A hearty “congratulations” goes out to Jeff Bue, 17, of Fairbanks, Alaska, who recently won the NRA Outstanding Achievement Youth Award. NRA President John Sigler presented the award, which includes a $5,000 prize, to Jeff. Jeff’s accomplishment reflects a life dedicated to firearm safety and advancing the shooting sports. Outstanding Achievement Youth Award applicants must be NRA Junior Members, must be current Members of an NRA-affiliated state association or club, must attend and complete one NRA Basic Firearm Training Course, earn a rating in one marksmanship discipline, write an essay and present three letters of reference, as well as a school transcript. In addition to these stringent core requirements, applicants must fulfill at least five of 20 elective requirements, such as attending NRA Annual Meetings, assisting in a wildlife conservation program or volunteering for a Friends of NRA event.
   Jeff came to the award process fully prepared: As a long-time shooting enthusiast, he’d already completed the requirements…and then some. He’s been hunting and shooting since he was very young. In his winning essay, Jeff reports that when he shot his first caribou at nine years old, “my dad didn’t know who fell over first,me or the caribou!” A four-time winner of Alaska’s YHEC competition, he devotes himself to a wide variety of shooting sports. “I like to shoot archery, muzzleloaders, smallbore and centerfire rifles and various shotgun sports,” says Jeff.
   Incredibly, his participation in the shooting sports doesn’t stop there. “I also compete in biathlon,” continues Jeff, “which is a combination of cross-country skiing and smallbore precision shooting. My most recent biathlon competitions were at the Arctic Winter Games, once in ski-biathlon, and once in snowshoe-biathlon. Arctic Winter Games is an international competition with participants from all across Canada, Russia, Sweden, Norway and Alaska.” In his most recent competition, Jeff won gold medals in two of his races, and was the overall top shooter for all the races. All in all, it looks like Jeff has the best possible start to a lifetime of achievement in the shooting sports!

Would you be interested in applying for the NRA Outstanding Achievement Youth Award?
Please visit
www.nrahq.org/youth/achievement.asp, contact the
NRA Youth Programs Department at (703) 267-1505
or e-mail youth_programs@nrahq.org.