Club Ed offers many classes that can improve your life. Deborah Wardlaw teaches a class that just might save your life.
Wardlaw is a Level II national Rifle Association Training Counselor on shotgun, handgun, rifle, and personal protection. She is passionate about her class “Refuse To Be A Victim.”
The course is a basic introduction to shotgun and handgun. Designed for women, it teaches types of guns and ammunition, how to hit a moving target, and tips for personal safety. It can also help prepare you to take the concealed carry class.
It’s not all about shooting. It is also about common sense.
“There are common sense ways to be sensitive to any environment,” said Wardlaw, who has taught since 1994. “Whether in your home, at your business, or talking on the telephone, we need to be aware of our surroundings.”
The course was originally geared toward women and safety, but Wardlaw says this is also essential for teens, the elderly, male or female. Most requests are from people who travel alone a lot. It is especially critical if someone is at a stressful phase in life, such as going through a divorce or split.
Wardlaw shares some easy tips for staying safe:
1) Before leaving an establishment, look around to see if anybody is there that looks out of place or suspicious. If so, go back in and get security.
2) When you stop to get gas, lock your vehicle. If someone does approach you, get back into the vehicle.
3) At a hotel, don't get in the elevator with someone else. If you get in and someone else gets in after you, get out. You don't have to ride with them.
This class has been literally life saving and life changing for some.
“I’ve had students who were stalked, threatened, or accosted. You can see it in their faces when you are talking to them. You know something happened to that lady.”
One student had had a gang member stick a gun in her face at a traffic light and demand money.
“She found me, and I taught her how to shoot,” Wardlaw said. “She had the mindset that she was not going to be a victim anymore. She said that empowered her more than counseling did.”
The story doesn’t end there. Years later, Wardlaw ran into that student again. Wardlaw tells what happened.
“She casually mentioned to me, ‘Did I tell you I was shot?’” Wardlaw said. “One night, something hit her windshield. She realized someone had fired a shot at her. She got out her handgun and returned fired. The shooters roared off.”
Or course, Wardlaw emphasized that is an extreme example. She stressed that students don’t have to be in an exotic environment to be in danger - many things can happen at a local grocery store.
But in at least that one case, the training paid off.
“I looked at her and said, ‘You just saved your life because you responded.’”
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Refuse To Be A Victim will be offered Monday evening, March 29. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.
Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.
