Former NSSA Executive Committee member and Zone 7 Hall of Fame inductee Donald R. “Don” Blaylock of Cody, Wyoming, passed away on February 28.
Don served on the EC representing Zone 7 for six years, 2001-2006. He was instrumental in building registered skeet shooting in the state of Wyoming and was a two-time Wyoming State Champion. He was inducted into the Zone 7 Hall of Fame and was awarded the Kinkner-Dubois award in 2009 for his service to Zone 7 skeet.
Don’s friend Billy D. Williams inducted him into the Hall of Fame and shared his induction speech, parts of which are below:
Don started shooting skeet in 1987 in Cody, Wyoming, with Dick Myers, George Keesler, and Donovan Allen as a warm-up for bird shooting. Hooked on the game, he must have shot and tried every gun he could find. He now owns as many guns as cars.
I met Don in 1989. We started traveling to shoots in Zone 7, making between 12 and 14 shoots a year. When Don started winning his class, he treated himself to a Beretta EELL.
After George Desatoff helped adjust his stock, Don won the Comstock 12 Ga. Retired Military Championship in 1992. That same year, Don made the Zone 7 Retired Military Team and the All-American Honorable Mention RM team. He was also on the RM All-American teams in 1996 and 1998.
Don doesn’t talk about his military career very much, but I think he and Rambo were best friends.
Don has been the force behind registered skeet shooting in the state of Wyoming. Many of you have been to his club for the Cody Friends shoot and enjoyed his hospitality. Everyone that goes to Don’s shoots gains about 5 pounds because he feeds you good while you are there. He has been the Wyoming State Champ twice and runner up five times.
He truly loves the people in this sport. – Billy D. Williams
Louise Terry recalls Don as a gentleman and the consummate host, citing an EC meeting he hosted in Cody. He owned a restaurant in town, so the EC members had breakfast there every morning on the way to the gun club and other meals at the club. “He went out of his way to make sure that all of the out-of-town guests were treated royally,” she said. “They did things the old-fashioned way, and it was quite a treat … They said grace before the dinner began, and they made sure that all of the women went through the line first for their food. He was quite the gentleman!”
