The National Rifle Association has honored three women for their exceptional contributions to the preservation of the Second Amendment and the shooting sports through education, advocacy, volunteerism, and legislative activism in support of the goals of the NRA.
Edie P. Reynolds, an NRA Board member, is the recipient of the 2007 Sybil Ludington Women's Freedom Award, which recognizes achievements in support of Second Amendment rights and/or the shooting sports at the national level. A lifelong shooter, Reynolds is a five-time Women's National Champion in Smallbore Prone and has numerous other shooting titles to her credit. She was an assistant rifle coach at North Carolina State University from 1974 to 2000, and is an NRA Certified Coach, Instructor, and Range Safety Officer.
As an instructor and coach, Reynolds has worked tirelessly to train young people in the safe use of firearms, particularly as a rifle counselor at a girls' summer camp in Vermont for many years. She continues to strive to get women and young people involved in hunting and shooting through her support of the NRA's Women on Target® Program, Youth Hunter Education Challenge, and Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program.
Reynolds, who hails from Raleigh, N.C., is also the Chairperson of the NRA Smallbore Rifle, Collegiate Programs, and Competition Rules and Programs Committees, and is the Vice Chairperson of the NRA Youth Programs and Air Gun Committees.
Two Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction Awards, which recognize achievements in support of Second Amendment rights and/or the shooting sports at the local, state, and regional levels, were presented this year to Susan J. Darnall of Bloomington, Ill., and Kate Ferraro-Creigh of Cypress, Texas.
Darnall, an NRA Life member and former Board member for the Illinois State Rifle Association, has devoted her life to giving others the opportunity to enjoy hunting and shooting. For 12 years, Darnall served as an Illinois Department of Natural Resources hunter education instructor. Since 1994, she has run Darnall's Youth Shooting Clinic, which attracts more than 100 youths annually and is the longest-running NRA youth camp in the country. As an NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle, and Shotgun Instructor and Chief Range Safety Officer, she has taught some 1,500 youths how to safely enjoy the shooting sports. On a daily basis, Darnall provides gun and range services to her local community through the business that she owns and operates with her husband, Ron.
Ferraro-Creigh uses her position as a classroom teacher in Houston, Texas, to teach young people about gun safety and Second Amendment rights. A champion of women's interests in the shooting sports, she has penned articles for such national publications as Women's Outlook, Women & Guns, SHOOT, and Cowboy Chronicle. She served on the Board of Directors of the Cowboy Action Shooting Club for four years, and is involved with the Single Action Shooting Society, which was founded by her husband, Harper. Ferraro-Creigh's vigorous support of the shooting sports has added countless youngsters and women to the ranks of hunters and shooters through the years. An accomplished hunter and competitive shooter, she also holds many titles in her shooting sport of choice, Cowboy Action Shooting.
The Sybil Ludington Women's Freedom Award, named for a heroine of the American Revolution, has been awarded since 1995. Named after the first female president of the National Rifle Association, the Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction Award was created in 2004. For more information on both awards, or to find out how to nominate a deserving woman, please visit the NRA Women's Programs Department at www.nrahq.org/women/awards.asp or call (800) 861-1166.