At this point I have, as have a few others, become a "fixture" at the Southern; but of all the years I've attended, I enjoyed this year the most. I recall attending the very first Southern in 2001; at which time Bill's dealer/exhibitor area consisted of a single 40' tent set up beside the clubhouse that contained about as many empty booths as were occupied. This year the entire area around, behind, and below the clubhouse was covered with tents and filled with dealers from all over the entire country; plus representatives from across the big pond. It is absolutely amazing to see how this thing has grown so large from its humble beginning, and just how well it is being supported. At this point in time I'm just a red-necked southern boy who has yet to experience the glamor and glitz of the Vintagers event; yet I can't count the numbers of Southern Side x Side attendees who have attended both events and commented to me how much more they enjoy the Southern. This year there were many folks who even commented that they beleive the Sputhern Side x Side may now be as large, or perhaps even larger than the Vintagers event. I certainly don't know, and don't really care; all I can tell anyone is that the Southern Side x Side can only be appreciated when it is attended. For those of us connected with the LCSCA and PGCA this event is equivalent to the annual "family reunion"; and the friendships and fellowship that have evolved as a result of the Challenge Event is truly unbelieveable. And we've always had some women attendees; but we had more women this year than in all the other years combbined it seemed; and they even had their own tent called "GRITS", Girls Really In To Shooting, and believe me when I tell you that these gals were there to have fun! We also had a fair number of young shooters in atttendance this year, to include several young women; and the kid on Team Parker was an absolute joy to watch! Without a doubt times are a bit tough for all of us these days, and attending events like the Southern can stress an already tight budget; but if there is only one shooting event each year that a guy and his family can attend, perhaps the Southern should be first on the list. So good shooting and we'll see ya'll there next April!
