Behind the Scenes: How we shipped 100,000 Pro-Gun Voter Guides

by Dean Rieck

It was a dark and stormy night ...

That might sound like the start of a really bad novel. But it's literally how this story begins.

Last Friday, a weary UPS driver delivered a truckload of our voter guides to the home of Brad, one of our most dedicated volunteers and our resident logistical genius.

Brad had the foresight to cover the exposed boxes with a plastic tarp. Good thing, because very soon the dark sky opened up and dumped an ocean of heavy rain.

In years past, we've distributed our Pro Gun Voter Guide primarily online. It's efficient and effective, since we can effortlessly provide a PDF copy to thousands of gun owners who visit our website and subscribe to our email newsletter.

However, this year we decided to add a little old-school punch to our strategy by printing and mailing the guides to a portion of our network of pro-gun supporters and volunteers around Ohio. We had requests ranging from 35 to 20,000.

Brad organized all the requests in a spreadsheet, printed shipping labels, and pre-stocked boxes from the Post Office. When the guides arrived, he stayed up half the night filling, sealing, and addressing the boxes. Then he loaded everything into his truck, giving the suspension a good workout.

The next day, Brad drove to the Post Office where a friendly but surprised postal worker helped get the guides into the mail stream and start their journey to key locations around the Buckeye State.

Here are some stats to give you an idea of the size of this job:

• Quantity of guides received Friday: 100,000
• Quantity of guides shipped Saturday: 70,000
• Total weight of guides: over 1,000 pounds
• Number of boxes delivered to Brad's house: 85
• Number of parcels shipped the next day: 57
• Time to process the shipments: 5 hours
• Time spent at Post Office: 1.5 hours

So how did Brad count the guides to be shipped? He didn't. He used a scale to weigh the guides and arrive at approximate shipping quantities.

This was a huge task and it's remarkable that most of the guides spent less than 24 hours at Brad's house. But that's the kind of people we have volunteering with Buckeye Firearms Association: dedicated, tireless, and efficient.

And let's not forget all the work that went into creating the guide in the first place. Our Endorsement Committee surveyed, researched, interviewed, and graded over 250 candidates from all over Ohio. Our marketing guru (that's me) designed and printed the guides, going through about 20 revisions as grades and endorsements were fine-tuned.

And don't forget the years our leaders have spent forging close relationships in the Ohio Statehouse with legislators who have come to respect BFA even when they occasionally disagree with us.

Brad's job isn't finished. He'll be shipping the remaining 30,000 Pro Gun Voter Guides to gun show volunteers and firearm instructors over the next few weeks.

BFA's job isn't finished either. We're helping our endorsed candidates by promoting their fundraisers, helping them find valuable volunteers, and encouraging gun owners to vote for them on November 6.

Download our Pro Gun Voter Guide. Or create your own Custom Voter Guide with the specific candidates who will appear on your ballot.

Dean Rieck is the Marketing Director of Second Call Defense and a Leader with Buckeye Firearms Association.