Board of Directors
Born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in Dunedin, Florida, Ed currently resides in Atlanta, GA. Ed is married to April (Nessler) Fitzgerald and has three grown daughters and one son as well as five grandchildren. Ed played Basketball in college and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on Quality.
Ed Fitzgerald
Born in Independence, Missouri, and raised in Dunedin, Florida, Ed currently resides in Atlanta, GA. Ed is married to April (Nessler) Fitzgerald and has three grown daughters and one son as well as five grandchildren. Ed played Basketball in college and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on Quality.
Ed entered into the prism of Shooting Sports through a very unorthodox channel. “I did not grow up in a firearms household. My Grandfather was a Federal Fish Hatchery Manager and State Champion Shotgunner and my Uncle was a State of Missouri Park Ranger his entire career. Yet, it wasn’t until my first paycheck from United Parcel Service that I was able to purchase my first firearm.”
After a 20 year career ending as a Corporate Manager with UPS, his second career brought him to GLOCK where he oversaw many Marketing and Business Development aspects during the rapid growth of the firearms industry after 2004.
“Having seen great changes take place in all channels of the industry, I have seen the personal accomplishments and struggles within. One aspect that immediately stood out to me was that the industry desperately needed to embrace the issue of leaving a legacy of the Sport of Shooting for others to follow. Developing relationships in the firearms industry is a much simpler task these days. More and more people, as they age out of something they have loved to do all their lives, suddenly realize there is great enjoyment being around younger people who are learning and growing. There is a great deal of personal worth developed by lending your time, talent and sometime funds to better strengthen a program that allows these types of programs to flourish.”
In 2021, Ed will enter his tenth year of serving on the Board of Directors of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. “I have had the opportunity to work with some very great and wonderful men and women in my career. People that would provide guidance and dispense leadership advice when I was desperately trying to learn and grow. At this point in my life, I receive the greatest satisfaction when a young man or women steps to the line not understanding yet what is about to happen or if the outcome of preparation will be successful. But when that time comes, and it does come, and they successfully hit the target, they begin, just as I began, down the path for future positive outcomes in their lives.”
Chris Hodgdon was born in 1961 in Kansas City Kansas and has resided in Kansas all his life. He is a 1985 graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in Communications. Chris had 13 years in radio broadcasting before beginning his career in the family business. He is an avid big game and bird hunter, reloader, muzzleloader and has shot rifle competitively.
Chris Hodgdon
Chris Hodgdon was born in 1961 in Kansas City Kansas and has resided in Kansas all his life. He is a 1985 graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in Communications. Chris had 13 years in radio broadcasting before beginning his career in the family business. He is an avid big game and bird hunter, reloader, muzzleloader and has shot rifle competitively. After 25 years at Hodgdon Powder, Chris is now a Director/Trustee of the company.
- Benefactor member of the NRA and serves on the NRA Shooting Sports Committee.
- Member of the Kansas Rifle Association, Mill Creek Gun Club Desoto KS, Powder Creek Gun Club Lenexa KS and other hunting conservation groups.
- Proud supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and is a Silver Beaver Award winner (the highest award an adult volunteer can receive).
- He has two Eagle Scout sons. He serves in many roles at the Heart of America Council BSA and nationally.
- Past Coach with the Scholastic Clay Target Program and serves as a board member on the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation.
- Member of the Hodgdon Family Charitable Trust, Hodgdon Family Counsel and Chris Hodgdon Family Foundation.
- Married to Adele for 34 years
Chris’s passion is to introduce youth to life skills (such as target shooting) that result in building confidence, teamwork and character in hopes that they become outstanding ethical leaders of their communities for tomorrow.
Nathan Boyd, Director of the National Skeet Shooting Association, joined the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation Board in 2019. As an avid clay target shooter since the age of ten he has first-hand experience of the life lessons and skills to be gained through clay target shooting.
Nathan Boyd
Nathan Boyd, Director of the National Skeet Shooting Association, joined the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation Board in 2019. As an avid clay target shooter since the age of ten he has first-hand experience of the life lessons and skills to be gained through clay target shooting.
The Scholastic Clay Target Program is the perfect platform for today’s youth to safely participate in clay target sports while also developing and learning people skills, responsibility, integrity, team-work, and other positive life skills.The goals and vision of the Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation of continuing to be recognized and respected as the leader in youth development shooting sports programs make me proud to be a board member and a part of such a great organization.
Heavily involved in the community, Dr. Jardines serves as a state advisor for the Scholastic Action Shooting Program; is head coach of a USA Shooting club which trains athletes in the 25-meter sport and rapid-fire pistol Olympic events; and coordinator of the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy program.
Eliot Jardines
Eliot A. Jardines is the founder and President of Gnosis Solutions, Incorporated, a veteran and minority owned small business focused on training and consultancy. Prior to Gnosis, he was a Senior Consulting Director at Oracle, and Chief Knowledge Officer of CENTRA Technology, Incorporated.
In late 2005, Dr. Jardines was appointed as the inaugural Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Open Source. As the U.S. Government’s senior open source intelligence official, he was responsible for developing a strategic direction, establishing policy, and oversight of fiscal resources for social media monitoring efforts across all 17 intelligence agencies. In addition, he served as the Intelligence Community’s senior document and media exploitation (DOMEX) officer, as well as provided oversight to the Open Source Center, the National Media Exploitation Center and the National Virtual Translation Center.
From 1996 to 2005, he was founder and President of Open Source Publishing, Inc. The firm provided open source intelligence support to the military, law enforcement and intelligence communities. The company was the 2002 runner-up for the George C. Marshall Award, and subsequently acquired in 2005.
He has testified before the US Congress on intelligence and homeland security issues. He has been published or featured in a number of professional journals, newspaper articles and has done numerous media appearances to include C-SPAN and the CBS Evening News.
Dr. Jardines graduated from the University of New Mexico with a dual degree in political science and Latin American studies. He received a Master of Arts in international studies from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University, where he was recognized with the NCOA award for excellence in leadership and academics. He holds a doctorate in human and organizational learning from the George Washington University.
Heavily involved in the community, Dr. Jardines serves as a state advisor for the Scholastic Action Shooting Program; is head coach of a USA Shooting club which trains athletes in the 25-meter sport and rapid-fire pistol Olympic events; and coordinator of the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy program.
Jack Parker’s involvement with the SSSF began in 2012 with his son’s participation as an SCTP athlete in middle school, where Dr. Parker supported the team in a volunteer role. When the SSSF began SPP (SASP) in 2012, he began leading regular practices with the pistol shooters and hosted our first Indiana State Match in June of 2014. We just completed (June 2022) our ninth state match with Dr. Parker as the Indiana State Advisor.
Jack Parker
“My involvement with the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation began in 2012 when my son began as an SCTP athlete in middle school. He was a successful shooter and I supported the team in a volunteer role for his remaining years of eligibility. I ramped up my involvement when SSSF began SPP that same year (2012) as my son and others from the clay target team went to the pistol berms to be introduced to pistol shooting. After that introduction to pistol shooting, I began leading regular practices with the pistol shooters and we hosted our first Indiana State Match in June of 2014. We just completed (June 2022) our ninth state match with me as the Indiana State Advisor.
During the years of shooting SPP and SASP, our team has been very successful. I have since moved and my previous team for which I was the founding head coach earned 3 gold medals at nationals just a few weeks ago. Additionally, as the Indiana SASP State Advisor, I have supported new teams and have participated in annual State Advisor Retreats as well as served on the SASP handbook revision committee for multiple years.
As a school superintendent, I have gained the support of our school board and will be starting the first Indiana school-based SASP team this fall. My experiences as a 34-year teacher (serving 26 of those years as school administrator) has given me insights into organizational structures that meet levels of excellence. While in the classroom for the first 8 years of my professional career, I served as a band director winning two state marching band and one national marching band title. High-quality programming and experiences for students is my passion. As a school principal, our school received multiple awards for excellence, and I am currently leading an “A” rated school district as a superintendent. I have also had many opportunities to lead both strategic planning and development of vision/mission/belief statements for schools, state organizations, and volunteer organizations. I have presented at many state and national conferences on leadership and communication. Not only have I been an adjunct professor teaching master level principal preparation courses on professional development, I have also presented for 21 years in a row for my alma-mater at Butler University on the topic of collaborative decision making.
As a school teacher, administrator, and shooting coach, I have been a part of a great deal of fundraising. I secured multiple grants to support our SASP team as well as other teams in the state. I also have experience in multiple community committees seeking and securing funding for projects related to growth and learning. Additionally, as Superintendent of our school district, I worked to win a new operating referendum for our school district at the polls this past May that will bring over $48,000,000 to our school district in the next 8 years.”
Ernest J. Myers, Esq. serves on the Board of Directors of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation and is the Chairman of that organization’s legal committee. He currently serves as President of the Central Florida Rifle & Pistol Club in Orlando, Florida, following a term of 4 years as Secretary of that corporation, and 10 years as Vice President.
Ernest Myers
Ernest J. Myers, Esq. – is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. He has been in practice since 1992, concentrating in first-party and third-party insurance coverage litigation, insurer bad faith litigation, general liability defense, commercial litigation and appellate practice. He also represents several gun stores, shooting ranges, gun clubs and firearms instructors in Florida. He received his B.B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Temple University and his J.D. degree from the University of Florida. Mr. Myers is admitted to practice in all Florida State Courts, all Florida Federal Courts, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He has represented clients at all appellate levels in state and federal courts, including a 2015 appearance in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Myers is a founder and the Managing Partner of the Law Firm of Marcus & Myers in Orlando, Florida. He is also an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor and Range Safety Officer, and he provides classroom and practical instruction for concealed firearms licensees. He currently serves as President of the Central Florida Rifle & Pistol Club in Orlando, Florida, following a term of 4 years as Secretary of that corporation, and 10 years as Vice President. He is an NRA Certified Level 1 Pistol Coach, and an assistant coach on the National Champion CFRPC Scholastic Action Shooting Program team. Mr. Myers serves on the Board of Directors of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation and is the Chairman of that organization’s legal committee. And, he is a past President of the Florida Sport Shooting Association, the NRA state association in Florida. Mr. Myers regularly speaks on various aspects of Florida and Federal firearms law, and was a speaker at the 2016 NRA National Firearms Law Seminar in Louisville, Kentucky. Additionally, Mr. Myers serves as a Blue and Gold Officer for the United States Naval Academy.
“I got involved with the SCTP like most as a volunteer when my son was competing in the SCTP…”
Bernie Till
“I got started in youth clay target sports in 2009 as the coach of the Heathwood Hall Sporting Clays team in support of his son’s shooting sports interest. He became a SCTP head coach in 2011 for the Mid Carolina Young Guns.
Bernie led the effort to bring SCTP back to SC in 2013 after a 2-year hiatus by volunteering to serve as State Advisor for SC. In 2017, he built a partnership with 4-H teams in South Carolina that has resulted in many new SCTP teams, more shooting opportunities for kids and which has seen SCTP participation triple in the first year. Since then, South Carolina has been one of the fastest growing states.
Bernie is a 4-H State Instructor and has certified over 300 coaches in support of his passion for promoting youth shooting by equipping new teams with qualified coaches. Bernie became the Southeast Regional Field Representative, responsible or Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina in 2018.”
Jen Ramsay
Taz is a native San Antonian. She has 27 years as a Full Charge Bookkeeper with a background in the construction and non-profit industries. Taz is an avid crafter. Her arts and crafts company, Bit ‘O Blarney, has 17 product lines and donates custom pieces for charity events across San Antonio. Taz serves as an officer at her American Legion #667 in Universal City, Texas, supporting the local community and military sector. Her other favorite Charities are Paws 4 Purple Hearts and K9’s for Warriors
Tom has previous marketing experience in the firearms industry at SilencerCo and also has a unique perspective as an alumnus of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). Tom directly credits SASP for giving him the opportunity to visit new places and meet people he never would have otherwise. Life-long friendships have been formed through these experiences and Tom feels a duty to provide the same opportunities to future generations of American youth.
Tom Davis
Tom has previous marketing experience in the firearms industry at SilencerCo and also has a unique perspective as an alumnus of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). Tom directly credits SASP for giving him the opportunity to visit new places and meet people he never would have otherwise. Life-long friendships have been formed through these experiences and Tom feels a duty to provide the same opportunities to future generations of American youth.
Tom’s interest in firearms is credited to his time spent growing up in the foothills of Washington state, Daisy bb gun in hand. He practiced the fundamentals of marksmanship against menacing soda cans, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he discovered competitive shooting through a youtube video. With the help of founding coaches and teammates, Tom established the University Of Florida Action Shooting Team in 2012. The collegiate team continues to participate in SASP, USPSA, and Steel Challenge in the present day.
© Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to providing shooting-sports education and opportunities to school-age youths around the United States to encourage young athlete personal growth and development.
Tax-ID number 20-8484121.