The Missouri Valley Friends of NRA will host its eighth annual banquet and fundraiser. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, with dinner beginning at 7 p.m. and an auction to follow. The NRA Foundation is a charitable organization in support of shooting sports. It was established in 1992, and the first Friends of NRA fundraising banquet was held in Columbia. Friends of NRA was conceptualized by Larry Potterfield, owner of MidwayUSA, when he attended an annual NRA meeting in Salt Lake City. Over the years, it has become one of the most successful programs of the NRA, raising roughly $1 billion to date. According to the local organization, all 114 counties in Missouri are receiving grants, which fall into the following areas: youth firearms and marksmanship training and safety, education programs, hunter education, range development and improvement, and wildlife conservation efforts. Historically, more than 75 percent of funds have gone to youth-related programs. This year, Friends of NRA appropriated 62 grants totaling more than $345,000.