After asking my event coordinator Kourtnie to take a look back at who has attended Clays for a Cause, since event one, I was shocked to find something out. Our first year we had 10 squads (teams). TEN. That was it. And today I am trying to fill 40 spots.
I had one of those ah ha moments where you are like, “Meghan, you have successfully thrown a sporting clay tournament and people enjoy it”. I am going to have to give full credit to the man who came up with this event and it was my amazing husband Sean. When I was trying to think of something other than a golf tournament to hold, Sean immediately chimed in and said I should host a sporting clay tournament. He kindly reminded me my father would be a great resource and that not very many nonprofits (if any at the time) held a sporting clay tournament.
My father, Art Pearce, has been an avid hunter in AZ as well as all over the country and even internationally for as long as I have been alive. He only hunts game, that he can use all of the animal for (the skin and the meat). My father used to take my sister and I bird hunting when we were younger and always taught us the importance of gun safety. While growing up I was never afraid of guns or people carrying them, because the people my father put us around I knew I could trust. Seeing how competitive hunting is and the sport behind it made me respect this type of an event.
After the idea came to host an outdoor sporting clay tournament, I began investigating how to hold one. I immediately went up to Ben Avery Clay Target Center and met with their event coordinator. The team up at the range were very patient with me and helped me figure out how to hold an event for PFF.
Clays For A Cause 2014
Without their help, I know I would not have been able to hold that event because my knowledge of how to host a shotgun tournament was at about a -4 compared to most activates. The terminology was a lesson in itself and the different types of guns and shells was also something I needed to become an expert in.
I am so happy I stuck with it, because to see how we started to where we are now amazes me.
After the success of the first event I went out to Las Vegas for the Shot Show and met with big time shooting companies (Remington, Boyt & Harness, Fiocchi etc) and they were impressed with my drive to bring this type of sport to a nonprofit event.
I have been so lucky with the sponsors, the volunteers and everyone who has helped make this event work. Every year we have grown by at least 8 squads and to some of you that might not seem like a lot, but for an event that is sort of uncommon it is a tremendous growth.
The first two years we gave a portion of the funds to a program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital called, Camp Maska. This was a camp to help children who had a kidney disease get out of town for a few nights and enjoy summer camp. After Angel Pups was born we decided to focus the additional funds to our new initiative, which has allowed us to bring in even more sponsors because hunting and dogs go hand in hand.
Clays For A Cause 2015
Clays For A Cause 2016
From the days we all wore orange vests like construction workers, to the time our outdoor tent blew away in the middle of the night and had to be replaced every year is a memory. Then one of my absolute favorite memories was when we had one of our Angels Around Us families out on the range shooting targets, it is my favorite event we host.
I am not here to talk about gun rights or have the energy to argue about why I am okay with a sporting clay tournament….I am here to tell you if you have ever wanted to try shooting this is the event for you.
A huge thank you to Fred Fleet who is our Goodwill Ambassador this year and who has been nothing but supportive of our event since 2014. Fred is my go to guy for any sporting clay question and I appreciate how he is always willing to go the extra mile to help me fill the squads at the event.
From ten teams to now forty teams, PFF promises to continue this event for many years to come.
Clays for a Cause 2017
If you are coming to the event I promise, it will be a BLAST
Xo,
Meghan