Doug and Elaine Schafer
Ohio Valley Friends of NRA
Committee Chair | 3 Years of Service
- Sold 131 banquet tickets totaling $6,550
- Sold 19 Corporate/Business Sponsorships totaling $25,800
- Raised $16,925 in pre or post-event raffles
- Underwriting total of $900
- Donated various times
"Doug and Elaine take time to drive around the county and solicit table sales. They also help get corporate sponsors involved by taking the time to stop in and chat. Each year, they ask a corporate sponsor to donate $1,000 for table centerpieces, and have local items crafted for the sponsorship. In 2021, they had stoneware crocks made with their logo and year made for each table.
Doug and Elaine are great volunteers not only because of their commitment to the program and drive to see the event be successful, but also because of their reputations in the community. I have been doing this for over 10 years, and I have never observed volunteers who have such a sway in their local community. The best part is, this respect has been cultivated for many years because they are honest, standup folks that you can count on to come through for you. As a result, their banquet is a sold out each year. They sell almost every single ticket to the banquet; most of them are friends who are business owners and purchase high-end tables.
Doug and Elaine lead the local 4-H shooting sports team, and through their dedication, hundreds of youth have had the opportunity to take part in the shooting sports. They use this activity to also promote Friends of NRA and show how important The NRA Foundation is to the local area. I believe this first-hand involvement is the main reason why donors pour so much funding into the banquet, as they are able to see through Doug and Elaine's involvement how this funding is key to supporting the sport locally.
I have had the opportunity to become friends with the Schafer’s over the last 18 months. The Schafer’s are what every Field Representative looks for in a great Chair team. They are honest, hardworking, salt of the earth people who are not involved for the recognition, but purely from a standpoint of helping the local kids have opportunities that they would not have if there wasn't a shooting sports team in the area.
On top of their pure intentions, I watched them turn this banquet around in 3 short years. Back in 2016, the last year the banquet was ran by the old committee, with 267 people they raised $23,000 net. The Schafer’s revived this event their first year in 2019, and nearly doubled what the previous committee had with $43,000 net. In 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic, they trusted me even though we didn’t know each other too well then, and we went forward with the event raising $51,000 net. Then in 2021, they worked on making their table packages big money makers and raised a whopping $80,000 net. The growth of the committee shows that they are great leaders. The Schafer’s are some of the most respected people community-wide that I have encountered while in this position. As a result, they are able to bring other great people to the banquet who are eager to support the future of the shooting sports.
On top of all her banquet duties, Elaine makes this a custom banquet. She spends hours upon hours crafting all of the table centerpieces AND even more impressive, crafts most of the game pieces for the event. When you go to an Ohio Valley Friends of NRA banquet, you can be sure that you will be able to play games and go home with prizes that you will not find at any other banquet in the nation.
The Schafer’s are truly deserving of being the 2021 Volunteers of the Year in Ohio. I am excited to work with them as they continue to grow their event, and I know that it will be a shining star for Ohio as long as they are involved."
- Marc Peugeot, NRA Field Representative
