Rugeley’s Royal Reward!

The NSRA would like to congratulate Rugeley Rifle Club on being awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service! This prestigious honour, which is awarded for life, is equivalent to an MBE and is the highest Award given to local voluntary groups in the UK.  We are incredibly proud of all the wonderful work you do in your local community and for target shooting.  A true inspiration for target shooting clubs across the country, very well done Rugeley Rifle Club!

If you don’t know a lot about the fantastic work that Rugeley Rifle Club do then here is the Club’s Chairman, Martyn Buttery to explain just some of the great works they’ve been doing and how this all came about.  This article will also feature in the Winter Edition of On Target.

Rugeley Rifle Club traces its origins to 1879 and the “Rugeley Rangers” (21st Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps), part of the Victorian Volunteer Movement. The name “Rugeley Rifle Club” had been adopted by 1901 when our oldest trophy was presented by the Earl of Lichfield.

 A decade ago, the committee sat down and seriously talked about the future, where did we want to be as a club?   Surviving? Thriving?

The club was in a position where we were doing well in competitions, some members having success in their own right. As the time came for our annual prize presentation it was decided that we should invite a local dignitary to our event and try to make it feel more special. We invited the Chair of the District Council, he came, he presented some prizes and over a conversation and a cup of tea he asked me as Chairman of the club if we would like some money to help the club with youth activities and projects we had in mind, as he was so impressed with what we do. I immediately said yes!  He emailed me a form the next day and by the following week I was handing a cheque of £500 to our treasurer.  That was the start…

 As a committee we sat down again and looked and analysed what impact if any do we have on our local community? The answer was actually more than we thought. The membership is drawn up mainly from people in our local community but also further afield.  Our members had other varied interests that we could possibly tap into to increase membership but also other revenue streams for the club and ultimately help fund the facilities we wanted to improve.

 The focus for us then was to improve this, engage more, build relationships with other groups and councils, to make people aware in our area of who we are and what we do. Invitations went out to local groups regarding open days and local Councillors plus our local MP to attend some of our events and take part.

 Our members have been truly amazing and so generous with their time, volunteering at The British Schools Championships, British Shooting’s ‘Come Try It’ days.  We assisted a the ‘Have a Go’ air range at Brereton Carnival, hosted guest nights for different organisations, and ran Open Days at our own range to encourage the local community to experience the sport we all love.

We wanted to build relationships with local Volunteer groups and started by providing training camps for the kids, it has certainly been hard work for all involved, but work that has absolutely been worth-while.  We’re now a SCVYS (Staffordshire Council Volunteer Youth Scheme) member, and a host venue for several different groups including local Council groups, Viking re-enactment groups and 4x4 response groups.  We’ve even assisted Target Sprint Burntwood to become an NSRA Club.

 During this period, we started to flourish more financially and worked on fundraising events to help push forward improvements to our club and its facilities. We appointed a Property Manager from the membership who actively looked at what we could do, utilising Volunteer engagement not only from within but also outside the club, turning work projects into learning activities for a local youth group. A mural to cover the outside wall of our 25yd range was completed by the Youth Group telling the story of some of our history as a club.

 This community engagement work has continued, and we have for the last 5 years supported a local charity who save lives in our community. Rugeley and District Community First Responders have been an invaluable partner and we’re proud to actively fundraise for them, member engagement with this has been truly outstanding.

 The club has been lucky in having a pro-active committee and members who are willing to help and get stuck in, without our members we wouldn’t be where we are now, a thriving club that strives for more success not only in our shooting, but in how we can help support the community we are so very much a part of.

 Last winter’s project was to engage with groups from the elderly demographic and we decided to participate in the “Warm Spaces” campaign, an initiative that helps local elderly residents get out and socialise.  At our club, we offer them a hot drink, a meal and the chance to have a shoot, which often sparks some fun, friendly competition.  We will continue to run this successful event this winter and again I’m sure members will be glad to help out.

 A Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire came to an event we held, he was impressed with our attitudes and the work we were doing. He spoke with me about the Queen’s Award for Voluntary service and felt we’d be good candidates. Even I questioned this, but he engaged a County Councillor to nominate us!  We set up a small working group from the Committee and worked with the Councillor to help him learn about us, what we do and give him the tools to get the form and paperwork all filled in and sent off. 

 We are so proud by what we have achieved in the last ten years, both in and outside of shooting and our Club will continue to engage with and support our local community that means so much to us.   

 To be nominated for such a prestigious award as The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is an honour in itself, but to actually win is such an incredible achievement. It goes to show what can be done and achieved with a positive attitude.

 Over the years the clubs members have done all sorts of volunteering for and on behalf of the club with varied projects in our community but ultimately it’s because of the members volunteering that we exist today.

 As Chairman, I’d personally like to express my gratitude and thanks to every member who has ever rolled up their sleeves and given time to the club and its membership, and “given” is very much the word!  All of this work was completed by volunteers only, with no paid employees at all.  Every member has helped shape our club into what it is today, and I look forward to celebrating this huge achievement with all them, as the members are our greatest asset.

Martyn Buttery, Chairman of Rugeley Rifle Club

You can check out Rugeley RC’s website here https://www.rugeleyrifleclub.org.uk/
and their own news article https://www.rugeleyrifleclub.org.uk/royal-honours-for-rugeley-rifle-club

To see Rugeley RC and all the other recipients of the King’s Awards for Voluntary Service for 2024 here https://kavs.dcms.gov.uk/awardees/