President's Message: Be Defiantly Joyful

Posted by Kenyon Gleason on 12/16/21 9:14 AM

When you wake up each day, are you happy about it? Do you give thanks that you’ve been given another day to make a difference, to make an impact, to live your best life and to make the lives around you better?

Or do you grumble through the morning, wish away the afternoon and sulk in your sorrows when the sun dips down?

For the past 24 months, we’ve all been dealing with some rather unimaginable challenges in our personal and professional lives. We’ve all been asked to do things in ways inextricably linked to our future and the ways we approach work and life. To get through it without feeling a little stress and anxiety would be unusual.

We can lead by example with the way we handle the world around us and the way we respond to all the challenges and struggles being set in front of us. We can become bitter, angry, and combative – or we can choose to be defiantly joyful.

I heard that phrase just this past weekend – be defiantly joyful – and it struck me like a hammer to the head. I’d never heard it before. I mean, it’s not like those two words make a lot of sense together. You don’t think of someone being defiant as a joyful thing. In fact, quite the opposite. But think about those two things together… I believe there’s some real magic in that phrase and it applies to how we interact with our family, friends, and our customers.

When someone is screaming at you over the retail counter, you can choose to let it bother you, or you can respond with kindness and understanding. When your sales deal falls through, you can let the anxiety overtake you, or you can choose to just move forward on another sale. When your business faces logistical, supply, staffing or other conundrums, you can let the strain invade your life, or you can tackle the issues one by one and through efficiencies and creative thinking, find new and better ways to overcome.

In short, you can allow the negative to sink in and take hold. Or, you can be defiantly joyful, knowing that you have the power to choose, and you have the strength and ability to move beyond. And that in the end, this too shall pass.

You’ve all heard the saying, “That which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Well, I believe being defiantly joyful can make you infinitely stronger as well. So, in this season of hope, love, and peace, please use it as a time to spread joy. And when something is working hard to get you down, stare it in the face with your defiant joy.

I want to also take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped the NASGW find success this year. From our amazing board of directors, our staff, but most importantly, the members who support us through thick and thin, we couldn’t do this without you. We had a great year, and I can’t explain just how amazing it was to be back together with you all – in person – during our Expo in October. Thank you for bringing back the normal. Thank you for joining us in being defiantly joyful in the midst of everything happening in the world today.

On that note, I don’t want to overlook the challenge that this time of year might bring to some who are close to us. While many are celebrating and enjoying the spirit of the season, others are fighting a battle inside themselves. Mercifully, many find help and can work their way back. Sometimes though, the pain is too deep, the struggles so crushing people turn to drugs, alcohol or in severe cases, even suicide. In many cases, suicide using a firearm.

Outside of my work as the leader of NASGW, I serve as a board member for another national group, Walk the Talk America (WTTA). WTTA was created in 2018 as a charitable organization designed to spread the word about mental health issues and to reduce firearms suicides or other negative incidents where firearms are involved. I was at the beginning and still am, proud to be involved in such an important mission.

Today, WTTA continues to grow and expand its reach into the firearms industry and the world of mental health providers, and where possible, bring these two communities together to do good. Through educational seminars, public speaking opportunities, free mental health screenings, training for mental health professionals and even by providing gun box informational flyers available to any gun manufacturer in the U.S., WTTA is making a difference. If you’re not familiar with the organization, you can get more details at www.wtta.org.

I’m not asking you necessarily to financially support the organization, though I know that would certainly be welcome, I’m simply asking you to help spread the word about mental health awareness or even to offer a shoulder to someone who needs it or be there for a friend or family member in need. Sometimes, all it takes to save a life is to just listen. Working together, inside our community and partnering with others, especially at this time of year, we can all play a small part in making a difference and maybe prevent a firearm suicide or get someone the help they desperately need.

Whether you’re spreading joy and cheer or lending a hand to someone who might be facing a difficult time, defy the culture, defy the odds, and do what you know to be right.

I want to wish you, your family, and your friends a blessed and merry Christmas and a most wonderful and happy New Year!

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November Legislative Update from the NSSF

Posted by National Shooting Sports Foundation on 11/30/21 12:00 PM

In Washington, D.C., most political attention has turned to a scramble of year-end legislation centered around passing government funding and President Joe Biden’s major social spending legislative package. One hurdle to clear is the U.S. Senate passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Several amendments have been offered to the annual defense authorizaton bill that are being considered and relate to Second Amendment issues, the firearm and ammunition industries, funding for national parks and wildlife management and others. NSSF will continue monitoring these important policy proposals and keep industry partners aware as the year’s end approaches.

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Chairwoman’s Message: The Pleasure Has Been All Mine

Posted by Laurie Aronson on 11/30/21 11:19 AM

A nice, normal Thanksgiving was in order for the Lipsey family this year. Instead of making reservations, we made turkey. Instead of dressing up in our holiday best, we just ate dressing. Followed by lots of dessert and chocolate sauce. We celebrated in my parents’ new home which made it extra special and we started a new tradition. It was just the way it should have been.

Tradition has always been a meaningful part of our industry as well – from growing up in family businesses, to the hunts we experience together, to attending the trade shows, to the bar scene after-hours. Each one of those experiences are special and draws us closer together.

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President's Message: A Lot to be Thankful For

Posted by Kenyon Gleason on 11/17/21 9:10 AM
Each year around this time I have an opportunity to go home. Not an opportunity to get back from a work trip to the house that I live in now, though that is true too especially once the Expo ends. But the home I’m speaking about is the one I grew up in.
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Chairwoman’s Message: What a Week, What a Year

Posted by Laurie Aronson on 11/4/21 9:48 AM

It felt good to arrive back home after being in Columbus; yet the next day I was faced with a refrigerator/freezer that decided that it was time to leave this earth. I knew this dooms day was coming, as I could hear the loud churning and the will to stay alive for the past couple of weeks. Yet I knew the end was near. I’m just grateful that I was there at home with it when it finally decided to call it quits. It would have been tragic to return home after a fabulous week in Columbus to find the remains it left behind. There are small miracles everywhere and this was one of them. It was a great excuse to clean out the freezer too. I was also able to count the number of ducks I had in stock and found some that didn’t even belong to me. Those visiting birds had been taking up half of my freezer, but I have set them free. Speaking of ducks………opening weekend in south Louisiana is next weekend! Our hunting club that was destroyed last year during two hurricanes is finally ready and so am I. I look forward to restocking.

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NASGW Chairwoman, Laurie Aronson Honors Sue Cupero of Smith & Wesson

Posted by NASGW on 11/2/21 1:33 PM

Sue Cupero, Smith & Wesson's VP of Sales & Marketing, was honored last week during the NASGW Appreciation Dinner with the Chairman's Award, chosen by NASGW Chairwoman Laurie Aronson of Lipsey's. Each year the Chairperson of the NASGW Board of Directors has the opportunity to recognize an individual in the Shooting Sports Industry for decades of service, significant impact, or commitment to working distributors. Recent past recipients include Steve Sanetti of NSSF and Bob Coyle of TALO Distributors.

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October Legislative Update from the NSSF

Posted by National Shooting Sports Foundation on 10/29/21 2:29 PM

In Washington, D.C., most attention remains on the U.S. Senate and negotiations among senators on President Joe Biden’s “reconciliation” package. However the U.S. Senate released its remaining nine of 12 Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bills and they including measures to fund firearm industry priorities, including ensuring that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has the proper funding to function as Congress intended and that firearm retailers can rely on an effective system, as well as provide for increased funding on top of what was previously included in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies bill that was reported out of committee in August to combat Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). As Congressional negotiators haggle over budget reconciliation, infrastructure and funding appropriations, industry eyes are watching for final approval on these key priorities and others.

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President's Message: We've Arrived at the Finish Line

Posted by Kenyon Gleason on 10/18/21 2:13 PM

I was once an avid runner. Not so much anymore. After multiple knee surgeries on both knees and arthritis to go with it, I had to hang up the running shoes many years ago.

But the other day, when asked what it feels like to know that we’re going to host the 2021 NASGW Expo, I surprised myself a bit by saying it reminded me of running a grueling race. Now that I’ve thought about it a bit more, I want to amend that reply. Because I don’t think it’s been like just a plain 3, 5, or 10K race. Rather, I think it’s more like one of those crazy 100-mile “ultra race” events where people run for 24-36 hours straight on some of the harshest terrain you can imagine.

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NASGW & POMA Announce Finalists for the 2021 Caliber Awards

Posted by NASGW on 10/7/21 6:15 AM

The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) in partnership with the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), have chosen the top three products in six categories including: Best New Rifle, Best New Handgun, Best New Shotgun, Best New Ammunition, Best New Optic, and Best New Accessory. An independent panel of 18 industry judges, comprised of NASGW members and POMA members, selected the finalists in each category. In order to qualify, manufacturers needed to be a NASGW member in good standing and the product must have been publicly released between November 2020 and prior to this year’s Expo. "Despite the cancelation of last year's NASGW Expo, the Caliber Awards have continued to grow in notoriety across the shooting sports industry," said Kenyon Gleason, NASGW president. "This year we have another lineup of outstanding finalists for each of our six categories and we can't wait to announce the winners at the Expo in Columbus, Ohio."

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NASGW Announces 2021 Appreciation Award Nominees

Posted by NASGW on 10/7/21 5:30 AM

The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) and their wholesale members have nominated this year's Appreciation Award finalists. Each year, NASGW Awards the top optics, accessory, ammunition, and firearms manufacturers and the leading importer and innovator who best demonstrate a commitment to the two-step distribution process and provide outstanding value and service. Wholesaler members evaluate manufacturers' performance on four key criteria; distribution policy, marketing, sales, and promotion; logistics and operations; and NASGW and industry support. This comprehensive assessment of manufacturer performance is designed to provide a more balanced appraisal that truly recognizes the best of the best, according to NASGW distributor members.

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