Dan Arico of Fairfax, Virginia is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for July.
In nominating Arico for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said “I have known Dan personally for over 25 years. He is deeply committed to the individual right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms.
“I am recommending him specifically for this Award because of his contribution to the legitimate promotion of the shooting sports among youth. This promotion is a way of insuring that the right to keep and bear arms is valued and honored over the long haul.
“These days, a number of active Second Amendment supporters bemoan what they term the ‘gradual disappearance’ of opportunities for the youth of America to become acquainted with the discipline and joys of the shooting sports. They say sometimes that this situation can lead to a future situation in which there will be little or no public support for the Second Amendment because there will be so few people actually familiar with the legitimate use of firearms.
“To people like this, Dan Arico and others like him could serve as an example of what can be done to prevent this eventuality from occurring.”
An avid promoter of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Dan Arico organized the First Annual George Washington District Rifle Match, held in Northern Virginia, just this past spring. Hosted by the Northern Virginia Gun Club, this was the first BSA shooting activity over and above the BSA’s famed merit badges program.
An NRA certified coach’s trainer, Arico informs POINT BLANK that support for the match was so great that plans call for an expanded regional match for Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia later this year.
“It is my hope,” he says, “that this program will help to dispel some of the anti-gun propaganda that these kids are getting in the schools and from the media. It certainly has helped in teaching them that the shooting sports can be fun!”
Dan says he hopes that the idea catches on even more and spreads across the eastern seaboard as well as throughout other sections of the United States.
Arico says it’s important for the youth of America to become familiar with the shooting sports as a means of preserving our Second Amendment rights.
“The right of self-defense is the most fundamental human right,” states Arico. “All other rights are dependent on it. No property rights, no religious freedom, no privacy is possible without the ability to remain secure in your own person.”
Dan was born on November 3, 1946 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.
After receiving a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Duquesne University in 1970, he worked for about five years for Oxygen Emergency Supply in Elizabeth.
He moved to the Washington, D. C. area in 1975, becoming Eastern Service Manager of the Monaghan Company, a respiratory therapy equipment concern, where he worked for about five years.
In 1979, Dan, who has taken a number of computer courses at George Mason University and also at Northern Virginia Community College, founded Arico Systems, a computer services company specializing in mailing lists, process surveys and direct mail. Dan and his wife, the former Sue Marshner, continue to run the company.
Dan and Sue have three children, Joe, 15, Steve, 14, and Theresa, seven. Needless to say, the three are all shooters. They are members of the Acorns Junior Rifle Club, in conjunction with which the two boys are involved in small bore rifle shooting. In the spring George Washington District Rifle Match, Joe Arico took first place and Steve second. Theresa recently received her NRA junior marksman qualification in prone position.
Dan says his first experience with shooting came in the Cub Scouts. He eventually became an Eagle Scout and later a Cub Scout Den Leader when his oldest son joined the Cub Scouts.
Dan says he moved on to become Assistant Scoutmaster and “started the troop rifle team five years ago using air guns at an indoor range I built in the rafters of my warehouse.” He also taught shooting at Boy Scout summer camp.
Arico has been active in CCRKBA and the National Rifle Association as well as Gun Owners of America and the Northern Virginia Citizens Defense League.