NSSF is pleased to announce that Marily Haley, manager of highly popular Shoot Smart ranges in Texas, has joined the list of speakers educating today’s retailers on the issues of diversity during the 2015 SHOT Show special Diversity Panel, sponsored by NSSF. Haley will be joining Don Adair, president of the African American Hunting Association, and husband and wife team Lilly Gibbs and Frank Manuel, founders and developers of the Montgomery Indoor Shooting Complex.
Haley brings a wealth of front-line, bottom-to-top retail experience to the panel’s discussion. As a founding member of the Shoot Smart staff, Marily’s cordial and friendly personality set the standard for customer service at the company, quickly earning her a reputation for taking a room full of impatient customers and making each of them feel as if they were the only one being served. Those abilities saw her quickly rise through the ranks at Shoot Smart, moving first to head cashier, then shift supervisor, trainer, assistant manager and manager in quick progression.
Through her leadership skills and abilities to communicate to a wide variety of people, Haley streamlined customer service procedures at Shoot Smart, developed best practices for customer service and a created a formal customer service training program for the Shoot Smart staff.
This string of successes saw her promotion to range manager of the second Shoot Smart range, which opened in Grand Prairie, Texas, in 2013. That range, just one year after opening, earned NSSF’s prestigious Five Star Range Rating under Haley’s tutelage.
“Marily is a dynamic individual making a noticeable mark in the shooting industry,” said Patrick Shay, co-creator of the 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel and NSSF’s Director, Retail Development. “She was raised in both Texas and Mexico, attending Brookhaven College in Dallas. She has strong communication skills in English and Spanish, and that duality, combined with her reputation among both her customers and peers, positions her uniquely to speak about diversity in the shooting industry. Her insights on how to engage customers of different cultures, races, beliefs and needs will be invaluable to any retailer or range owner looking for new ways to reach new customers and expand their businesses.”
Created to provide retailers with a fresh approach to connecting with new customers, the 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel will take place Wednesday, January 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
“The face of today’s recreational shooter is not what it was even five years ago. It’s younger, includes more females and is much better represented across multiple ethnicities than in the past,” explained Shay. “It’s time for firearms retailers and range operators to realize that their best potential for growth and long-term viability in the coming years is in discovering how to reach these new shooters and provide them with goods and services they need. We think this Diversity Panel will provide essential information for making those connections and turning them into happy, loyal customers.”
Tickets for the 2015 SHOT Show Diversity Panel are $20 for both NSSF member and non-member retailers and range owners, but seating is limited, so we urge you to register now for this important event. To register, go to the shotshow.org website, click on the “Apply” button and follow the directions on the page. Anyone already registered to attend the 2015 SHOT Show may revisit shotshow.org, click on “Apply,” then click the “Check Status” button on the bottom left-hand portion of the screen. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the page to “Access Your Attendee Dashboard” and provide your email and password to enter. For more information, contact Patrick Shay, pshay@nssf.org.