GUN SHOW AND OUTDOOR EXPO

Over the weekend of May 15 and 16, Winnsboro held its second Gun Show and Outdoor Expo at City Auditorium. Last year's event was such a success, planners decided to do it again, and again, and yet again. It will be an annual event both in the spring and in the fall. The next one is scheduled for September 2010.

Even though there was competition that weekend from a fishing tournament at Lake Fork, attendance was good, according to organizer, Doug Grantham. "We had over 800 paid shoppers," he said. "A little less than last year, but still a good showing considering the conflicts many people had. And the vendors feel that this event will do nothing but grow."

Doug, a member of the HAWKS Gun Club in Winnsboro, is a retired Dallas police officer, and he has long been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and the right of individuals to own guns. He is also a Texas Department of Public Safety Certified Concealed Handgun Instructor, offering classes to individuals who would like to acquire a licence to carry a concealed handgun.

While guns were the main attraction, there were venders on site with a number of different items including outdoor gear, hunting and fishing accessories, ammunition and much more. Doug said that the venders were pleased with the attendance and almost all of them said they would attend the next show if they don't have a scheduling conflict arise.

Many of the venders were from East and Northeast Texas, but there were some from as far away as Kentucky. J.E.K. , a large ammunition retailer, came from Louisiana. Village Gun and Pawn came from North Carolina. Pop’s Shop, and Oakwood Outdoors came from Tennessee.

Pictured here on the left is Patty Roels, showing some of the scopes in the Armadillo Arms booth. The retailer is based in Denton, Texas, and sells rifles, handguns, ammunition, and all kinds of gun-related accessories.

Pictured below right is Jon Mitchell, (R) showing rifles to Kenny Odom of Winnsboro's Biker Barn.

Doug believes the gun show is so popular because so many people in East Texas have guns for sport and hunting, as well as personal protection. "Outdoor activities are big here," he said. "People like to fish and hunt and do competitive shooting."

It took a lot of time and effort to organize the two-day event and Doug had help from Chamber members Heidi Joiner and Larry Wright. Fellow HAWKS members Ron Miranda and Jim Butz also helped, as did Jim’s wife, Brenda. "And, of course, Sandy Thomas at the Chamber office was a tremendous help."

Since this is a Chamber sponsored event, Doug would like to see even more help from Chamber members for the next weekend, which is already in the planning stages. "There is an awful lot of work that goes into putting on a show like this," Doug said. "And we have learned some things from this one that we will apply to the one in September and hopefully draw many more people."

Josh Huckaba, left, of Texas Vests based in Houston, fits Joe Dan Boyd with outdoor protective gloves.

On the right is Joe & Alisa Grudza of the I-Kam Xtreme Eyewear booth. These glasses have built-in video recording equipment, and Joe Dan Boyd said those were some of the most interesting products he saw at the show. "The glasses record what is front of you, both mobile video & audio via a 3 mega pixel pinhole in the center of the glasses," he said.

(LEFT) Tim Lambkin of Custom Made Knives shows wares to customer John Don Cornelius of Emory.

(RIGHT) Registration Booth with three volunteers, from left, Christian Entwistle, Sabrina McGlamery, Gayle Gearner.

** Photographs courtesy of Joe Dan Boyd