Avid National Match Competitor Elected to U. S. Congress
Written By Sommer Wood, CMP Writer/Editor
Political office is not new territory for U. S. Congressman-Elect Bob Latta (R-Ohio). In fact, Latta has over 17 years of experience serving in various offices in his home county and in the Ohio State Senate and House of Representatives. Bob Latta, a dedicated gun enthusiast and outdoorsman, has almost as many years of experience as a National Matches competitor. On 11 December 2007 a special election was held in Ohio to fill the seat of Rep. Paul E Gillmor (R), who passed away in September after a fall in his home. Latta, who was serving his fourth term in the Ohio House of Representatives at the time of the special election, won the election by a 57-43 margin and is now taking over the same Ohio 5th Congressional District Seat that his father, Del Latta (R), held from 1958 until 1988.
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Then Ohio State Representative Bob Latta, (on left) is shown here firing in the 2007 John C. Garand Match at Camp Perry alongside Ohio National Guard leaders Brigadier General Matt Kambic (center) and Major Greg Wayt (right). |
Congressman Latta—he was sworn in on 14 December—has been an avid and effective supporter of Camp Perry and the National Matches throughout his eleven years in the Ohio State Senate and House of Representatives that began in 1996, the same year that the Civilian Marksmanship Program was established as a federally chartered, non-profit corporation. Throughout this period Latta frequently visited Camp Perry and has been an active participant in National Matches Planning Conferences and Camp Perry Executive Committee sessions. He was successful in obtaining funding for several improvement projects at Camp Perry.
Then State Senator Latta was invited to be the First Shot Speaker to officially open the National Matches in 1998. When the John C. Garand Match was inaugurated in 1998, Latta was one of the competitors in that first Garand Match. He has been a regular competitor in every National Matches since. In 2007, Latta fired in three National Matches events, the Carbine Match, the Springfield Match and the John C. Garand Match. He won a Bronze Achievement Medal in the Garand Match to demonstrate his outstanding skill as a rifleman.
Congressman Latta is a certified Hunter Safety Instructor, an Endowment Member of the NRA and holds memberships in the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association and Friends of Camp Perry.
