Over the years, Sniper’s Hide has experienced an up and down relationship with the PRS. With each new administration of the Series we have reached out to established some type of relationship, unfortunately those eventually broken down into petty bickering. I recognize my roll in all this as being poisonous towards the community as a whole and this is my way to help heal those divides.
This past Monday Shannon Kay of K&M took over as head of the PRS at a point when there was a bit of drama regarding the 2018 shooting season. As will happen, the discussions were public, contentious and split along the usual divides. Ugly is a word.
Shortly after Shannon reached out to me as our relationship goes back at least 12 years. I have nothing but respect for Shannon, his service, his work at K&M and most importantly his passion for the shooting sports. Back in the day, Shannon, myself and many others who are standout members of the PRS used to squad and shoot together on a frequent basis. From the early days at the Allegheny Sniper Challenge to events at Tac Pro and Rifles Only we were mainstays at these competitions throughout the season. We are both friends and competitors.
While my criticisms of the PRS have been sharp and public, they come from a place of passion. Having seen this part of the industry grow, and most importantly change, I wanted more for this part of it. It’s no secret I am not a fan of how things progressed, my history in this sport won’t let me stay quiet. While in my mind the issue was a lack of true leadership, I failed to properly contain that disappointment and instead turned it to something more personal. That was wrong on too many levels so don’t expect to repair any tattered relationships with a single note.
Shannon reaching out directly to me in the beginning of his administration says a lot about the type of person he is. I respect direct and to the point, Shannon is every bit of that. His call could have gone several ways, he choose to build rather than extract.
In laying out his vision, in recognizing the work needed to be done, he showed a willingness to be transparent. It’s very easy to paint everything as perfect and he made no attempt to do that. Recognizing the issues to be tackled was one of his main reasons for taking over after the 2018 season. Put the past behind us and move forward with a new attitude.
Shannon immediately made rule changes when safety was perceived to be compromised. It’s not about the words of a few, it’s about the actions of the man at the top. He sees that hard decisions are necessary and he is not afraid to make them. My view of the past has been, nobody wants to be the bad guy when was necessary. In our conversation he noted this trend and agreed it was time to end the practice. He forcefully spoke about making some sweeping changes.
We spoke for an extended period of time, and I was happy to hear all of what he had to say. Communication is key. In a vacuum people will fill in their own blanks. This changes the context and potentially changes the facts of a situation. Perception is important especially online, and it’s too easy to focus on the negative. His most important point, success lifts all boats which is true as each side exists in the same pond. Clearly he has a command of what changes need to happen asap, his actions on Monday and Tuesday demonstrate this. No one should underestimate his commitment.
Shannon wants to know what is going on, he told me, he wants an open door policy between the members and himself. We spoke about issues that come up in a match after the fact. A member or squad sees a problem, and rather than report it in real time, they wait. He wants to know, he wants a means to address these problem. As I have noted time and time again, I have become a defacto complaint department. Moving forward your first call should be to Shannon and the leadership not me. It’s about responsibility and he understand being at the top means these decisions fall to him. Leadership principles at work.
I considered breaking down every element of our talk, but that would put a focus on the negative. We covered that already, new year, new leadership, new outlooks. It’s about respecting the man and giving him the space to make positive changes. This is my job.
Shannon ended the call in a very telling way, as I said we’ve known each other a long time so blowing smoke was not gonna work. He acknowledged that a lot has been said over the years, it would take actions. He defined the immediate actions and looked to improve the perception out there. He said, let me show you now that I have the reigns, give me that chance. It’s all anyone can ask. It’s pretty simple. Before going into battle over petty differences, talk, communicate the issues and see where common ground lies to fix it. All boats rise if the outcome is success.
It’s an important first step in healing the divides that separate us. I am open to starting the process and doing my part given the reach I possess. Focusing on the negative is easy, doing things right to build a healthy community is the hard part. I appreciate Shannon’s outreach and look forward to a better new year between the groups.
This past Monday Shannon Kay of K&M took over as head of the PRS at a point when there was a bit of drama regarding the 2018 shooting season. As will happen, the discussions were public, contentious and split along the usual divides. Ugly is a word.
Shortly after Shannon reached out to me as our relationship goes back at least 12 years. I have nothing but respect for Shannon, his service, his work at K&M and most importantly his passion for the shooting sports. Back in the day, Shannon, myself and many others who are standout members of the PRS used to squad and shoot together on a frequent basis. From the early days at the Allegheny Sniper Challenge to events at Tac Pro and Rifles Only we were mainstays at these competitions throughout the season. We are both friends and competitors.
While my criticisms of the PRS have been sharp and public, they come from a place of passion. Having seen this part of the industry grow, and most importantly change, I wanted more for this part of it. It’s no secret I am not a fan of how things progressed, my history in this sport won’t let me stay quiet. While in my mind the issue was a lack of true leadership, I failed to properly contain that disappointment and instead turned it to something more personal. That was wrong on too many levels so don’t expect to repair any tattered relationships with a single note.
Shannon reaching out directly to me in the beginning of his administration says a lot about the type of person he is. I respect direct and to the point, Shannon is every bit of that. His call could have gone several ways, he choose to build rather than extract.
In laying out his vision, in recognizing the work needed to be done, he showed a willingness to be transparent. It’s very easy to paint everything as perfect and he made no attempt to do that. Recognizing the issues to be tackled was one of his main reasons for taking over after the 2018 season. Put the past behind us and move forward with a new attitude.
Shannon immediately made rule changes when safety was perceived to be compromised. It’s not about the words of a few, it’s about the actions of the man at the top. He sees that hard decisions are necessary and he is not afraid to make them. My view of the past has been, nobody wants to be the bad guy when was necessary. In our conversation he noted this trend and agreed it was time to end the practice. He forcefully spoke about making some sweeping changes.
We spoke for an extended period of time, and I was happy to hear all of what he had to say. Communication is key. In a vacuum people will fill in their own blanks. This changes the context and potentially changes the facts of a situation. Perception is important especially online, and it’s too easy to focus on the negative. His most important point, success lifts all boats which is true as each side exists in the same pond. Clearly he has a command of what changes need to happen asap, his actions on Monday and Tuesday demonstrate this. No one should underestimate his commitment.
Shannon wants to know what is going on, he told me, he wants an open door policy between the members and himself. We spoke about issues that come up in a match after the fact. A member or squad sees a problem, and rather than report it in real time, they wait. He wants to know, he wants a means to address these problem. As I have noted time and time again, I have become a defacto complaint department. Moving forward your first call should be to Shannon and the leadership not me. It’s about responsibility and he understand being at the top means these decisions fall to him. Leadership principles at work.
I considered breaking down every element of our talk, but that would put a focus on the negative. We covered that already, new year, new leadership, new outlooks. It’s about respecting the man and giving him the space to make positive changes. This is my job.
Shannon ended the call in a very telling way, as I said we’ve known each other a long time so blowing smoke was not gonna work. He acknowledged that a lot has been said over the years, it would take actions. He defined the immediate actions and looked to improve the perception out there. He said, let me show you now that I have the reigns, give me that chance. It’s all anyone can ask. It’s pretty simple. Before going into battle over petty differences, talk, communicate the issues and see where common ground lies to fix it. All boats rise if the outcome is success.
It’s an important first step in healing the divides that separate us. I am open to starting the process and doing my part given the reach I possess. Focusing on the negative is easy, doing things right to build a healthy community is the hard part. I appreciate Shannon’s outreach and look forward to a better new year between the groups.
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