TIME TO MOVE ON [Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.]

Oct. 28--MOUNT VERNON -- Dave Thomas has always been a straight shooter.

So when he felt it was time to step down as executive director of the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Thomas will officially retire at the end of this year after 17 successful years.

During his tenure, the USPSA has seen significant growth in membership and activity. Practical shooting has secured itself as a mainstream shooting sport, and its popularity continues to grow, featured on television programs such as "Top Shots," "Hot Shots" and "Shooting USA."

"I felt that (17 years) was long enough," said Thomas. "Honestly, I thought this (retirement) would happen much sooner. It was a tough decision, but I really believe I've taken the association as far as my skill sets and talent can take it.

"Now it's time for someone else to come in and take it further. Turnover in leadership, I believe, is a really good thing. I'm really proud of the fact I am leaving the association in better shape than when I found it, but it took more than just one individual to make that happen."

Headquartered in Burlington, the USPSA is a nonprofit membership association and the sport's governing body. It has about 23,000 members and some 400 affiliated clubs that host weekly matches throughout the country, providing recreational shooters with the opportunity to test -- and refine -- their shooting skills in a safe, competitive environment.

"We've managed to make it," Thomas said with a laugh. "Now with so many shooting programs on television, that has really helped fuel our membership growth. There was a time when people had never heard of us. I think we've overcome that."

USPSA also serves as the U.S. Region of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), which includes 88 nations.

"It's pretty big," said Thomas, "and it's just getting bigger. That is really good to see."

Not bad considering when Thomas took over, he inherited a shoebox full of membership cards and $5,000. He proceeded to incorporate the association and installed bylaws.

"It's a small, solid, yet somewhat fragile organization," admitted Thomas. "But we've come from a shoebox to a database."

The origin of a sport

Practical shooting attempts to measure the ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a full power handgun, rifle and/or shotgun. Those three elements -- speed, accuracy, and power -- form the three sides of the practical shooting triangle. By design, each match will measure a shooter's ability in all three areas.

To do this, shooters take on obstacle-laden shooting courses (called stages), requiring six to 30 or more shots to complete. The scoring system measures points scored per second, then weights the score to compensate for the number of shots fired. If a target is missed, or an inaccurate shot is made, points are deducted, lowering that points-per-second score.

Competitors negotiate obstacles, run, speedreload, and drive their guns through each of several courses as fast as their skills will allow. Then it's all down to the clock.

Practical shooters have thrived within the sport due to the fact there is a division -- based on ability -- for just about every shooter.

"Those differing divisions have really opened the sport up to a lot of people," Thomas said. "And that's allowed our association to grow. But we have so many great people in this sport, how could it not thrive?"

Bigger numbers

Thomas' legacy was on display at a national championship in Tulsa, Okla.

"I was standing there looking at all 18 stages," he recalled, "and I was looking at the very large area and there was all kinds of competitions going on. There were probably 500 people on the range and about 800 in attendance. That was something to see."

More impressive to Thomas, however, was the number of people running the event: six were on the USPSA payroll, and the other 75 were volunteers.

"We want to get everyone involved," he said. "There are only 12 people, total, including myself, in charge of running the USPSA. We have 10 people on the payroll in our office in Burlington and have one in Oklahoma and another in New York.

"Yet we have 400 clubs, and most of those shoot matches every weekend. Even around here, you can drive two hours and shoot every weekend if you want. So it's really the people on the ground that deserve the credit."

Thomas grew up in western Montana and was taught early on that long guns were tools. He said they took them out in the fall to put meat in the freezer and then put them away.

"Handguns, they were seen more for target shooting and such," he said. "They were seen as expensive toys."

Thomas joined the military and served in southeast Asia. Upon returning home in the late 1970s, he joined his father's insurance business.

Shortly after, he came across a publication touting "Screen Printer for Fun & Profit." Thomas read the material and decided he just may have found his niche.

"So I started a screenprinting business," he said. "I subleased 200 square feet and started with 13 T-shirts. Luckily, my wife had a good job as a 911 operator in Missoula and so she was able to support us."

A new start

It was during this time that Thomas first encountered practical shooting. A couple of friends took him out to the range for shooting match -- the first practical shooting match in western Montana; it wasn't long before the first club formed.

In the mid-'90s, his wife left her job to devote time to the screen-printing business, which had exploded.

"Fifteen years later, we had 3,000 square foot and an inventory of 30,000 T-shirts," Thomas said. "So it got to the point where we were going to have to either get really big or we needed to get out. About that time, say February of 1996, I had interviewed for the USPSA executive director's job. I was looking for a challenge and it was definitely time. It was time to make a change."

The couple purchased a house in Prescott, Ariz., where he and his wife of 38 years, Heidi, will eventually retire. And he has no plans to permanently holster his pistols.

"I'll shoot as long as I am physically able to do so," he said.

Long-lasting legacy

As far as the USPSA is concerned, Thomas believes it will continue to prosper, and he sees no reason why it shouldn't continue to grow.

"It all comes down to the people involved," he said. "It's overcome a lot to get to this point. The bigger the association gets, the more people there will be out there recruiting. There's no reason why the momentum shouldn't continue.

"It used to be that shooting sports would come and go. That disciplines would come and go. That's not the case anymore. We now have a pool of shooters to draw from. And from that pool, we draw our instructors and our range. For the first time, we have been able to grow that pool of shooters. I guess that goes to show there is hope for shooting sports."

Bottom line: Thomas wouldn't change a thing.

"All in all," he said, "I have been blessed in my life. I've never had a job I didn't love."

Vince Richardson can be reached at 360-416-2181 or by email at vrichardson@ skagitpublishing.com.

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