In what has become a recurring event for the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA), this last weekend was the organization’s annual Skeet Shoot fundraiser. Critical to supporting the endeavors of the association’s activities in Washington DC and Austin TX, the PAC-funding event was held in a very different fashion from previous years. Due to the on-going pandemic, TIPA changed the format into a 2-day affair with half the teams shooting on Friday evening, October 23rd and half the teams shooting on Saturday morning, October 24th to be mindful of local health orders.
16 teams participated in the event across the 2 days. Shooters were treated to BBQ or breakfast tacos prior to their shoot, and the scene at the event was very different from years past as shooters were asked to keep their masks on, be mindful of other teams and their proximity to participants, and assigned tables were pre-positioned for each team.
“Our annual Skeet Shoot PAC-fundraiser was the brainchild of Mark Santos of Santos International and Scott Fletcher of Allen Lund, two of our event sponsors.” said Dante Galeazzi, President and CEO of TIPA. “In a time where comradery is longed for, bringing the membership together was a great sight to see.”
“We feel like this is our best event yet, despite the times we are in.” said Mark Santos, partner at Santos International. “We were able to all have a great time and raise funds for our PAC. We look forward to making this event even better in the future.”
Committee Members of the TIPA Skeet Shoot include: Mary Velasquez of Coast Tropical; Tony Martinez of Primo Trading Services; April Flowers of Lone Star Citrus Growers; Mark Santos of Santos International; and Scott Fletcher of Allen Lund. And we dare not forget the great food before the start of both days, thanks to Tommy Wilkins from Grow Farms Texas and David Leal of Allen Lund.
Despite the pandemic-conditions, participants were in high spirits and the Texas weather proved more than cooperative as can be seen by the many smiling faces in the photos below. More photos of skeet shoot can be found here.
