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Sherrie said instructors can use the current student test until the new test is approved by the legal dept. and published. Some instructors expressed concern at the few questions that will not be accurate or relevant after Sept. 1st, but it will be easy for us to address. The only three that come to mind are 1) SA v. NSA; and 2) renewal procedures (2 questions), but I may have forgotten some. We can simply tell our students that SA v. NSA has gone away and that the renewal procedures have changed. All of us would rather have the new test prior to Sept. 1st, but the holdup is the legal dept.

There will be a new CHL-100 and CHL-8 to reflect the changes taking effect on Sept. 1st. She said that DPS will not reject the current form CHL-100 for some period after Sept 1st. This is obviously to help instructors in case the legal dept. doesn't give final approval to changes until Sept. or shortly prior to that date.

Of particular interest to people who's CHL expires after Sept. 1st and who have already started the renewal process by applying online with DPS and paying the fee, is the fact that DPS will renew their CHL after Sept. 1st without having to take a class prior to Sept. 1st. Sherrie said DPS has not taken a position on whether the grace period to renew after expiration goes away on Sept. 1st and I think that's an indication that DPS is looking for a way to help CHLs and allow them to renew. As I've stated before, I do not believe this effort will be successful as HB48 is clear; one must renew on or before expiration.

She spoke for about 40 minutes and covered many other items and answered questions. I'm sure others will have more information.

Chas.

n5wd wrote:I normally hang around on one of WB5UGT's repaters that are linked to the Saltgrass System while I'm in the Houston area... from the map it looks like 444.075(PL 103.5), 443.825 (PL 103.5) and 146.92 (PL 103.5) all cover the Hobby area pretty well. Anyone else have a suggestion?

de N5WD

Those are good repeaters especially since people will be driving in from all over the state. I'll bring an HT and be on it when I can. If those are busy, there are some local to the conference hotel. I suggest the Pearland repeater as a backup 147.22 +600, tone 167.9.

147.220 (+) tone 167.9 - Pearland
146.880 (-) tone 103.5 - South Houston area
146.640 (-) No tone Johnson Space Center
146.860 (-) tone 100.00 - Clear Lake City area
145.110 (-) tone 123.00 - Alvin

Chas.
KD5GR

I just talked to the hotel and was able to move the conference to a different ballroom. This increased our capacity by 80 people so we can now seat 200. I'm thankful they could still do this on such short notice, because we were down to 17 available seats with three weeks left.

Chas.

sjfcontrol wrote:Just out of curiosity, what is the attendance limit?

120.

Chas.

The NRA email went out today and there are only 31 seats remaining. Also, the Early Bird Discount ends at midnight Friday (7/19).

If you want to attend the Conference, you should register soon.

Chas.

sjfcontrol wrote:Is the hotel posted?

I haven't been there since last year, but it wasn't posted then.

Chas.

The conference is almost half full and the NRA email blast will go out Monday or Tuesday. Also, the Early Bird Discount ends Friday, July 19th.

Chas.

RossA wrote:It won't let me register. There is a "required" field (address line 2) which I can't fill in because I only have a one line street address.

Thanks, I fixed it. I don't know how that happened because the 2nd address line is never set to"required."

Thanks again,
Chas.

UPDATE:
Registration for the Firearm Instructor Conference is open and the website it almost complete. It will be on http://www.InstructorConference.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but as of the time I'm making this post, it still doesn't resolve to that address. It's actually going to reside on the site I used for the Range Protection Seminar, so I you want to see it now, you can go to http://www.RangeProtection.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Here is a link directly to the registration page

The room we're reserved can hold up to 120 people and the hotel said they would try to work with me if we need a larger room. While I appreciate their willingness to help, the closer we get to Aug. 9th, the less likely they will be able to move us. So the only way I would be able to take them up on their offer, is if we fill up rather quickly. The early bird discount ends at midnight, July 19th.

Sherrie Zabgay, Licensing Manager, will be in attendance along with one of her assistants. This will be a good opportunity to ask questions about what will be coming down the pike on Sept. 1st.

Chas.

CigarStix wrote:How do we get on a mailing list for these events? Are NRA Instructors on your list?

I'd like to attend.

Thanks.

The NRA is going to email all NRA Instructors in Texas and perhaps others in Texas as well. I'm going to post a notice here when registration opens.

Thanks,
Chas.

KC5AV wrote:What's the address for the hotel? When I search Hobby Hilton, top results are for the Double Tree.

It's called the Double Tree by Hilton

Hilton Hobby Airport
8181 Airport Blvd.
Houston, TX 77061
TEL: 1-713-645-3000 FAX: 1-713-645-2251

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The details still have to be worked out, but I have scheduled another Texas Firearms Instructor Conference for Friday, August 9, 2013 from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Hobby Hilton. The format will be the same as last year, but some of the topics will change. Each speaker will also be given more time to cover their subjects.

Obviously, a legislative update will be a big part of the conference and Jeff Hewitt with Lockton Affinity will be back to talk about available insurance coverage that every instructor should have, especially if they don't own their own shooting range. This conference isn't limited to CHL instructors as it will cover topics important to all firearms instructors. In view of the legislative changes taking effect on Sept. 1st, one session will be devoted to an instructor roundtable giving everyone an opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions and develop ideas on how to proceed with both CHL classes and promoting additional training to CHL students.

Other topics will be selected based upon input from those who attended last year and had suggestions for additional subjects of interest to instructors. If you have any ideas, just post them here.

The fees will be the same as last year; i.e. $99 early bird discount (prior to July 19th), $125 thereafter. I hope to have registration open by June 10th or earlier.

Chas.