PORTSMOUTH- The Portsmouth Patriots Friends of the National Rifle Association (NRA) will be welcoming guests to their Annual Banquet next month, where they will celebrate the Second Amendment, have dinner, and offer a plethora of raffles and other activities.

“I’ve been the chairwoman of the Portsmouth Patriot Friends NRA since its beginning in Scioto County, which was in 2011,” Rebecca Clark said. “The importance of this group, the Friends of NRA, is the fact that, throughout the year, we raise money. That money goes toward grants and those grants are applied for and issued by groups such as our local Boy Scouts Camp Oyo, which had its whole range built through a grant from us last year. They had rifles and bows, targets and ammunition, among other things, all funded from our grant. We’ve helped different age groups in southern Ohio.”

Advanced tickets, which will be available until February 26, are $35. Advanced couple tickets, available in the same timeframe, are $65. Tickets purchased at the event will be $45 and couple admission $80. A sponsor package, which includes admission, a sponsor-only gun raffle, and $60 in bucket raffle tickets. A Sponsor Table is available for $400, which includes a table for 6 and $200 in bucket raffle tickets. A Sponsor Table is available for $600, which includes a table for six and NRA sponsor packages. A Gold Sponsor Table is available for $1,500, which includes a table for 6, as well as $240 in bucket raffle tickets, and a choice between three firearms. A Diamond Table is $2,500 and includes a table for 6, NRA sponsor packages, $240 bucket raffle tickets, and a choice between three firearms. A Liberty Sponsorship is available for $400, which includes a tax deduction and a free gift. A Freedom Sponsorship is available for $1,500, which includes a tax deduction and a firearm. A Pioneer Sponsorship is available for $2,500, which includes a tax deduction and a choice of seven guns. A Patriot Sponsorship is $5,000, which includes a tax deduction and a choice between seven tickets.

Clark explained that the event committee is comprised of all volunteers, and they work all year with raffles, the banquet, and the Annual Gun Bash.

“We do different things throughout the year to help fund the grants we offer,” Clark explained. “The bigger the fundraising, the bigger the grant and the more we can give away. We actually get to say who gets our funds.”

Funding raised in 2024 will benefit Northwest Shooting Sports.

The Annual Banquet will be held March 2 at 5 p.m. at the American Legion Post 23, 705 Court Street. Information on the event may be found online at friendsofnra.org.

“As a National Rifle Association instructor and very proud chairwoman of our local Patriot Friends of NRA, I do this because I love my Second Amendment rights,” Clark explained. “I enjoy shooting, my kids enjoy shooting, but education must come first. That’s why we do it.”

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.