Gerber said the chamber ambassadors once again proved to be valuable in helping to host the day.

“We have six of our ambassadors helping as volunteers today, which is awesome,” Whitworth said.

The chamber ambassadors are an expanding group of professionals who volunteer their time to serve as a connection between the chamber and its members.

Whitworth said with the generosity and expertise of the staff at Airport Ridge Sporting Clays, putting the event together was made much easier, with the main focus for her being getting teams signed up for the event.

“We get to show up, and they do a great job of getting everything ready and make it an easy day,” Whitworth said.

Airport Ridge Sporting Clays continues to garner plenty of praise and recognition and has been drawing fans from both near and far, some of whom fly into the Holmes County Airport to enjoy the facility.

Gerber said promoting unique destinations like Airport Ridge Sporting Clays is a big part of what they hope to achieve in their effort to share everything about Holmes County.

“Everyone is a potential visitor, even when they live right here in Holmes County,” Gerber said.

While chamber members weren’t shooting for birdies like in golf, they were shooting clay pigeons, and either way, there was plenty of excitement throughout an ideal getaway day.