American Heritage Girls Experience the Great Outdoors

A group of more than 75 women from around the country gained a better understanding of outdoor related activities thanks to the Trailblazer Adventure Program held recently at the American Heritage Girls National Conference for staff and volunteers near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Trailblazer Adventure Program, a youth program of the U.S Sportsmen's Alliance Foundation (USSAF) designed to introduce youth and families to the outdoors, and the American Heritage Girls (AHG), a Christ centered scouting organization for girls based in Cincinnati, signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding Trailblazer on May 16, 2012.

To jump start the partnership, a Trailblazer Adventure Day was held Saturday, November 10, 2012 to introduce AHG troop leaders to the excitement of outdoor activities at Cub World located in Loveland, Ohio.

Members of the Buckeye Firearms Association volunteered their time to help introduce the troop leaders of AHG to the excitements of the shooting world. Volunteers included Michael Borgerding, Frank Borke, Steve Colson, John Cunningham, John Kerr, Jeff Kimbrell, Eric Mercon, Bill O'Hair, and Jeffrey Tindell.

Volunteers provide expert guidance at both BB gun and archery ranges, while providing insight into the safety of each sport, as well as marksmanship tips.

"The event was great and you could hear all of the ladies giggling like school girls at the gun range," said Bill O'Hair, Buckeye Firearms Association member. "Cooperation between all of the volunteers was superb and even if you would have shown up unannounced I'll bet you would have thought we had worked together for years!"

Troop leaders experienced numerous other outdoor related activities as well, including fly fishing, Dutch oven cooking demonstrations from Camp Chef and hands on displays by the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Ladies participating in the Trailblazer Adventure Day learned from Buckeye Firearms Association members, as well as other expert sportsmen and women from around Ohio. Groups included the Buckeye United Fly Fishers, Miami Valley Fly Fishers, Golden Hawks Archery Club, Camp Chef representative Paul Bessler and members of the
Hamilton/Butler County chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

For more information on the Trailblazer Adventure program, visit www.trailblazeradventure.org or call 614-888-4868 to speak to the Trailblazer staff.

For more information about the American Heritage Girls, visit www.ahgonline.org or call (513) 771-2025.