The Fullbore Section of the Royal New Brunswick Rifle Association, is very pleased to recognize the outstanding contributions of
George Cook
as this year’s recipient of the M. Ellen MacGillivray Award.
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| M. ELLEN MacGILLIVRAY AWARD WINNER GEORGE COOK |
George Cook is a lifetime shooter. His love of organized competitive shooting began as a Cadet where, early in his career, due to unfortunate high wind on one relay, (something all Fullbore shooters have experienced), he narrowly missed qualifying for the Cadet Bisley Team. That experience whet his appetite and his stubborn resolve to continue and excel.
When some of us began shooting, George gave us a lot of very valuable advice - he was always generous in sharing his experience. The best advice was, “If you want to be a successful target rifle shooter you need to grow a thick skin because the game is full of surprises and disappointments”. George has had both, as well as much success, in his long shooting career.
After Cadets he shot Smallbore and in about 1976 won 7 individual matches at the 3 position Nationals in Ottawa.
Since his return to competitive Fullbore shooting in the mid 1970s, he has won 7 New Brunswick Governor General Medals and many other regular matches and aggregates in the Maritimes. George qualified for and accepted a position on the 1992 Canadian National Bisley Team finally achieving in national competition what circumstance had denied him several times in the past.
George showed his commitment to organized shooting in the late 1970s when he purchased a life membership in the NBRA and began volunteering to help organize competitive shooting in New Brunswick.
He was the RNBRA Fullbore Section Chairman several times for various lengths of time and he has continued to be a promoter of, and occasionally a competitor at, Long Range shooting matches in New Brunswick. He is still an active shooter today, but due to his health, now shoots from a bench in both long-range and short-range Benchrest matches.
For several years the only usable Fullbore range in the Province was close to George’s home and during those years he was especially active and was often the “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer” at the range. He would see what needed to be done and stick out his hand to do it.
The story of George is not complete without mention of his devoted wife Linda who has assisted George in his efforts to promote shooting sports for about 50 years now.
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