thinbluelinesc.org

I hope you will continue to watch the website and check out my updates.  Big things are happening for the 2010 Thin Blue Line!  First, Para has not only agreed to be our Match Sponsor again next year, they are doing another Special Edition gun just for us!  This time it will be a Thin Blue Line Edition of their popular and innovative TTR-XAS 5.56 Assault Rifle.  This is a high-end top of the line black rifle, folks!  You can see the TTR-XAS by going to http://www.para-usa.com/new/product_pistol.php?id=74 .  Not only will they be donating one at the 2010 match but they are also working up some very special pricing for those of you who want to own one!  Thanks to Para for embracing the TBL match and being so generous in their support!

There will be more news and announcements in the very near future plus a new look for this website, courtesy of Brad Whitfield, Electric City Consulting.  FYI…Brad created the website, maintains it and hosts it all at NO COST to the Thin Blue Line, known in the future as the Thin Blue Line LE Charity Challenge.  If any of you or your departments need any advice or assistance with your webiste, check Brad out.

Want to help with stage suggestions for 2010?  I would really appreciate any ideas you have for stages you would like to see in the 2010 match.  If you don’t want to actually lay the stage out then just send me your idea and I will see if I can lay it out and get it back to you to see if it looks like what you had in mind.  Come on…I know many of you have some good ideas for TBL stages…

More to follow…

Ron

Thanks for being patient.  The scores are now verified and the winning team is Dorchester County!  As the numbers will support, several other teams were on their tails but Dorchester was the well deserving winner of the 2009 Thin Blue Line!  Congrats to all of you!

Ron

The 2009 TBL is now in the books.  I hope you all had a great time in Anderson!  I have gotten many positive comments about the event.  The unofficial scoring results show the winning team as the

DORCHESTER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

I want to say congrats to them for a terrific match!  They came to play, played hard and took home the TBL Cup! 

I hope to have all scores verified and posted here within a very few days.  Seems our scores are on a laptop computer that is taking a few days off in Myrtle Beach!  I should have access to the data by mid-week and will make scoring verification my #1 priority.

I would consider it a favor if you folks would post your comments about the 2009 TBL here on the website.  They will not be for public consumption, just for my edification.  If you prefer you can email me your thoughts, comments and suggestions at ron@rmgcollects.com  I want the 2010 match to be better than the 2009, which I hope was better than the 2008.  Your comments will go a long way in helping me tweak the event so that it is the best for YOU that I can make it! 

By the way…I am very aware of the problem of shooters whose equipment may have been outside the rules.  Steps are being taken to prevent that from happening at any future TBL matches.  I am on it.

Thanks to all for showing up and hanging out in Anderson for a day.  I hope you don’t mind me constantly calling you my heroes but that is exactly what you are to me!

Ron

Our big match is just around the corner and things are looking really good!!  As of this writing we have 104 shooters registered for the event.  We have had a couple of sponsor hiccups but nothing we can’t get around.  Sig backed out on us at the last minute but other vendors have stepped up to make sure you folks have a great time in Anderson on the 23^rd. 

Please try to be at the range by 7:30 so that we can get that pesky registration stuff out of the way and not delay the start of the match.  The weather forecast is in our favor…so far.  Pictures!  We have a match photog who will be taking team photos before the match begins so please hang with your team members until she shoots you!  She will also be roaming the range and taking some pix while your gun is still smoking. 

Please remember to rate your Safety Officers, too.  This is really important to all those great folks who give their time and talents to help make sure you have a fun and safe time.  I am proud of the entire SO staff and can proudly claim that they are the best in the biz…ALL of them!  But one team will stand out from the rest and it is your task to identify them for me.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation!

I look forward to seeing each and every one of you Friday morning!!

Ron

Okay, okay….so I am a little tardy in updated this page.  My bad!

EOTAC has again generously agreed to outfit our SO’s for 2009.  If you are going to SO but have not emailed me your sizes, best put a huge rush on it! 

I have arranged with the Skip-J management to hold an IDPA match on Saturday, October 24th so that the SO’s can shoot this match - all 8 stages - unrushed and just for fun!  The match will be considered part of the TBL and, as such, the proceeds will go to the charities (proceeds will be 50% of the money collected at registration - the range gets the other half).  You will shoot it for free; non-SO’s will pay $15 to shoot.  Hopefully we can make this an annual match and raise even more money for the TBL charities!

As you should already know, Armor Ammo is YOUR sponsor this year!  SO’s have never really been sponsored or even recognized beyond an Thank You at the end of the match.  This year will be different!  Your SO Team will be “graded” and voted on by the people you are there to serve…the shooters themselves.  The winning team of 3 will each get 500 rounds of ammo and a free dinner at Outback Steakhouse, another of our great sponsors!  How about them apples?

I can’t thank you people enough for contributing your time and skill to make this match happen.  I have been hanging around the shooting sports for 35+ years and I truly appreciate Safety Officers.  This event would not be a success without YOU.

Hi all!  Registration time!  The match is less than 2 months away so NOW is the time to get registered!   Our sponsors are lining up nicely, too!  We have Para, Smith & Wesson, Glock, Sig, Remington, just to name a few.  Important note:  When completing the Registration Form please be sure to include the address and contact info on your charity!!  I had some real problems last year in locating a couple of them!

Please get registered today!  I need to make sure I get tee shirts ordered for everyone and Custom Images will want some reasonable lead time, okay?  I want to try something a tad different this year, i.e., a lunch break for everyone at the same time.  We have been able to move shooters along very well in the last two matches and I think a midday break will work and not slow us too much.  During that lunch break we can make sure everyone gets to meet the vendors, collect their “prizes” and meet and greet their brother and sister officers.  Another addition to this year’s match will be the way we treat out Safety Officers.  This is HUGE…for the first time ever we will have a sponsor for our SO’s!  Armor Ammo, Coats, NC, has donated 1500 rounds of ammo for the winner of our SO competition.  That is 500 rds each for the SO team that comes in 1st.  Now let me explain the rules of the competition.  Each team of shooters will be asked to submit a secret ballot on each stage.  The team will collectively rate the SO team on a 1-5 based on their professionalism, courtesy and attitude.  One entry per team is to be dropped in a sealed box.  At the end of the match the SO team with the highest score will win!  YOUR participation in this is crucial!  I urge each team leader to take responsibility for voting on each stage.  30 seconds is all it will take to confer with your shooters, wrtie down the number and drop it in the box.  The identity of your vote will not be disclosed!  Help us recognize these hard working volunteers who come out on their own time, their own dime and work their butts off to give you this special day, Heroes!

OK now….REGISTER!!!

Shooter ready!  Stand by!  FIRE!!  Friday, October 23rd is the date for the 2009 Thin Blue Line Invitational…and it is going to be a GREAT day to be in Anderson at the Skip-J Range.  We are going all out to make sure that you all have a really great time up here in October.  I have already submitted my weather request and it does NOT include rain, wind or any of those other elements that we had to contend with last year.

The word of the day is R-E-G-I-S-T-E-R!  Please, please register early this year.  Download the form, complete it and fax it to me ASAP.  This year’s goal is 160 officers and I am working hard to make sure that I have something for each and every one of you.  I am hitting the sponsors up and having some success despite the current economy.  REGISTER.

Mitchell is working hard to design stages that will expand your street vocabulary as well as elicit some serious smiles.  I am sure you will be impressed when you see them up close!

I can’t wait to see all of my friends on October 23rd!

Para USA has honored us by designing a special limited edition commemoriative SF-45 pistol just for the Thin Blue Line!  This top of the line .45ACP in engraved with our TBL logo and “Thin Blue Line”.  I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am that this gun exists.  A very few years ago I sat on the sofa and tried to come up with a way to celebrate my heroes - you, law enforcement.  That was the birth of the Thin Blue Line Invitational.  I am more than a little humbled by the way the Thin Blue Line has been received by LEOs across the state.  From that desire to give you folks a day that belongs to you only, the Thin Blue Line Invitational has gotten legs and grown into an event that is anticipated every year and now there is even a high quality pistol that commemorates this match!  Wow!

The retail price of this gun is $1,646.00.  Para has priced it at only $760 for LEOs…and $20 of that will be donated to the Thin Blue Line to help us prepare for the 2009 Invitational.  If you have ever owned a Para you know the quality and usual high cost.  This really is a deal, heroes!

Para has made it pretty easy to order, too.  Simply go to the order form on this site, download and complete it and then call me at 864.905.5733 for the order verification code.  (Para simply wants to ensure that all orders are from legit LEOs only).  They plan to begin shipping in June.  Credit cards will not be charged  until the gun ships!  You can bet ole Ron already has his order in…now just have to squirrel away enough money to pay for it!

Please feel free to give me a call if you have any questions about this incredible deal!

Ron

George Wedge, VP of Marketing, with Para USA has given me a verbal commitment to be our Match Sponsor for the 20090 Thin Blue Line Inviatational.  Match sponsorship is a $3000 commitment!  They are really behind what we are doing and want to be a part of it.  They are partnering with BlackHawk for this match so we should see some really cool stuff in the shooters bags!

Their move to Charlotte NC is well under way.  In fact, the TBL Para pistols we are all ordering will be shipped from the Charlotte facility. 

First, I am sorry for being so delinquent in this, but all of the charities have now been benefitted from your participation in the 2008 TBL.  PLEASE be sure on your 2009 registrtation form to include all of the contact and address information for your charities!!