Fortress
SECURITY SERVICES
TIM HARRY CEO
It Always Seems Impossible Until It ' s Done
By Tim Harry
In the spring of 2021, I prayed and asked God to utilize my skills to help. Seeking direction, I immediately received a call from Councilwoman Annette Mitchell, inviting me to a youth gun safety event organized by our mutual friend, Chris Litton. Held at Alligator Alley, the day was filled with skeet shooting instruction, gun safety lessons, and a pig roast, capped off by a dove hunt. It was incredible watching kids light up after hitting their first target, a feeling words can’ t capture.
Annette and I were both amazed by the turnout: over 100 kids and their families came out, even on a day when Alabama and Auburn were playing football. We learned Chris had been quietly doing this work for years. Inspired, we decided it was time to start a youth skeet team.
I researched high school divisions and presented the requirements to Annette, who took it to the City Council and Mayor. The Council voted unanimously to approve the program, on the condition that I commit to coaching. It was the easiest promise I ever made.
We began building in 2022, working to get sanctioned by a national shooting organization but fell just short of making the 2022 season. I prayed for help, and soon after, Mayor Tony Kennon introduced me to Matt Parker, a retired fire captain whose son, Connor, wanted to shoot. Matt stepped up in a big way, getting us registered with the Scholastic Clay Target Program( SCTP).
Next, more blessings followed. Chris Litton joined as our certified gun safety instructor. Tim Herring, a champion sporting clays shooter, called to offer support. Drew Henley, an expert trap shooter and college champion with state and national titles, asked to help. I brought my background in competitive skeet and years of experience under legendary coaches, including Tommy McGilleberry, Bob Davis, and Burl Brannon( who’ s trained more Olympians than any other coach in the world), as well as four-time Olympians Todd Graves and Brett Erickson, and Olympic Coach Lloyd Woodhouse.
With experts in all three disciplines— skeet, trap, and sporting clays— and Matt handling daily operations, we began practices and spent the 2022 season training for our 2023 season, driving twice a week for an hour and 20 minutes round trip to Styx River for skeet and trap, and over two hours round trip to Bushy Creek for sporting clays on Sundays.
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