After 16 years of dedication and devotion to the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, Ron Duggan—owner of Captain Ron's Bar & Grill, which hosts the event—has announced that he is retiring from the Shootout organization.

"After much discussion with my family about my involvement with the Shootout, we all just felt it was time," he said. "The Shootout has been a major part of our lives for so many years, so this was a huge decision for me and I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing for my family. My kids grew up knowing that for two months out of the year, the only thing I worked on was the Shootout."

After his successful first year of hosting this event, a plan was put into place to grow it and utilize local volunteers to man all the activities. "We promised them we would make donations to their organizations if they helped," Duggan said. "This formula is the foundation of today’s event that sees over 800 volunteers man the events that raise money for the Shootout and ultimately for these charities."

Since this event moved to Captain Ron’s, it has donated $3,945,000.00 to local charities, fire departments and organizations around the Lake of the Ozarks.  Each year it continues to grow with an average of 40 organizations helping with the shootout and volunteering over 10,000-man hours to the event. "All of this would not have happened without my good friend and previous board member, Kent Morris. Once the weekend was here, I would call Kent and say, 'OK, buddy, it’s all yours,' and he would take over the reins for what happened on the water. We had a great system in place, and it worked well. I can’t thank him enough for what he did for the Shootout for all these years."

Duggan gave his thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who helped make the Shootout a success. "It would not be what it is today without your help," he said. "To the racers and participants, sponsors and donors, and to the people that came to the event all these years if for nothing else, just to buy a T-shirt to help support the cause, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I’ve had a great run as the President of the Shootout, and I hope that I’ve made a difference in the lives of the people of our community."

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