Brownells Event Sets Another Attendance Record
OutdoorHub 04.21.14
More than 475 attendees and 70 exhibitors attended Brownells 8th Annual Gunsmith Conference & Career Fair at the Downtown Marriott, April 1-2, 2014, in Des Moines, IA.
The record number of attendees listened to expert speakers like Ron Power, Sharon Dressel, Stan Chen, Roy Huntington, Jerry Fisher, John Krieger, Mike Tulowitzki, J. C. Hoffa, Jason Hornady, Bart Miller, John Holliger and Barry Lee Hands on a host of topics ranging from developing technical skills to best business practices.
In excess of 70 companies and organizations including The American Custom Gunmaker’s Guild, The Firearms Engravers Guild, the American Pistolsmith’s Guild, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Daniel Defense, Krebs Custom, Scheels, Weatherby, White Oak Arms and dozens more exhibited products, shared information and interviewed prospective job candidates.
In addition to all of the great organizations on hand, more than 200 gunsmithing students from Iowa Valley Community College, Trinidad State, Pine Technical College, Pennsylvania Gunsmith School, Wabash Valley College, Colorado School of Trades, Murray State College and Montgomery College were also in attendance.
Each registered student received a $100 stipend to assist with travel expenses courtesy of Brownells, Sinclair International, Turnbull Manufacturing, Cylinder & Slide, JARD, Inc, Power Custom Grand Masters, LLC, Satern Barrels, Gradient Lens Corporation, Weatherby and Aero Metals, Inc.
“We’re very happy and honored to see this conference continue to grow,” said Brownells President/COO Matt Buckingham. “This is a unique, premier event – a place where rookies and students can learn from the best in the industry and interview for jobs, and experienced gunsmiths can swap ideas and techniques. Supporting gunsmithing students and gunsmiths has always been at the very core of what Brownells is about.”
The record crowd heard from keynote speaker Doug Turnbull, President of Turnbull Manufacturing, as he spoke about developing a gunsmithing career around his specific passion.
Plans for the 9th Annual Brownells Gunsmith Conference & Career Fair are underway. It will again be hosted at the Des Moines Downtown Marriott, March 18-19, 2015. Stay tuned to the Gunsmith Conference & Career Fair official website for additional details.
