Friends of Pat Rogers Celebration

This past weekend I attended the Friends of Pat Rogers Celebration weekend in Alliance, Ohio. This memorial event was for a true American and a person that I greatly looked up to. Pat Roger’s passed away earlier this year and left behind quite a legacy. He loved what he did and who he trained and this weekend was a way of celebrating him and what he meant to the community that he so deeply cared for.

Photo by:  Lorin Michki

The event was hosted by the Alliance Police Department and coordinated by Joe Weyer and John Chapman. For anyone that has never been to the Alliance PD range, it is nicknamed the “Hawaii of the Midwest” because it is pure paradise. The range offers an 8100 sq ft shoothouse that allows for 360’ field of fire, 300m rifle range, 100m pistol/rifle range, two classrooms for courses and AARs.
 
The weekend started early Saturday morning with training courses held by some of the best instructors from across the country, including Matt Jacques, John Chapman, Steve “Yeti” Fisher, John Spears, Ernest Langdon, Freddie Blish, Jeff Gonzales and Presscheck Consulting. The courses offered ranged from Carbine/Pistol instruction and Low Light Carbine to Methods of Carry and Shoothouse CQB. Throughout the weekend I enjoyed meeting so many new people and reuniting with people I only get to see at SHOT Show. 



Photos by:  Sarah Jacques

I have read that you can tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps. If this statement has ever been truer it is by the 200+ people that came together from all across the country to honor Pat. 
 
One of Pat Roger’s favorite things to say was that “life is good.” With a friend like Pat how could it not be? He was an amazing human being and I will greatly miss him. Thanks to Joe, Chappy and all the others that spent numerous hours planning this event. I can't wait to attend next year. 


By Joe Nagy, Law Enforcement & SAR Market Manager