Why Did You Decide to Join AWA?
I joined AWA because personal safety is very important to me. As a kid growing up we moved a lot, I went to ten schools in twelve years. Always being new in an environment caused a lot of anxiety for me. My dad worked nights, I had two brothers and no sisters to talk to or hang around with. When I was in 6th grade my mother was a crime victim, she was raped by a stranger. She never really sat me down and talked about it, but I remember vividly hearing her talk to her friends about it.

In hindsight, as a mother of three daughters and one son of my own, I am sure she thought she was protecting us by not talking about it. In actuality, it made it all the more scary, as I wondered about all of the details, the where, when, and, why it occurred. But my mom was a trailblazer and never looked back, she was a very strong woman and taught me to never feel sorry for yourself, only you are in charge of your destiny.

I always had to take care of my brothers and suppose I carried that into adulthood, not making the best choices when it came to marriage. I married a man that had issues with anger, I thought I could help him but nothing I did mattered. He was violent and took his own life at his place of employment. I will never forget the day the detectives came to the door to tell me what had happened. In a way, it was a relief because he had threatened to kill me and harm my kids on several occasions. I was thankful it was only him he harmed because I always feared he would do it in public and involve others as well.

I have raised my children to be aware of the signs, and always pay attention to strangers, and the people you allow into your life. This is a hard lesson to learn but it’s how you have to protect yourself. For these reasons, I am a very private person. I do not surround myself with a lot of people and close relationships are hard, trust takes time and effort. I remarried a wonderful man, he knows what happened in my past and he understands how important personal safety is to me, and how I worry about my kids although they are all grown and living their lives. Crime and violence can affect anyone, at any time, we can never be ignorant and say “It won’t happen to me” because it does and could.

How Has Being A Member Changed Your Life?
I always wanted to join but was hesitant to do so because I am not comfortable putting myself out there in a group setting with strangers. I decided I would just have to do it anyway, I wanted to learn how to be better prepared and feel safer when I am alone or out and about. I remember the first class I took at Gunsite, it was the 250 Defensive Pistol class. I was so scared and unsure of myself, there were so many men and only a couple of women. I thought I would never make it through the class on day one, but I made myself go back on day two, and by day three I was learning so much and having fun doing it, I couldn’t wait for the rest of the week. Although I was not that good, the class gave me a lot of confidence, and I wanted to take another class right away. I will say even the men in the class were encouraging to the women in the class. I would encourage any woman to take this class, or any class at Gunsite. I have participated in a couple of the steel pistol range days which are awesome as well, all of the instructors are so professional and encouraging. I have encouraged my daughters to get involved in shooting where they live and took one of my daughters to a women’s shooting course where she lives to introduce her to shooting for personal safety. I will continue to take classes, and look forward to becoming a better shooter and volunteering to help with events when I am not working.

When you look at yourself and your AWA sisters, how would you define “Armed Women of America” not the organization, but the women who so boldly stand with you on the mission to be your own self-protector?
I enjoy attending the monthly AWA meetings, it’s great to be with other women wanting to learn to protect themselves as well. It’s fine to have your husband take you shooting, but believe women can thrive when learning together from instructors with decades of experience and the patience to teach women. It is always nice to talk to the other AWA members too, about which gun they brought or share a new tip or experience. I value my time at the meetings and look forward to each month to learn new skills. If I didn’t work more than full-time I would take more classes!