Norm Volponi 400 Handicap Championship 4/27 & 4/28

I always enjoyed the shoot more when I saw Norm and Jane along with Don and Shirley Bauman in the office. Norm always remembered your name. He may have cheated by looking at your entry card, but he would call you by your nickname which was not always the one on your cards.

My fondest memories of Norm were the Hearts games and the Trivial Pursuit matches! One afternoon, at Martinez Gun Club, Norm and I along with Bob Mastrelli and Bob Gilbertson were playing Hearts. We were playing for a quarter a point and I was up about 25 bucks. One of them suggested that we play the last hand for a buck a point. I figured the worst I could do was break even so OK! Norm was sitting across from me and sent me a shooter. The jack of diamonds was the only stopper out there and Bob Mastrelli sluffed it. Norm realized what was going on early and started to sink in his chair. When the last trick was played, Norm scurried back to the office while the two Bobs were saying some unkind words. I sat there stunned, as Norm was one of the best Hearts players I knew and the other two were no slouches either. Over 30 years of Trapshooting behind me and that memory is fonder than my first 100 and probably only surpassed by making the 27.
I will always consider Norm a friend and look forward to seeing him again

Prescott Gene (transplanted to Dublin)

Here is a true story of Norm that show's his sense of humor.
To preface it, I've called him Normey and he call's me Mikey, for longer then I can remember.
Anyway back in the early 90's there was a ATA Shoot at Stockton Trap & Skeet. I rode over with Ken Yamaguchi, his 2 boys, and Gary Akizuchi. When we arrived we met up with a man and wife from Sunnyvale R & G whom were also of Japanese decent. Can't remember their name's anymore so I'll call them the Hamatani's. We all squaded together and I was on station 5. This was a large shoot so as was normal Normey would always call out the squad number, the trap number, and who was on station. Here is what he announced. "On Trap 5 is Ken Yamaguchi, Gary Akizuchi, Hamatani 1, Hamatani 2, and lastly their token white guy, Mikey Cunningham". Well needless to say, we were all laughing so hard it took us awhile to get ready to shoot. Behind us a large group had gathered and most had tears in their eye's from laughing so hard. Now who else but Normey could get away with saying something like that.
For a long time after that shoot people would come up to me and ask if I was shooting with the Japanese Team.
Norm and I live real close to each other here in Groveland and the story still makes us laugh.
Mike C.
Groveland, CA