Proudly Serving Vermont Since 1875

Your NRA State Association

Eddie Eagle Soars in Vermont

The NRA Eddie Eagle GunSafeŽ Program is designed to teach children in Pre-K through the third grades that, if they see a gun, they should "Stop! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult." The program is focused toward safety for youngsters. There is no firearms instruction, advocating of gun ownership, nor promotion of any gun organization. The Eddie Eagle program has been supported by the National Safety Council, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Sheriffs' Association, and 24 state governors. 18 million children have received the training.

Charles M. Ferry photo

A study, conducted by Patricia Kunz Howard, RN, and published in the October 2001 Journal of Emergency Nursing Online, gave Eddie Eagle the highest rating of the over 80 gun safety programs available.

For years Vermont has had volunteers using the NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafeŽ Program to work with youngsters. These dedicated instructors have used the printed program materials during their instruction, but they lacked the benefit of having the Eddie Eagle character helping with the class because there was no costume in Vermont.

Thanks to funding from the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife there is now an Eddie Eagle costume in Vermont. The objective in purchasing the outfit was to enhance the use of the best gun safety program for younger kids.

The costume is available for Eddie Eagle instructors conducting classes and can be obtained by contacting Dick Lyford at (802) 685-4622 or Evan Hughes (802) 272- 8544 of the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. Dick, Evan or another federation official will make the outfit and the classroom materials available. The federation is the NRA State Association for Vermont.

The NRA Field Representative for Vermont is Mike Langton and he can be reached at (603) 938-2860.

If you are interested in becoming an Eddie Eagle instructor or would like more information on the Eddie Eagle GunSafeŽ Program, call the Eddie EagleŽ Department at (800) 231-0752 or visit their Web site.