PRESS RELEASE

Ankeny, IA (October 3, 2023) –The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) in partnership with the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), have chosen the top three products in seven categories including Best New Rifle, Best New Handgun, Best New Shotgun, Best New Ammunition, Best New Optic, Best New Accessory, and Best New Suppressor. 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 after November 1st, 2022. 

When the summer daylight wanes and I start to see the transition from summer’s brutal heat to the pleasantly cool mornings of autumn, my mind feels a shift in focus.

When we are young, we often do foolish things. And when we’re old… well, we still sometimes do foolish things. I’ve got a few great stories to tell. I bet you do too.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech are powerful examples of visions shared. They had the ability to conceptualize the future with imagination and wisdom. That kind of vision has been and will continue to be the focus of the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW).

I’m sure you have heard it by now. But over the weekend a new song (some might say a working man’s anthem) and a virtually unknown singer vaulted to the front of our consciousness thanks to at least one redeeming quality of social media, the fact that good people from relative obscurity can become folk heroes overnight.

I just took a trip with my son to do some fishing and sightseeing in Montana.  We fished the Big Horn River and then did a fly fishing float on the Yellowstone River. It was a welcome time to refresh, re-focus, and re-energize.

“The most effective way to do it is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart

I bet when you read the title, some of you thought I was going to talk about a certain shoe and apparel company. Nope. I’m going to talk about Amelia Earhart, and great customer service. I’ll get back to Ms. Earhart in just a bit.

I hope you all had a wonderful “4^th of July”! I’m using quotation marks to emphasize what I hear most people say these days. But how often do you hear anyone say “Happy Independence Day”? How many people remember celebrating the day of our independence from the British rule of law? Because of this the name is important, for it reminds us we are a nation of independent people. When the day becomes just a number, the holiday is nothing more than a big picnic and party day. I’m amazed how many of my patriotic friends fail to greet others with Happy Independence Day! Independence is such an important characteristic that it needs to recognized and encouraged by leaders of business, family and sports.

DIRECTION: Merriam-Webster defines as, among other things, a guiding, governing or motivating purpose. The most successful people, companies and organizations all have a solid sense of direction.