Ladies take aim at Fredericktown’s E.A.S.T. Group for statewide fun shoot

Female shooters from around the State of Ohio and beyond gathered this past Sunday at local firearms training facility, E.A.S.T. Group for a competitive “Ladies Fun Day.”

In total, 14 chapters of the organizations, A Girl & A Gun and Armed Women of America attended for a four-stage pistol competitive shoot. While E.A.S.T Group has held this event for over five years at the local level, this is the second year that it was opened statewide where we invited these two organizations with similar missions.

In a safe, fun, and controlled environment, ladies were put on the timer to complete courses of fire which required skill, speed, technique, and a plan on how to best run each stage. A combination of multiple paper and steel targets mixed with other obstacles challenged the competitors physically and mentally and put their skills to the test. Winners of each stage were determined by calculating “hit factor,” which involves a combination of their time, shot placement on the targets, and any penalties assessed.

All skill levels were welcome and encouraged to attend the event. There were ladies who had never tried a competition before and those that were skilled and compete on a much higher level. It didn’t matter amongst the group, there was cheering for each other, laughter, applause, high fives, fist bumps, and great camaraderie for all.

Beyond the competitive nature of the shooting sports there were many other aspects that were a part of this event. Providing a place for ladies from these two organizations to meet allowed for a significant amount of networking, creating new friendships, and finding out that there are many others that have similar interests.

Thanks to a significant grant from the Mid-Ohio Friends of the NRA, several prizes and other key pieces of the event were able to occur. Some costs of the event this year were offset by the grant to help provide an affordable way for women to gain more interest in the shooting sports. Through this event and the assistance of the Friends of the NRA organization, E.A.S.T. Group was able to introduce, educate, and provide skill development in a safe and fun manner. Through the grant, all attendees were given 50-rounds of ammunition which was a portion of what it took to compete. The “Top-Gun” who had the highest score overall won 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition and two other random attendees won 250-rounds of 9mm each.

First place, and Top Gun award winner, was Deb Brooks from Fredericktown. Second place was Veronica Miller from Cincinnati, third place was Susan Workman from Fredericktown, fourth place was Kara Slonecker from Delaware, and fifth place was Brenda Rego from Parma.

E.A.S.T. Group Training is located just west of Fredericktown and provides training for civilians, law enforcement, private security, school & school safety teams, and military. E.A.S.T., stands for Environment, Assessment, and Solutions Training. Approved by the Ohio School Safety Center, E.A.S.T. Group is approved to instruct Armed School Staff Essential Training alternate curricula. It opened for operation in 2012 with the sole focus of providing realistic training for those going into harms way.

The facility is a veteran owned and operated business that is host to the Mount Vernon Chapter of the Armed Women of America.