RANGE WORK HOURS

Questions & Answers

First and foremost, please realize that we do not want your extra money (paid in range work fees); we NEED your help as a GMSA member!  With the WILLINGNESS to help, there are no physical conditions that would make it "impossible".  We have 80 year old members who help, cardiac patients who help, people with two jobs who help, fat people who help, short people who help, all that's required is the desire to help.  If you have the strength to lift a pencil, and pick up a score sheet, YOU CAN HELP.  We do not wish to run people away from GMSA because they cannot perform range work but if a member does run away, it can only be because they are unwilling to help support something they want to be a part of....because GMSA IS WILLING to work within the physical abilities of ANYONE who will volunteer. YOU CAN help in some way!  We do not expect everyone to be able to swing a bush axe but in every club discipline, there is always room for people to hand out score sheets, tally scores, staff the grille, hand out napkins, etc.  If you can talk, write, hold a piece of paper, turn on a light switch, or even ride a motorcycle, There IS SOMETHING that you can do!

Background Of Why GMSA Members Are Required To Perform Range Work?
Our club has a small operating budget and our base income from yearly membership dues just barely pays our county property taxes, insurance and utility bills.  All of the money used to operate and maintain our club outside of these basic necessities is received solely from our club sanctioned monthly matches and yearly fundraisers.  It takes people to run these matches and work the fundraisers.  GMSA is maintained and operated entirely by volunteer labor; there are no employees of the club, only member-volunteers.

Are there any age exemptions or waivers to the range work requirement?

If you're healthy enough to attend and participate in matches on a regular basis, there are no general exemptions for GMSA member required range work.  If you are WILLING to help, there are no physical conditions that would make it "impossible" for you to help.  If you have the strength to lift a pencil, and pick up a score sheet, you CAN HELP.  All regular members of GMSA are subject to the range work requirement of 10 hours per member.  Corporate memberships and spouse members have no range work requirements.  GMSA has something that needs doing, at all times - that can be performed, by anyone of any age, with any physical or medical challenge.  If you are willing to help, we can work around whatever an individual's physical ability presents! Please see the How can I get my range work credit section below for examples.  Mostly for our elderly and founding members of the club, waivers for range work requirements will be considered on a case by case basis upon appeal to the GMSA Officers.  Waiver requests should be submitted in writing to contact@gmsaclub.com and added to the agenda BEFORE a regular scheduled club meeting.  The person requesting the waiver should attend a club meeting for the waiver to be discussed amongst the officers.  They will break away for an executive session and make a decision before the meeting ends.

Why have Range Work Requirements?
In recent years, we have been fortunate enough to experience significant growth and this growth has unfortunately increased the general wear & tear on the property as well as the overall needs of operating a larger club; And all of this has naturally increased the workload that we place on our member-volunteers.  Because we rely so heavily on volunteers, and to keep from overworking a handful of dedicated people, we have no choice but to require range work from our membership. 

What is range work?
There seems to be a misunderstanding that range work means busting rocks, humping up and down the hill or working the ditches with a sling blade in the middle of August.  Although we do have that type of work that needs doing, please understand GMSA has something that needs doing, at all times - that can be performed, by anyone of any age, with any physical or medical challenge.  If you are willing to help, we can work around whatever an individual's physical ability presents!  Please see the How can I get my range work credit section below for examples.

What are the CURRENT hourly requirements, how are they calculated?
Range work requirements are based upon, and credited for, the previous calendar year in which you were a member.
The yearly range work requirement at GMSA is 10 hours per member.  Spouse memberships are 10 hours collectively between the two spouses.  New members only pay our basic dues rate, ($100 plus the initiation fee) when they first join GMSA.  Because work credit is earned in a previous year, they are required to log 10 hours by December 31st (of their first year) in order to build range work credit for their following year. 

Why the dues increase? I used to pay $100 when I joined, then they went to $150 and they are now $300...why?

That's a good question and we're more than happy to answer.  First off, the base membership due of $100 has remained the same for at least 20 years now.  If you were a member back in the early 2000's, you likely remember how everyone "used to" get together and do range work parties and got all that needed doing - done.  Unfortunately those members got older and were simply unable to do all the hard labor so they stopped coming and also got out of the habit of helping the club in ways that did not require much physical input.  In just a few years, the range and facilities were in pretty bad shape and we started having to hire out the bush hogging and grass cutting and the money to do this was hard to come by.  Somewhere around 2005 or so, the officers and members present at the annual meeting decided to attach a $50 range work fee to the base dues of $100 to help pay for the hired labor.  The concept was simple, if you worked at least 10 hours at the range, you would get a $50 credit towards your annual dues.  This worked OK for a while but the membership soon got to doing the math and figured out that $50 divided by 10 was only $5 per hour.  We then had a slap in the face one January when a member was writing a $150 check to get his new key; as he was signing his name, we were thanking him and mentioned that we sure would like to have his help in club upkeep and we would give him a $50 discount if he could.  The guy boasted that he had not worked for $5 an hour in over 40 years and he wasn't about to start doing it now...he'd just pay his $50 and stay home.  The man had a point and obviously we weren't giving enough incentive to make people want to help out.  So here we are today, the base dues are STILL $100 with an additional $200 work fee added on.  We're only at $20 an hour now for work credit but if you factor in the $500 gift certificate drawing for 10 hour workers, we are seeing more participation now than ever before.  The math works out much better too!  $200 dues credit plus a potential $500 gift certificate works out to $70 per hour if you win the drawing....Now that's good money!
 
What if I don't complete the range work requirement?
Full GMSA dues are $300 annually, with a $200 credit given for 10 hours of range work.  GMSA Members who do not perform the yearly requirement, or do not log their range work hours, must pay full annual dues in the amount of $300 in January of each year. New members are required to log 10 hours by December 31st (of their first year), regardless of date joined, in order to build range work credit for their following year. 

Are range work hours pro-rated, I've only booked 7 hours?

If I have over 10 hours, can they be rolled over into the next year?

In both cases, No, we do not prorate work hours.  The extra book keeping involved actually places an additional workload on existing volunteer labor.

In order to receive your range work credit, you must perform (and write in the book), a minimum of 10 hours range work.

We do not have roll over hours.  There is no need to keep writing hours in the book once you have your 10 hours logged...unless you just like to show off.  We do not give awards for the most time booked but we do appreciate your help!

How can I get my range work credit?
Range work credit can be earned by performing a variety of tasks – a few examples are below.  This list is not inclusive but will give you a general idea of what we need volunteers for.  If you have time to offer, ask the officers, chances are they have a task list that needs doing that you can do.  They will not turn away volunteers that are willing to work. 

Also, please note that it is expected of all members to clean up after themselves when using our range and facilities.

This includes sweeping up / collecting brass, disposing of food & beverage containers, etc.  Cleaning up after one's self does not count towards range work hour requirements.  
 

1. Cutting grass, trimming limbs, spraying round-up, weed whacking, etc. (you may need to bring your own equipment - our weed eater is MIA)
2. Repairing target stands, replacing backers, cutting uprights, etc.
3. Painting, pressure washing
4. General handy man chores about the clubhouse and range property
5. Emptying trash, cleaning and sweeping the clubhouse, shooting areas, etc.
6. Selling raffle tickets (1 hour credit for every fifty tickets)
7. Coaching or assisting with a NRA Women On Target Clinic
8. Helping out with an IBS State Match, run targets downrange on a golf cart, serve food, etc.
9. Helping out with a turkey shoot, hand out shells, collect money, etc.
10. Help setting up, running, or tearing down a SASS, Tactical, IDPA 3-Gun, or Low Light match.
    
11. At any event, help with registration, hand out score sheets, collect money, writing down scores, etc.
    
12. Sell and collect money for 50/50 raffles at events.
13. Just being at an event to answer questions and assist participants with questions. (Think of the blue vest volunteers at the hospital)

Work hours are to be counted only for actual time spent doing the activities.  Examples below:

Spending four (4) hours helping set up for a match counts for four (4) hours of range work credit.

Spending four (4) hours serving as SO (running the timer) for a match counts for four (4) hours of range work credit. 

Showing up Saturday morning and spending one (1) hour helping staple targets to stands prior to a match counts for one (1) hour of range work credit.  

Spending three hours coaching in any instructional clinic counts for three (3) hours of range work credit.  

Please note: At most of our matches, SO’s and set up crew can shoot for free, GMSA members may either shoot for free or get credit for range work hours but not both.

What if I cannot do range work?
We full well realize that not everyone has the time to perform range work and many members may even feel that they are physically unable to perform “Range Work”.  Unfortunately, we still have to maintain our range and run the matches, fundraisers and events.  It is therefore necessary to have an increased dues structure in order to help offset the labor required that we cannot get volunteers for.  In all honesty, we don’t WANT your extra money but we desperately NEED your volunteer labor.

What does GMSA do with the extra money charged
In order to help offset the labor required due to the lack of volunteer members, we routinely have the need to hire out range maintenance activities.  These activities are things like grass cutting, major clubhouse repairs and road maintenance just to name a few.   We use the extra dues money paid by members with no range work credit to pay for this hired labor.