The board of governors of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has voted unanimously to elect Doug Painter as the foundation’s new president, effective March 1.
Painter, who previously served as executive director, succeeds longtime NSSF president and CEO Bob Delfay, who announced his retirement last November.
Formed in 1961, NSSF is the firearms industry’s largest and most diverse trade association, and owns the annual Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show which it started in 1979. NSSF currently has an annual budget in excess of $30 million.
Painter also will assume overall management responsibilities of the allied Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) and the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation (HSSHF).
“In making its decision, the board recognized Doug’s long and valued service as well as his understanding of the foundation’s mission,” said Art Wheaton, chairman of the NSSF board of governors, and vice president of Remington Arms Co. “The Search Committee of the board will now focus on finding an operating officer to report to Painter.”
“I appreciate the strong vote of confidence from the board,” said Painter, “and look forward to working with our industry’s leaders and with the highly dedicated staff we have in place. Bob Delfay’s leadership, especially in a time when our industry faced tremendous challenges, has helped create a solid foundation on which to build our future success. I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue our efforts in strong support of America’s sporting traditions and firearm freedoms.”
The NSSF board named Delfay special advisor to the chairman, and he will provide assistance and counsel on transition matters. Delfay has been with NSSF for over three decades and has been president of the foundation for the last 10 years.
“As the Search Committee formed by the NSSF board of governors began its work in developing a job description and list of skills and experience required for this position, it became undeniable that the best person for the job was already on board at NSSF in the person of Doug Painter. I am personally and professionally excited at the board’s decision and genuinely look forward to working with Doug in any way he and the board deem appropriate,” said Delfay.
In his 29 years with NSSF, Painter has been responsible for the creation of some of NSSF’s most successful programs and partnerships, including Project HomeSafe, the nation’s most comprehensive firearms safety education program, and marketing partnerships with Chevy Truck, Budweiser and ESPN—some of the best known brands in America. Painter was a key player in the creation of both Project HomeSafe and the “ESPN Great Outdoor Games” project.
HomeSafe is the nation’s premier firearms responsibility education program. Now partnered with the Association of Lieutenant Governors, HomeSafe firearms safety programs have been, or are scheduled, in 44 states. NSSF operates five trucks outfitted as mobile classrooms, and Painter told Gun Week that more will be put on the nation’s roads as funds become available and demand warrants.
Painter said HomeSafe has benefited from a $5 million grant from the US Department of Justice this year, and expects a grant of $12 million in fiscal year 2003. Millions of Americans have been exposed to HomeSafe’s firearms safety curriculum and over 3 million gun locks have been distributed to date.
Good Ratings
The partnership with ESPN has helped more American families to understand the wholesome interest and excitement of traditional and developing shooting sports and hunting. Painter reported that 19 hours of prime time programming have been aired to 110 million US homes, and that the Great Outdoor Games is the second highest rated show in the ESPN schedule. One hour of the programming that was broadcast by the ABC television network was the highest rated show in its weekend time segment. In addition to traditional shooting sports, NSSF created four new shooting games for the ESPN broadcast schedule.
Painter is an avid outdoorsman and serves on the board of directors of the United States Shooting Team and as an advisor to the International Hunter Education Association. He joined NSSF as a media relations specialist and writer in 1973 when the foundation had a staff of 10 and less than 200 members. Today NSSF has 35 employees and over 1,900 members.
In 1987, he became director of communications, then marketing director in 1989. He was promoted to vice president, marketing administration in 1996. Painter has served as executive director of NSSF since 1998.
The NSSF manages a variety of outreach programs with a special emphasis on efforts to promote greater participation and a better understanding of the shooting sports.
SAAMI is the allied organization primarily concerned with setting and maintaining technical standards for firearms and ammunition manufactured in the US or imported from other nations. Its expertise is also available for federal, state and local policy makers.
Voter Education
The Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation is a tax-exempt corporation originally formed during the Clinton Administration to coordinate the industry’s legal defense against the onslaught of politically motivated nuisance liability suits filed by over 30 cities and one state. In addition to those suits—and many individual liability suits filed by the relatives and survivors of people killed or injured by criminals—Andrew Cuomo, secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Clinton, was threatening to bleed the industry by financing “a death of thousand cuts”—separate lawsuits by up to 3,000 public housing authorities nationwide. So far, HSSHF has been very successful in coordinating the industries defense against the anti-gunners attempts to obtain in the courts what they have not won in the legislatures.
In response to Gun Week’s questions, Painter said that the HSSHF expects to be “very active in voter education efforts” during the 2002 congressional elections. He said the Heritage Foundation, which became a surprising player in the 2000 presidential elections when it ran national TV ads related to firearms issues during the nominating conventions of both parties and then during the campaign, has already been in consultation with its Washington, DC, representatives.
Unlike the 2000 national election, Painter said, voter education efforts this year will focus on key districts for House races and key states for Senate contests. In all likelihood, NSSHF will use more local media and direct mail to educate voters.
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