Taking aim at a deadly disease: Charity shoot to benefit American Cancer Society in Middle Tennessee

By CAROLE ROBINSON, Staff Writer
crobinson@williamsonherald.com

About one in three people will develop cancer at some point in their lives. Setting personal short-term goals is one of the ways cancer victims fight their disease and mark progress.

As Brentwood resident Linda Shultz, who was diagnosed with uterine cancer in January 2005, continues to fight the disease, she sets monthly goals and her goal for May is to shoot her .22 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in the second annual Linda Shultz Charity Shoot and Barrett’s Ball on Saturday, May 31, at the Stones River Hunter Education Center in Antioch.

“Look to your left, look to your right, one out three will have cancer,” she said. “It’s out there. It’s not easy and it affects the spouse as much as it affects you. I’ve gone through a lot, but I’m a fighter. Setting goals helps.”

The idea for the charity shoot took shape during a political meeting in March 2006 when causal conversation with friends hit on a topic near and dear to Linda’s heart – helping others and fund raising, specifically fund raising for the Cancer Society.
As it happened, one of those involved in the conversation, Rose Grindstaff, was at the time, president of the American Cancer Society’s Middle Tennessee Chapter.

“We have the Relay for Life, and the Black-tie Affair, but men are tired of tuxedos,” said Linda. “We thought, ‘What can we do for a fundraiser that would be different and fun?’”

Since Linda and several of her friends had been out at the Sheriff’s Department shooting range recently and she was renewing her carry permit, the topic turned to charity shoots. With her husband a former president and CEO of Smith & Wesson gun manufacturers, Linda has been to her share of charity shoots including shoots with Louise Mandrell, Sen. Fred Thompson and the late Charlton Heston, so she understood well how successful they could be.

Since Sen. Thompson gave up his shoots before he went back to acting, “We really didn’t have a shoot in the Nashville area,” Linda said. “I said to Rose, ‘We all have our carry permits, let’s have a shoot.’ It was just a conversation in the foyer at Rose’s house, I never gave it another thought until I got a call two days later.”

Plans were set in motion. At that time Linda thought she had her cancer beat, but a month later there was a cancer tumor in her pelvic area and on her urinary tract. That didn’t stop her.

“We met every Sunday night from March until August when the shoot occurred,” she said. “I was honored when they called me and asked me if it could be called the Linda Shultz Charity Shoot. That’s quite an honor. The shoot means a lot to me.”

Since most of the members of the Cancer Society didn’t know how to shoot let alone organize a charity shoot, Linda drew on her past experiences at shoots, her husband’s guidance and the organizational skills of her friends, Rose and Doug Grindstaff to get the job done.

“We made almost $50,000 on something no one knew anything about,” she said.

With experience under their belt, the 2008 Charity Shoot promises to be bigger and better. There are nine different levels of participation and new this year, it will include both a handgun and a shotgun competition – shooters can participate in one or both competitions.

You don’t have to be a competitive shooter, Linda said. “There will be people there to help you shoot. It’s not about winning, it’s about the charity. Our goal is to raise $100,000 this year.”

And it’s about having fun.

Louise Mandrell, the official ambassador of the event, will attend the lunch and the Barrett’s Ball in the evening and WLAC Radio talk show host Steve Gill will broadcast his show from the range.

Participants will receive breakfast and lunch, party favor bags filled with a variety of “goodies,” an opportunity to shoot the infamous Barrett .416-caliber rifle or a Smith & Wesson .500 caliber rifle and a ticket to the Barrett’s Ball in the evening where there will be live and silent auctions and awards given to team and individuals.

“The ball is casual – just jeans and a nice top, and it will be held at Ronnie Barrett’s home,” Linda said.

With plenty of fun and games, and dance lessons by instructors from the Wild Horse Saloon, the ball is a chance to dust off your boots and kick up your heels after the day’s competition.

Money raised from this year’s event will stay in Middle Tennessee.

“My goal is to help others,” Linda said. “It’s amazing what they do (at the American Cancer Society of Middle Tennessee) on Charlotte Avenue. They feed families and provide them with a place to stay. Vanderbilt got a budget cut and cancer research was cut, so we have places in town that could use the money. The shoot means a lot to me.”

For more information or to register for the Linda Shultz Charity Shoot, go to https://main.acsevents.org/nashvillecharityshoot or call 615-341-7323.  There will be an additional $25 fee added to registrations received after May 16.
 

Posted on: 5/8/2008