COMMUNITY — Long-time volunteer honored by state 4-H

By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times

Del Rio businessman Gary Humphreys has been a volunteer coach for Val Verde
County’s 4-H rifle team for decades, and he’s still going great guns.

In April, Humphreys’ decades as a volunteer in one of the local 4-H’s most popular
programs was recognized with a major state award: He was named a 2025 Salute to
Excellence Winner by Texas 4-H.

Val Verde County Agent Tommy Yeater presented Humphreys with the award during a

rifle team practice April 21 in the 4-H shooting barn at the county fairgrounds.

Humphreys was busy helping members of this year’s team get ready for their practice
session when his wife Ginger, daughter Holly and Yeater surprised him just before the
practice began.

Yeater asked everyone to gather around and said, “We’re here to give Gary a gift, a little gift, a tiny gift, for all he has put into this, but we nominated you for the ‘Salute to Excellence Award,’ which is through the Texas A&M 4-H office, and you are selected as
one of our ‘Salute to Excellence’ volunteers for the whole state of Texas.”

Members of the rifle team clapped and cheered as Humphreys,

obviously surprised,
accepted a yard sign with the words “2025 Texas 4-H Salute To Excellence Winner”
printed on it.

When the applause died down, Yeater said, “Very few people get this.”

Yeater also said during the state’s annual 4-H roundup, there will be a special luncheon
for this year’s “Salute To Excellence” winners and invited Humphreys to attend.

To the rifle team members and their parents, Yeater said, “I want you all to realize – try
to realize – what this man has put into this program. Over 30 years, he’s been coming up here and working with you all, and the amount of hours he’s put in, organizing you all’s shoots, organizing coaches, setting up practices. This is more than a job, and he’s volunteered, full-time.”

To Humphreys, Yeater said, “I do appreciate all you’ve done sir.”
Another round of applause and cheers followed.

Humphreys said he has “enjoyed every minute” of his time as a volunteer.

“I thought after she (his daughter Holly) graduated in 2007, I told myself I’d stay one
more year and then leave, but I had this little boy that showed up (indicating one of the
rifle team members), a few of these girls that showed up (indicating two other rifle team
members), and I just couldn’t,” Humphreys said.

Humphreys spoke to The 830 Times several days after he received the award.

“I was very surprised. I had no idea they had even put me in for it. It was wild,”
Humphreys said of receiving the honor.

Humphreys looked back over his decades of volunteer work with the program and said
each year, anywhere from 60 to 100 youngsters sign up to be a part of it.

The shooting sports program is the largest program run by 4-H locally.

“The lamb show (livestock program) used to be bigger, but this program is bigger now,”
he said.

Humphreys said he first got involved in 4-H in 1954 as a member and after graduating
from high school, continued working as a volunteer.

“I figured it up this morning, and I’ve been through 11 county agents here,” Humphreys
said.

He recalled when the rifle team would shoot at the Dolan Falls Ranch in central Val
Verde County, camping there on the weekends and stay for three or four days.

Humphreys said the local team has qualified for state competition every year he has been
with them, for the past 25 to 30 years.

He said the team he is coaching this year is one of the best he’s ever worked with.

“We’ve got a good chance of winning this year, but you never know,” Humphreys said.

Over the years, Humphreys has won the state 4-H championship once, in 2007, adding
the county rifle team has won the state title eight or nine times, beginning in 1946.

“They won it three or four years in a row there, and then they won again in ’56, ’74 and
’76, I think, and then we had a dry spell for many years,” he said.

Humphreys said the team that won the state title in 2007 included his daughter, Holly, but
added he had enjoyed coaching all of the young shooters he has worked with through the
decades.

In a way, coaching the 4-H rifle team came as a natural outgrowth of Humphreys’
business: He is the owner and operator of Humphreys Gun Shop at 124 E. Garfield Ave.
in downtown Del Rio. Humphreys has owned the business for 53 years, making it the
oldest sole-proprietor business in the city.

“There have been a lot of good moments over the years. One of them was the first year I
took Holly to state, and I told the kids the first year I worked with them, because they
were little bitty kids, but they were shooting really good, and I told ’em, if you all will
stay together, all the way to senior year, we’ll go and win state,” Humphreys said.

The team stayed together and did win state, after coming in second place for three years
in a row.

“It was pretty cool, but there have been a lot of cool moments,” he said.

Humphreys said the best thing about his years as a volunteer has been helping young
shooters with problems they come across.

As for the future, Humphreys wouldn’t say. He said he had planned to stop coaching in
2008, after his daughter left the program. Now, he said, he’s looking ahead to the county
building a new target range facility. He said once the facility is built, he may think about
retiring. . . or not.

The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com