2007 Marion P. Hammer Women Of Distinction Award Winner

NRA honors Susan J. Darnall of Bloomington, Illinois

The National Rifle Association has selected Susan J. Darnall of Bloomington, Ill., to receive the 2007 Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction Award. This award recognizes exceptional contributions to the preservation of the Second Amendment and the shooting sports through education, advocacy, volunteerism, and legislative activism in support of the goals of the NRA.

Darnall, an NRA Life member and former Board member for the Illinois State Rifle Association, has devoted her life to giving others the opportunity to enjoy hunting and shooting. For 12 years, Darnall served as an Illinois Department of Natural Resources hunter education instructor, and, for 13 years, served on the East Central Illinois Friends of NRA committee, the last six years as co-chair.

Since 1994, she has run Darnall's Youth Shooting Clinic, which attracts more than 100 youths annually and is the longest-running NRA youth camp in the country. As an NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle, and Shotgun Instructor and Chief Range Safety Officer, she has taught some 1,500 youths how to safely enjoy the shooting sports. On a daily basis, Darnall provides gun and range services to her local community through the business that she owns and operates with her husband, Ron.

"The NRA has been the leader in making it possible for more women and youths to be involved in the shooting sports through education, training programs, and The NRA Foundation," Darnall said. "To win an award from an organization that I have believed in for the last 40 years is a very personal honor and achievement."