Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation

Deputy Sheriff Martha Sosa from Santa Barbara, California, completed her 250 at Gunsite in mid-January. She did very well and pulled off a second place in the final day’s shoot off! We are very proud of her!

Our latest scholarship recipient is Captain John Feddema of the Central Yavapai Fire District. He did us all proud by winning the shoot-off in his 250 class, November 9-13 of 2009.

Captain Feddema comments, “The course was an excellent opportunity to improve my gun handling ability and to improve my situational awareness at home to protect my family and at work to protect my crew.”

Our third scholarship recipient completed her 250 at Gunsite on June 19 with an M1 certificate. Ivy O’hern is 18 and a recent high school graduate from Americus, Georgia. She will be attending college in the fall and intends to become a physical therapist.

Ivy came to our attention through the recommendation of a mutual friend and wrote such a great letter to Janelle about her desire to take a class at Gunsite that we were thrilled to accomodate her. She came to Arizona accompanied by her parents and we had the pleasure of meeting them all and welcoming them into the Gunsite family.

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Deputy of the Year for 2007, Douglas Owens, received a five-day scholarship award to the Gunsite Academy in Paulden from the Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation.

Owens is the first recipient of the award from the foundation, which Janelle Cooper, Jeff’s wife, established to continue the legacy of her husband. He had a firm commitment to the rights of law-abiding citizens to bear arms and defend themselves, she said.

Colonel Cooper died in September 2006.

“After our father’s death, we decided to put together a foundation to perpetuate his philosophy, teachings and legacy,” said Cooper’s daughter, Lindy Cooper-Wisdom, who also is treasurer of the foundation. “He was a strong advocate of the Second Amendment.”

Cooper, president of the Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation, gave Owens the scholarship along with her daughters Cooper-Wisdom and Christy Cooper-Hastings, who is a member of the foundation’s board. Jane Anne Shimizu, marketing director for the Gunsite Academy, also attended.

The award entitles Owens to attend five days of firearms training at Gunsite as part of his law enforcement firearms training. The 250 Defensive Pistol class teaches students how to use a pistol to defend themselves, gun handling, marksmanship and developing the “combat mindset using the modern technique of the pistol,” according to the Gunsite brochure.

“Deputy Owens is well-deserving of this award,” said Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh. “He is very responsible with a strong and enthusiastic work ethic and I know he will benefit from more training.”

In addition to the award to a law enforcement officer, Cooper said the foundation hopes to eventually give an award to members of the military and to private citizens to attend Gunsite.

Contact the reporter at jtwaddell@prescottaz.com

This article used with permission and taken from the Daily Courier Website